Tiger Shark or Sand Shark

[Ronzie]

Earlier this year I decided that it's time for a water machine. Now I'm not getting one till the off season (Nov-Mar).
I was pretty set on an AT Pro. I've had 2 Garrett's before and was satisfied with them. Plus all I really want is a shallow water proof detector so I thought this would be perfect for what I want it for.
Since then I decided to change it up. I sold both of my Garrett's and my Explorer SE and bought the Outlaw.
Well I'm extremely very, very, very happy with the Outlaw. Before I got it I tried another guy's Vaquero and loved it.

So now with all I'm reading about how a lot of people are having problems with it I'm kinda shying away from one. Also now that I'm hooked on Tesoro I'm wondering which of their 2 units would suit me best. The Tiger Shark or the Sand Shark?
For me I want the 8" coil. The Sand sells here in Canada for $577 and the Tiger sells for $636.
I will mostly do fresh water beaches (in & out of the water), swimming holes and creeks. It may see the ocean for a week every 2 years.
I've read that the Tiger is the better land unit out of the 2.

Which would suit me better?

 

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[rainyday101]

For freshwater it is the Tiger. On land the Tiger's disc circuit is not the greatest if you like to set your disc for cherry picking. It can't disc out a pull tab very well. I have a Tiger and my friend has one. When we land hunt I use my Silver uMax and he uses the Tiger. He digs a lot more trash than me. Being an Outlaw user the difference in the disc circuits on land will be real obvious for you. Now bear in mind that is not the primary use of the Tiger Shark. Can it coin hunt on land? Yes. Are Tesors disc circuits on their land machines better suited for coin hunting on land? Yes. The Tiger is a fresh water machine and for that purpose it is one exceptional and well built detector. In the water you are using a scoop and looking for rings so anything that gives a good two direction signal and pin points small like a coin is getting scooped. It never ceases to amaze the things, coins, rings, and tiny targets this detector finds. I have the 10" coil because when I bought mine I never intended on using it for land detecting. In the water the 10" gives better coverage and has amazing depth. Sometimes I think the depth is too good. I have a test garden that is about 9 months old and know that freshly disturbed soil is not a fair test for detector depth because the ground matrix was disturbed and will take years to normalize. That being said I still test detectors there. In the freshly disturbed soil most detectors will get the 6" targets and that is it. In all metal mode using the threshold on the Tiger it will hit all pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters to 12". In the water this detector is a nickel magnet. Oh, and when it hits a ring there will be no mistaking it. Expect to scoop some bottle caps. Never set the disc. higher than 3. At this setting you will knock out most smaller annoying ferrous metal targets.

In my opinion you already have an excellent land detector, the Outlaw. Get a Tiger Shark with a 10" coil and let it be your dedicated fresh water machine. You can use it on land and it is crazy deep but the disc settings are not ideal for land use. There is not one machine that does both land and water extremely well, so buy a dedicated detector for each of these two extremely different task. If you add the Tiger to your Outlaw you will have an unstoppable pair of detectors!

The Sand Shark is made for salt water and reading what others have to say it works really well at that task. If you buy a PI unit though be prepared to dig a lot and deep. They have no disc. so land hunting in any trashy area will probably wear you out in about a hour.

 

[Terry Soloman]

For freshwater it is the Tiger. On land the Tiger's disc circuit is not the greatest if you like to set your disc for cherry picking. It can't disc out a pull tab very well. I have a Tiger and my friend has one. When we land hunt I use my Silver uMax and he uses the Tiger. He digs a lot more trash than me. Being an Outlaw user the difference in the disc circuits on land will be real obvious for you. Now bear in mind that is not the primary use of the Tiger Shark. Can it coin hunt on land? Yes. Are Tesors disc circuits on their land machines better suited for coin hunting on land? Yes. The Tiger is a fresh water machine and for that purpose it is one exceptional and well built detector. In the water you are using a scoop and looking for rings so anything that gives a good two direction signal and pin points small like a coin is getting scooped. It never ceases to amaze the things, coins, rings, and tiny targets this detector finds. I have the 10" coil because when I bought mine I never intended on using it for land detecting. In the water the 10" gives better coverage and has amazing depth. Sometimes I think the depth is too good. I have a test garden that is about 9 months old and know that freshly disturbed soil is not a fair test for detector depth because the ground matrix was disturbed and will take years to normalize. That being said I still test detectors there. In the freshly disturbed soil most detectors will get the 6" targets and that is it. In all metal mode using the threshold on the Tiger it will hit all pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters to 12". In the water this detector is a nickel magnet. Oh, and when it hits a ring there will be no mistaking it. Expect to scoop some bottle caps. Never set the disc. higher than 3. At this setting you will knock out most smaller annoying ferrous metal targets.

In my opinion you already have an excellent land detector, the Outlaw. Get a Tiger Shark with a 10" coil and let it be your dedicated fresh water machine. You can use it on land and it is crazy deep but the disc settings are not ideal for land use. There is not one machine that does both land and water extremely well, so buy a dedicated detector for each of these two extremely different task. If you add the Tiger to your Outlaw you will have an unstoppable pair of detectors!

The Sand Shark is made for salt water and reading what others have to say it works really well at that task. If you buy a PI unit though be prepared to dig a lot and deep. They have no disc. so land hunting in any trashy area will probably wear you out in about a hour.

Great Advice! Not much more to add.

 

[Sandman]

Rainyday said it well. The Tiger Shark for fresh water is great and you will have no trouble finding rings and Loonie's and Toonie's. Totally forget the AT Pro as anything but a boat anchor.

 

[Ronzie]

Thank you for your great advice. I actually probably wouldn't use it on land accept for in sand at the beach. I also want to get another Tesoro land unit as well so I have 3 detectors. The Outlaw and maybe the Tejon along with a water machine.

 

[rainyday101]

Hey Ronzie, for freshwater beach use in the sand the Tiger is awesome. Just make sure you have a good sand scoop. The sand scoop is as important as the detector.

I also have two Tesoro's and am looking at adding the third. Hard not to buy them because they work so well and don't cost an arm and a leg. I have a Tiger, Silver uMax, and looking to add a Vaq, Tejon, or Outlaw. Then I will have three awesome detectors to cover all situations for less than one of them big buck fancy minelabs. Not knocking minelab, they just cost more than I want to spend. Plus them Tesoro's have a lifetime warranty that you will probably never need. If by chance you do need it you will see first hand what top notch customer service is.

 

[Ronzie]

Hey Ronzie, for freshwater beach use in the sand the Tiger is awesome. Just make sure you have a good sand scoop. The sand scoop is as important as the detector.

I also have two Tesoro's and am looking at adding the third. Hard not to buy them because they work so well and don't cost an arm and a leg. I have a Tiger, Silver uMax, and looking to add a Vaq, Tejon, or Outlaw. Then I will have three awesome detectors to cover all situations for less than one of them big buck fancy minelabs. Not knocking minelab, they just cost more than I want to spend. Plus them Tesoro's have a lifetime warranty that you will probably never need. If by chance you do need it you will see first hand what top notch customer service is.

It's hard not to buy them when they're half the price and better overall.
My mind use to be nothing beats a Minelab. That was until I got a Tesoro. Out of the 3 you want I'd suggest either the Outlaw or the Tejon.
Next spring my detectors under my avatar will read, Tesoro Outlaw, Tiger Shark & Tejon.

 

[Scanman]

I am also interested in the Tiger, kinda disappointed Tesoro seems to no longer use aluminum poles, will the new poles rust if you scratch the paint off?

Which scoop works best for you guys? and how do you carry it? I have a heavy adjustable sand scoop, (searched for a link, but unable to find the one I have) I find it tiring to carry it for much over an hour, not sure what the solution would be as I am afraid a sling would not be real handy?

Thanks for all the valuable info.

 

[rainyday101]

Scanman, for in water use I have a T-Rex and really like it. Some guys prefer the 720i and others the Russian Starv scoops. Having looked at all three I have no doubt any of them would work fine. I prefer the more rounded point of the T-Rex. I have not treated my T-Rex very well. It has pried rocks, clay, muck, and gravel and shows no sign of wear or bending. I am quite happy with it. One thing to consider is that all three of these have wooden handles that float and I find that important because if you drop the scoop the handle floats so it can easily be picked up. They also have the 20 degree handle that makes in water recovery much easier in my opinion. Now in all fairness I have not tried one without the 20 degree handle, but I can't see how it would work as well. These are heavier scoops so I recommend them for in water use. For dry beach sand I use my T-Rex but gotta admit a nice light weight aluminum would be nice.

Ronzie, after using a Tesoro you learn that one doesn't really need a display screen. Now maybe someday I might want to try one, but at present there is not much more info I need that the Tesoro can't give me. I can tell by clean tone from two directions that coin probability is really high with my cherry pick disc setting. I can tell if the target is coin sized once I pinpoint "x" over the target. Also with the coil centered over the target I can wiggle from side to side to see if it is a small target. If the target is not coin sized I move on. I can get depth info from the loudness of the audio or I can simply raise my coil up while sweeping over the target. I very seldom touch the disc because I am usually set to cherry pick with the disc just short of zinc penny. Occasionally I will move disc. up to rule out a penny and confirm dime, quarter, or half. The best part of the Tesoro's is target separation. In a trashy area when I start getting clicks, pops, and clipped audio I slow my swing speed way down and take my time working the trash until I pull out the nice clean coin tone. I love trashy areas because I find a lot of coins there. I can only imagine a detector with a display would be jumping all over the place and that if you hunted from a display and did not use your audio you would miss targets. I assume some of the coins I find in trashy areas have been missed by others.

The bottom line in my book is Tesoro's for less money can compete with a lot of the much higher priced detectors and in some cases probably beat them. I'm not knocking the higher end detectors, I just think the prices on them are too high for my taste and probably will always be. After using my Tesoro's it would be impossible to convince me to spend a thousand or more on a detector. My Silver uMax is an incredible detector for $250. I am sure it won't go head to head with some of the big boys, but for the price it constantly amazes me at how well it works. When I look at prices on the outlaw, tejon, and vaqureo I can't believe how much detector you can get for such a fair price.

 

[Scanman]

Thanks for the info rainyday101, I looked at all 3, and they all look pretty tough, but it looks like most models have a 45 degree angle? are they designed for diving? look to be more of a push forward scoop action? or used in conjunction with your foot on dry sand? do you have trouble finding wooden poles that can take the abuse? Sorry for all the questions, I have not stepped foot inside a detector store in a long time, and have not seen many scoops besides the one I have.

I found the one I have, not sure who makes it, its pretty tough but heavy, and probably not the best for diving.

https://abprospecting.com/?q=node/562

The scoop is close to 90 deg. and I mostly use a downward scoop action.

Edit: correction, the scoop is not 90 deg. its 45 toward the scoop.

 

[rainyday101]

Scanman, those 3 have the handle offset 20 degrees. When I am wading and find a target I get my coil centered over the target and settle the coil on the bottom. Then place the scoop tip at the back of the coil. Move the coil out of the way. Push the handle way forward so the scoop is going straight down into the the bottom at that point right behind the coil. Step on the scoop pushing it straight down. Now pull the handle back while still pushing on the scoop with your foot. You will now be scooping the bottom directly below you coil. Pull back on the handle and lift scoop. This might seem odd, but when you push the scoop straight down behind the coil with the handle pushed all the way forward you are getting your depth. When you pull the handle back while still pushing you are moving the scoop under the coil at that depth. If you had your coil centered over the target the target should now be in your scoop unless it is deeper. Sometimes you can end up chasing a pull tab that washes out of the scoop when lift the scoop.

It is important to get a scoop with lots of holes so that it drains quickly.

I have never snapped a wooden handle yet and I am tough on mine using it as a pry bar sometimes.

I don't think any of these would work well for diving. These are for recovering targets while wading in the water and can also be used on the beach. This is what I think you'd need for diving: sand scoop

The one you show in your link will not hold up for wading in rivers and lakes because you have to step on the back of it to push it in. It is just screen mesh there.

There is often debate over pointed tip scoops vs. round tip scoops like the T-Rex. I was going to buy a 720i until a water hunter from Michigan told me not to because in areas with harder bottoms they tip to the side when you step on them. If the tip of the scoop is on something hard like clay, gravel, or rock when you put your foot on it and push it in it can tip/roll to the side if your foot is not pushing directly over the center of the tip. These pointed tips in my opinion are well suited for soft bottoms. Because the T-Rex is more rounded it is a lot more forgiving on rolling to side it your foot placement is not perfect. You have to remember that areas that look sandy to you often have hard pan clay, rocks or gravel just a few inches below the sand.

Now people that have a 720i or Starv love them so I guess it's just a matter of personal preference. I have looked at both of these two and gotta say they look like some mighty fine built scoops. Anyone of these 3 scoops would work fine. The only reason I chose the T-Rex was because of the opinion of an experienced fresh water hunter who hunted areas similar to me which are small lakes, rivers, and the great lakes. Like I say though, I am sure anyone of those 3 would work just fine for me.

 

[Scanman]

Thanks for all the detailed information, I think I would have no trouble now with the technique if I were to order one, really appreciate it!

I did not realize you step on the scoop, but that makes perfect sense if you are wading. I also have a better understanding of the high cost.

Would the T-Rex wet sand model be the one to get for MI lakes and rivers? and is the shaft threaded for the handle?

 

[rainyday101]

Yep you want the T-Rex wet sand and mine is the 8.5". They make a wider one that will work well too. Just remember a scoop of wet sand is heavy that is why I went smaller. When you lift the scoop the sand will immediately start sifting out so the scoop gets light real quick.

The bad thing abut the T-Rex is that you have to measure the diameter on the scoop and get a handle that diameter or larger and shape it down to size. I only had a Menards near by and was forced to get the larger handle and make it fit. If you google T-Rex reviews somewhere you will find that there is a handle at Home Depot or Lowes that is the exact size. I do believe the 720i is made in Michigan and has a lifetime warranty. Either way both of theses scoops would serve you well.

I know the price of a good scoop is a considerable added expense, but is the key to success. I started with a homemade scoop, it did the job but was miserable to use. By the time I was done modding it I had about $70 dollars into it and ended up throwing it in the garbage. Don't make the my mistake, get the good scoop right away!

 

[Scanman]

I am going to order a 720i with 1/2 holes and handle, thanks for all the advice and pointing me in the right direction.

 

[rainyday101]

I am sure you will be pleased with the 720i. Let us know how you like it.

 

[Scanman]

The are making changes to the 720i, I am on a waiting list to purchase, will post back with report.