Top end Tesoro detectors comparison Help

[Benjamin52]

Hi, Everyone.
Have owned an Ace 250 for about 2 years, I really like the hobby and am thinking about getting an upgrade. The Tesoro machines really convince me, I like the simplicity and accuracy everyone talks about as well as manual ground balance plus getting rid of the annoying Bell-tone of my Ace 250 and the inaccurate Target ID display, which doesn't identify much anyways. (Although The Ace 250 is still a cool starter-machine IMO and I even found a gold ring with it once)

Anyways, I decided to go with Tesoro for a better machine this time and I`m looking at the 3 higher-end machines.

On the one website I plan on buying from the prices were as follows:

Cortés around 720$
Lobo around 680$
Tejón around 590$


So could anyone shed light on this matter and help me describe the pros and cons of these machines? What do they excel at? Is there anything one can do better than the others?

I live in Taiwan right now and am probably mainly going to hunt for Jewelry in Parks and occasionally be able to go to tourist beaches and also mountain creeks for some nugget hunting maybe? (If that is possible with these machines)

I heard the Tejón goes really deep and also I can see the Cortés is the only one of these 3 with a display, which I actually don`t think I will be needing so maybe I would pay money for nothing with the Cortés because i actually want more of a manual machine and get to learn the tones and all...

Also, would I maybe be overkilling with these machines for my needs? Would a Vaquero or Deleón maybe be good enough? (Although money is not an object right now, I saved enough for any of the 3 better Tesoro machines and want the best possible one)

Well, that's it, can`t wait to read your expert opinions.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Of the three you list, the Lobo Super Traq is a true gold nugget hunter, and it also has the ability to discriminate. Unfortunately, because it is built primarily as a nugget hunter, it runs at 17.9kHz making it very sensitive to big iron even when discriminating. I used it as a coin and jewelry shooter for a year and did very well with it, but I dug a lot of junk and was not happy with my depth when in Discrimination mode (where it goes into a preset ground balance). As a gold nugget detector in All Metal mode, it is one of the best on the market.

I got the Tejon and found it was a very deep machine when discriminating, but at 17.2kHz it is still VERY sensitive to big deep iron. As a deep silver and relic machine it is fantastic in woods and in farm fields, but in trash filled parks and urban areas it is just too much machine. It is very specialized in that it works best when using fairly low discrimination in low trash areas.

I went back to the Vaquero (14.3kHz) for my park and sports field coin and jewelry shooting, and found it to be a much more satisfying machine for everyday coin and jewelry detecting in these situations. You can use very little discrimination and hunt gold, or turn it way up and just look for silver without losing much depth at all.

With all of this said, if I were you I would seriously consider the Tesoro Outlaw (10.6kHz) with its three-coil package. This way you would have a machine that you could use in just about any situation with a 5.75" Concentric coil; an 8" Concentric coil; and a 12" Double D coil. Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water.

While all of these machines will work fine in the DRY SAND at the beach, none of them work well in wet Saltwater sand as they are all single-frequency VLF machines. If you want to be a wet sand and saltwater hunter, you'll need a pulse induction machine like the Tesoro Sand Shark, or a multi-frequency VLF like the Fisher CZ 21, or the Minelab Excalibur.

 

[Cariboo5]

I have and used the Vaquero for many years and because of it's never fail service for me and my detecting places I can recommend this as an all round model. I have found relics, coins, (toy cars at 11 inches in sand) and also many bottle caps, nails etc. Where we dig is mostly old ghost towns. Not only around the visible foundations, but the garbage pile is a excellent spot as well....

I also just got in the Lobo Super Traq and am at this point waiting for the snow to melt to go try it out. I will use this in All Metal Mode at all times as the area I will be detecting on is old known and past producer placer creek and I want it to pick up all the iron it can as these may be axes, pick heads and possibilities of other old hand mining equipment to show evidence of where the early miners were working...

Tesoro to me is and always has been a good brand (never had to use any repairs service) as the machines did what they were built for.
What is boils down to: "What is primary use"............If money is not an issue, Tesoro have the machines the would afford you to get 2 like I have and for me the Big Bonus of that is that when the grandson comes along he uses the Vaquero and I the Lobo Super Traq.

The biggest and best issue here is that we get time to spend together doing what we enjoy.............

 

[Benjamin52]

Thank you very much for your opinions.

From what I can see now and after looking at the link you gave me, Terry I can see that the Lobo would be more of a nugget Hunter, the Tejón more of a relic machine and the Cortés more of a coin machine (that is also the information from the Tesoro website).

My question would now be, why would the Cortés be so expensive? Is it the Display or is it really worth the price?

After reading your opinions I can see that maybe all 3 machines would be frustrating to use in parks with occasional trash and or iron fences, benches, etc which would all be made of iron and make the hunt really frustrating.

So are really none of these machines suitable for park jewelry/coin-hunting AND also occasional trips to the mountains for some gold hunting?

Should I really consider the Vaquero or Outlaw over these high-end machines since they seem to be more of the all-round type?

If yes, which one of the two would be better for my situation as they are similar in price..

Thank you again.

 

[AU_Solitude]

Just a heads up, I see there is a used cortes on ebay right now with a buy it now of $480.00

 

[Davers]

IMO
Sounds like the Outlaw,With the coils will be your best deal.

But the 'User " can make almost any machine work in many situations .
Good Luck

 

[Benjamin52]

Just a small remark: I`m German and no relatives are planning on travelling to the states this year like when I got my Ace, so ebay and American dealers will probably not be available for me now, I am forced to buy it from an expensive German dealer when I visit my country in Summer, so that sucks...
You lucky people i U.S.A. with Kellyco and all the other dealers and manufactures...

 

[Hobojo]

I concur with Dr.* Soloman. The Outlaw is the prescription for what ails you.




* this does mean that he is an actual doctor nor does he play one on TV ( Dr. Of All things Tesoro).
Peace.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Yes, I would go with the Outlaw!

 

[Benjamin52]

Hmm thanks for the opinions,

I must say tho that I did some research and seems like the Vaquero is actually deeper than the Outlaw and more sensible to smaller things while about the same price, I hear almost only good things about the Outlaw, but everyone who compares it to the Vaquero says the Vaquero is superior in depth and can do better than the Outlaw, plus it has 3 higher frequencies to switch, so any real advantage the Outlaw has over the Vaquero? (Not counting the 3-coil pack because my dealer in Germany doesn`t offer that anyway)
Thanks guys!

 

[Benjamin52]

Oh, I just stumbled over an interview with a Tesoro official talking about the launching of the Outlaw back when it was released and he says:

"The Outlaw has a retune all-metal mode (instantly retunes your threshold and helps out tremendously with pinpointing) which the Vaquero does not have, and it has a multi-function push button that when you push half way in puts you in a no-motion all-metal mode for you to pinpoint."

So the Outlaw would be more accurate at pinpointing, but less deep he also mentions... I don`t know if that is really going to be that important, since the Vaquero can also pinpoint and after finding the target it is just a question of time before I will dig it out anyway, plus if I have a pin-pointer, it will not be important, so I´d rather get that depth and maybe find one or another target with the Vaquero that the Outlaw might miss, what do you think?

 

[Hobojo]

As I am new to this hobby and have ONLY used Tesoro machine I cant really be very objective when it comes to other manufactures but, what experience I have with both the Outlaw and the Vaquero has led me to prefer the Outlaw by ONLY a very slim margin. If I was more experienced I might prefer the Vaquero . When it comes to the Outlaw I really like the tone of the machine better than the Vaquero. Also the ability to move the toggle switch instead of moving the DISC knob as on the Vaq is helpful . The Outlaw has an All metal mode that does not require the operator to have to move the coil back and forth over the target , this along with a very accurate pinpoint mode in the all metal mode makes finding a target very easy. It also has an all metal AUTO mode(the coil must be moving) which allows you to have a pretty sensitive machine when you are not in the DISC mode. This comes in handy when your moving quickly through an area looking for targets. So the toggle switch between the modes is a nice feature.

The Vaquero is a very stable machine (sometimes the Outlaw gets to be chatty) and is deeper in all modes by a few inches. It has a funny quacking sound that drives me nuts, BUT it has a tone that gets higher in pitch the close you get to the target in ALL metal which is helpful. This helps the operator have some confidence as to how deep a target might be. Very faint tones usually mean the target is deeper in my experience. When using both machines I have found that the Outlaw can Disc out dimes and just get quarters (US). Where you can't with the Vaq. So the choice is yours. Both machines are easy to learn and use!!! I just like the Outlaw a little better, others may like the Vaq better.
Also the 10x12 DD coil for the Outlaw makes it as deep as the Vaq.
Peace.

 

[luvsdux]

I would be surprised if the Vaq finds smaller items than the Outlaw as I have retrieved some very small targets with other Tesoros in the Outlaw family. That said, if depth is your main criteria, go with the Vaq as it will give a bit more depth. Otherwise it or the Outlaw should work pretty well for you. I'd definitely stay with a machine with manual ground balance which both of those have.
BB

 

[Benjamin52]

Well, Thanks for all the great answers, I decided to go with the Vaquero, ordered it just now! I guess the Outlaw is also a great machine and I really heard the best about both machines, it was the fact that the Vaquero has a the depth and solid ground balance for some occasional nugget hunting in the mineralized mountains here in Taiwan that made me decide for the Vaquero, maybe some intuiton also and some very positive opinions I read about the machine here in the forum and in this thread.

Anyways, I heard from some local people that Chinese here usually buy 24k gold when they do and that's also the type of gold the shops here sell, and there sure are lots of people exercising in the parks in the morning, so that combination should make parks here in Taiwan a potential goldmine, so to speak well, we will see, I will keep you posted in the Tesoro section of this forum if there are any news.

Thanks for all the great answers. God bless you all.

 

[Pointman]

Just a small remark: I`m German and no relatives are planning on travelling to the states this year like when I got my Ace, so ebay and American dealers will probably not be available for me now, I am forced to buy it from an expensive German dealer when I visit my country in Summer, so that sucks...
You lucky people i U.S.A. with Kellyco and all the other dealers and manufactures...

Too bad you don't have someone here in the states purchase one and ship it to you. Unless someone here can find one used and cheap you may not even make out price wise on a detector.

I've had a few Tesoros' and I will rank them in order of which ones I lived best. I primarily coin shoot in good soil, but I have done a competition and relic hunted with them.

1. Vanquero (Good machine. Found relics with it. Moderately deep and simple. I would definitely have one if I didn't have so many more complicated machines already)
2. Cibola (simple, but not as many settings as the Vanquero and not as deep. I want another one)
3. Compradre (Good machine, bought for my daughters to use, so I haven't really used it)
4. Golden Umax (Like, but I haven't used it much, thus still haven't gotten adept at setting up the discrimination notching)
5. Cortes (I didn't like the readout which defeats the beauty of the Tesoro)

All were very fast machines. Probably faster then my AT Pro, but not as fast as the Deus.

 

[JR in Hohenwald TN.]

Don't rule out the Vaquero. I picked mine up for $279 used from a reputable dealer. Its sensitive enough to pickup percussion caps. I wish they'd of done the Outlaw in a 14.3-14.7khz instead of the 10khz. An outlaw in the 19khz would have been killer. There is a mod but you have to send it out of country to get 18khz. just imo.