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DeepTech

1st MD. Vaquero or Cibola?

J

JakRussll

New member
Another newbie here. I have spent countless hours doing research in this forum and others, and I have narrowed my search for my first MD to either the Cibola or the Vaquero. I really appreciate those of you who contribute your experiences and opinions. I am very fortunate. Also to the sponsors here, one of whom I will certainly trade with as my way of supporting this site.

My experience so far is 1 day out with a Garrett 1350. I was leaning towards a Tesoro before that day, and now I am certain of it. I did not enjoy the 1350 but tribute that solely to user inexperience. It has great reviews, but I was glad that I got to experience it before buying one. Though it has a wonderful display, I, like many of you, found myself following the audio alerts almost exclusively and disregarding the display.

I am trying to decide between the Cibola and the Vaquero. I seem to find confusing and conflicting views on the V. Some say the ground balancing is a snap and essential. Others say it is a hassle, constantly needing to reset it. I live in central Texas with decent soil. Our mineral deposits consist primarily of granite gravel which may be a factor here. I would like to step up to the V if it is clearly a better machine. "Better" meaning a significant success rate increase over the Cibola and at the same time relatively easy to use once I become familiar with it. Which one would you recommend? And any thoughts you may have on non-stock search coils available would also be helpful.

A penny for your thoughts please.

Jak
 
Hay jak,it looks like you have narrowed it down to two detectors,the vaquero and cibola are both all-terrain detectors,i am not recommending any detector here,because as soon as i do someone else is going to come along as blow that right out of the water,besides i have only the vq not the cibola,but the only difference in the two is the vaquero has manual ground balance and the cibola is pre set ground balance,were the manual ground balance can give an edge on depth by ground balancing yourself instead of using a detector that has pre set ground balance,alot of detectorist talk,the ones that probably have never used it,about how confusing it is,i assure you it is not difficult at all,it is this kind of talk that virtually almost made manual ground balance detectors extinct,the manual describes just how easy it is.i am liking the vaquero very much,and have made some good finds with it,but you know what i do not believe there is one best brand or model,all metal detectors are great in my book,it's all what you get comfortable with,the good thing about the vaquero is you can take it gold hunting! because you have the ability to manually ground balance the bad ground conditions found in most gold country!.Chucky.
 
jak, my advice to you would be go with the silver umax and take the money you saved from buying either a vaquero or cibola and invest it in some extra coils. i got a new cibola yesterday but don't have enough experience with it to give you any advice yet and i haven't used a vaquero before. i'm sure the vaq and cibola are great machines, but the silver umax is a sweet machine and so easy to use. if you read reviews on the silver umax and look at the posts here all you will see is great things about this little machine. it will discriminate very well in trashy areas and still let you get the good targets amongst the trash. you are less likely to be frustrated with a machine like the silver umax being new to the coin hunting game. good luck with whichever machine you decide on..........roger
 
Jak,
I have a Cibola and it is a wonderful detector. Was my first really good detector. After a couple of years with it I really wanted two more features on it:
1) manual ground balance adjust for the few times I was in bad ground or had areas of mineralized rocks where I wanted to ground balance to the rocks, and
2) the ability to lock it in all metal.

You get both of those features with the Vaquero.

Ground balancing is really not hard to do.

I currently have a number of detectors, most have a manual ground balance capability.

You can't miss with either detector; but I'd lean towards the Vaquero.
tvr
 
Even when I use a detector with a display, it's still all about audio first. If the audio don't get my attention, the display won't change my mind. That's where a detector without a display has a strong point. Probably too many try to rely on the display - I'll use a display as some additional second had info, but audio is the must for me.
My first Tesoro was the Cibola. I was impressed that other Tesoro's followed. I would have rather started with the Vaquero but it looked like at the time my son was going to use it a good bit and he is not into the ground balance thing. If the soil conditions aren't bad, the Cibola hits it's share. But for changing conditions and ground balance option, the Vaquero IMO is the way to go as long as the operator works it properly. The ground balance is easy and after getting a little used to it, becomes second nature without much thought. Both machines do well but the Vaquero should have the edge for the changing ground conditions as long as it's used correctly or you can suffer.
 
I would go with the V(might as well get the hang of the GB thing)., and if you got any money left...a 5.75 coil is mighty nice to have for the "congested" areas.
Good luck!
Russ/TN
 
IMO it becomes an issue of how much you want to "fiddle" with the detector and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. The older I get the less I like to interact with the detector. I prefer to turn on and go. I had an Infinium for awhile...a great machine but not a turn on and go like the Sand Shark I now use and prefer. I had a DFX for awhile...a great machine which I got pretty good at. It had lots of capability in terms of notching, tone adjust etc. I don't have the DFX anymore but if I did, it would be left behind in favor of the Cibola. I've never owned a Vaquero. I'm sure it is a great machine but you will have to take the time, even if it is less than a minute to find a clean spot to ground balance over and do the ground balancing. I think there are quite a few people on this forum that have modified their Cibola's for manual ground balancing. I'd be interested in hearing from them if they believe that "mod" has actually increased their find count.

Harvdog
 
I did the ground balance mod to my Cibola. I can't say I have an apples to apples comparison on finds before and after, so I won't make any claim of finding more since the mod. I can say that the Cibola was on the positive ground balance side nearly every where I hunted before the mod. Now I can balance it or I can tune out some hot rocks. I have hit a couple of deeper targets and then adjusted the ground balance more positive and lost the target. Readjusted and found it again. This is all in discriminate mode. So I know the ground balance has an affect. I don't think I can quantify the affect well. The pre-mod Cibola paid for itself in coins after about 1.5 years. I also got gold and silver jewelry with the pre-mod Cibola that I have not put values on.

Back to my 2 cents, both detectors are winners, and I'd lean towards the Vaquero if I were now looking at selecting between the two.

Harvdog does have a point in finding a good area to ground balance. Some places it is tough to find a clean spot.
tvr
 
I live in South Texas and have owned both of those detectors in the past.
I do a lot of beach hunting and both did an excellent job.
If possible I would recommend the Vaquero as it does offer ground balance and that will allow you to optimize the detector to the ground you are searching.
It will not be a night and day difference in performance but every little bit helps.

If you ever travel south contact me and lets go beach hunting.

William Lee 361-563-1303
Corpus Christi, Texas
 
If you can only work one into the budget for the near future, I'd go with the Vaq for the reasons mentioned thru this post. You can always add a Cibola or other model at a later date for a backup or extra. If you really get hooked by this crazy hobby, you'll probably end up with several or more machines eventually anyway, but the Vaq would be a good versatile machine from the git go,
HH
BB
 
I have the Vaquero and a Tejon and both are easy to ground balance. Once you do it a couple times, it just becomes second nature. Getting a manual ground balance will give you the ability to hunt pretty much anywhere. I would say the Vaquero myself. Good luck and let us know what you end up with. :beers:
 
:tesoro:Get a grip,i sold a soveriegn the VQ is way better than any thing,better get one heard they are going quick,some foreign dude was on u-tube air testing a coin on a rail road iron tie,it worked perfect!,chuck it out,I'm taking my V gold hunten! getten to hot down here in Chucktown,SC.You got a whole treasure hunten outfit packed in that book bag boy!,guess which one dad!.Chucky.
 
Sure looks like the Vaquero has the popular opinion edge.

Two more quick opinions please.

High tone or Low tone?

Also, the Concentric or the DD 5 3/4" coil?

Thanks for your replys.

Jak
 
It looks like the Vaquero is the forum's pick so far.

Would you go with High Tone or Low Tone?

Also, if I go ahead and get the 5 3/4" coil. Concentric or DD?


Many, many thanks folks.

Jak
 
I appreciate all the responses.

What do you think about high tone vs the low tone?

Concentric or DD 5 3/4" disc?

Thanks

Jak
 
Thanks everyone. I am going with the Vaquero which is the room favorite.

Any parting thoughts on the high tone vs the low tone?

I appreciate it.

Jak
 
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