Vaquero discrimination

[BillF]

It's just been recently. Like you say, probably because the soil is more moist and I think maybe I haven't gone deep enough to break the halo.

The V is supposed to be good for coins or relics. Rusty iron falls into that category and is probably why it hits so hard. Usually when I dig a plug and rescan the hole, if my signal disappears I flip my plug back over and move on. Lately though that isn't happening, I continue getting a good signal, get excited there's a coin in the hole and end up pulling a small very thin nail out. It's quite frustrating.

I have noticed this randomly, but only in the last couple of months. Only thing I can think of is the ground here is soaked due to continious rainfall During dry spells I dont have this problem.

 

[BarryL]

Hence is what I have been reading about I have read so much about the vaq I am seeing so many different opinions on it It has Confused me to no end I read about the depth capabilitys and alsoo That it will not Disc out Nails at all Was thinking of trading a Cortes for one but have almost convinced myself it would not be a good trade on my part since I hunt a lot of old homesteads which are Iron infested for sure in Texas I see them being sold on the classifieds a lot as well as the cibolas the one I dont see at all for sell is the Outlaw . I have a Shadow X2 and know it very well enough to pretty well never dig a Pulltab even without the coin check being used . I am not a Meter person hence wanting to trade the Cortes I bought to try it because I found myself looking at the screen to much but may just decide to keep it and try to forget it has a readout So confusion has fried what little brain cells I have left LOL and really want to get down to one main machine to learn and use my Shadow as backup

 

[DigDugNY]

Hence is what I have been reading about I have read so much about the vaq I am seeing so many different opinions on it It has Confused me to no end I read about the depth capabilitys and alsoo That it will not Disc out Nails at all Was thinking of trading a Cortes for one but have almost convinced myself it would not be a good trade on my part since I hunt a lot of old homesteads which are Iron infested for sure in Texas I see them being sold on the classifieds a lot as well as the cibolas the one I dont see at all for sell is the Outlaw . I have a Shadow X2 and know it very well enough to pretty well never dig a Pulltab even without the coin check being used . I am not a Meter person hence wanting to trade the Cortes I bought to try it because I found myself looking at the screen to much but may just decide to keep it and try to forget it has a readout So confusion has fried what little brain cells I have left LOL and really want to get down to one main machine to learn and use my Shadow as backup

From what I had to learn for myself and through experience, some of the issues people have is that they just aren't used to the way the Vaquero works. I wouldn't base your decision solely on everything you've been hearing and reading. I was jumping to conclusions myself and then when I started learning it, I found a Walking Liberty Half dollar, two silver dimes, two tokens, and some other cool stuf...and this was all in the same area of a foundation where a house burnt down. I've dug my fair share of nails but they were really rusty and old and a lot of detectors can have issues with this, but imagine how much masking goes on in these types of areas. You gotta remove the trash to get to the treasure, and the Vaquero will really help you out in the depth area. Plus The Vaquero does have a pretty decent target separation if you detect slow. You cant rush with it and swing wicked fast.. I think people have depth issues because they are still understanding the ground balance and sometimes the mineralization changes right in the same area and they dont check it. Plus, it could be that their coils are out of tune. I sent both my stock coil and my 5.75 coil back and they both needed to be re-tuned which is a rare thing I am told. Usually, if anything, it would only be one coil. I wouldn't count it out right away

 

[MarkCZ]

Most of all Iron discrimination controls will not take out all Iron, most is set to take out smaller out at there full setting, which will not disc out a hub cap, water meter cover, railroad spikes, ect.. A small nail isn't a problem, but in the right soil conditions and a lot of rust and a LARGE halo then that small nail isn't small anymore, in fact it becomes a much larger piece of Iron, easily two to three times larger, so it moves from the small Iron range into large iron.
With my other Detectors,
Omega,
Coinstrike,
ID Edge,
CZ,
Whites 5900,
it doesn't matter how high I set the disc, rusty iron becomes a problem and I've dug more than my share it with all of them! (yes, higher disc setting lets me pass over a lot of them, but rusty enough and a lot of them and its digging time or time or time to move on)

I think that places like old farm sites is great for detectors like the Fisher 1200 series (Tejon's) and that's just to say detectors that are geared towards finding rusty barn door hinges (A Relic Hunter's Paradise) to which a coin shooter would turn their nose up to. So, when we take are coin hunter detectors into an Iron laden farm site (especially around the barns or shed areas) we have transitioned from public populated "coin shooting areas" to a Relic Hunters dream spot and they get off on rusty barn door hinges. I don't understand it, but I don't have to, I just need to except that that's the way they are wired.
In my mind If I move into a relic's hunters site I would try to keep my senses and work outside the worst Iron laden areas and then move in towards them unearthing the iron as I go, a large iron halo will many times hide smaller good targets anyway.
Relic hunters pretty much find everything, I know as a coin shooter I've left a lot of good stuff over the years.

Some people are more multi-talented then others in a lot of ways including metal detecting and some of us don't fair to well outside of coin shooting areas, I think its easier for a relic hunter to hunt a coin shooting area than it is the other way around, I mean relic hunters dig everything no matter where they hunt, a coin shooter wants to work around the rusty barn door hinges.

Mark

 

[BarryL]

Hence is what I have been reading about I have read so much about the vaq I am seeing so many different opinions on it It has Confused me to no end I read about the depth capabilitys and alsoo That it will not Disc out Nails at all Was thinking of trading a Cortes for one but have almost convinced myself it would not be a good trade on my part since I hunt a lot of old homesteads which are Iron infested for sure in Texas I see them being sold on the classifieds a lot as well as the cibolas the one I dont see at all for sell is the Outlaw . I have a Shadow X2 and know it very well enough to pretty well never dig a Pulltab even without the coin check being used . I am not a Meter person hence wanting to trade the Cortes I bought to try it because I found myself looking at the screen to much but may just decide to keep it and try to forget it has a readout So confusion has fried what little brain cells I have left LOL and really want to get down to one main machine to learn and use my Shadow as backup

From what I had to learn for myself and through experience, some of the issues people have is that they just aren't used to the way the Vaquero works. I wouldn't base your decision solely on everything you've been hearing and reading. I was jumping to conclusions myself and then when I started learning it, I found a Walking Liberty Half dollar, two silver dimes, two tokens, and some other cool stuf...and this was all in the same area of a foundation where a house burnt down. I've dug my fair share of nails but they were really rusty and old and a lot of detectors can have issues with this, but imagine how much masking goes on in these types of areas. You gotta remove the trash to get to the treasure, and the Vaquero will really help you out in the depth area. Plus The Vaquero does have a pretty decent target separation if you detect slow. You cant rush with it and swing wicked fast.. I think people have depth issues because they are still understanding the ground balance and sometimes the mineralization changes right in the same area and they dont check it. Plus, it could be that their coils are out of tune. I sent both my stock coil and my 5.75 coil back and they both needed to be re-tuned which is a rare thing I am told. Usually, if anything, it would only be one coil. I wouldn't count it out right away

Well said and I understand Thanks

 

[wheatymike]

I dug a really rusty nail yesterday that gave off a good signal with the Vaquero. It does signal on some iron in the ground but not all. Most all of the iron signals i get, I can tell are not a good target by the sound of the signal.

 

[atomicscott]

Hence is what I have been reading about I have read so much about the vaq I am seeing so many different opinions on it It has Confused me to no end I read about the depth capabilitys and alsoo That it will not Disc out Nails at all Was thinking of trading a Cortes for one but have almost convinced myself it would not be a good trade on my part since I hunt a lot of old homesteads which are Iron infested for sure in Texas I see them being sold on the classifieds a lot as well as the cibolas the one I dont see at all for sell is the Outlaw . I have a Shadow X2 and know it very well enough to pretty well never dig a Pulltab even without the coin check being used . I am not a Meter person hence wanting to trade the Cortes I bought to try it because I found myself looking at the screen to much but may just decide to keep it and try to forget it has a readout So confusion has fried what little brain cells I have left LOL and really want to get down to one main machine to learn and use my Shadow as backup

From what I had to learn for myself and through experience, some of the issues people have is that they just aren't used to the way the Vaquero works. I wouldn't base your decision solely on everything you've been hearing and reading. I was jumping to conclusions myself and then when I started learning it, I found a Walking Liberty Half dollar, two silver dimes, two tokens, and some other cool stuf...and this was all in the same area of a foundation where a house burnt down. I've dug my fair share of nails but they were really rusty and old and a lot of detectors can have issues with this, but imagine how much masking goes on in these types of areas. You gotta remove the trash to get to the treasure, and the Vaquero will really help you out in the depth area. Plus The Vaquero does have a pretty decent target separation if you detect slow. You cant rush with it and swing wicked fast.. I think people have depth issues because they are still understanding the ground balance and sometimes the mineralization changes right in the same area and they dont check it. Plus, it could be that their coils are out of tune. I sent both my stock coil and my 5.75 coil back and they both needed to be re-tuned which is a rare thing I am told. Usually, if anything, it would only be one coil. I wouldn't count it out right away

Well said and I understand Thanks

All very good info, but it doesn't negate the fact that they were able to use a great disc circuit in the Compadre. After trying both the Vaq and Compadre back to back in a wash/rusty trash pit of a chinese RR camp, I can say I've had much less probs with disc'ing iron with the Compadre, than I have with the V. You can stick a shovel anywhere in this area and hit some kind of rusty bucket, tin can or 1x2 ft. piece of rusty sheet metal so it is a VERY difficult area to hunt, and I imagine most detectors would have a tough time with it. I was still able to pull a couple of small (dime sized) brass clothing rivets (good coin signals) out of all this rusty iron with the Vaq. I would be happier though if the disc on the Vaq worked as well it does on the Compadre.

 

[BarryL]

Smokey after reading all the replys on this Thread and beating my head against the wall to understand them all there is only one solution! I am going to get one and make myself learn it at 60 yrs old and see what It will do in my soil conditions and my hunting style This is one long Thread and lots of good points but some are starting to get down right Testy in their replys LOL Anyway thanks for the PM on your opinion on it and Hopefully I will make the Vaq work for me

 

[smokey63]

Smokey after reading all the replys on this Thread and beating my head against the wall to understand them all there is only one solution! I am going to get one and make myself learn it at 60 yrs old and see what It will do in my soil conditions and my hunting style This is one long Thread and lots of good points but some are starting to get down right Testy in their replys LOL Anyway thanks for the PM on your opinion on it and Hopefully I will make the Vaq work for me

No problem Barry, one thing about this thread is there is some useful info posted on it. The best thing about the Vaquero or any other Tesoro is in most cases if you are not happy with it you can sell it or trade it with minimal loss and then try something else. I am sure the Vaquero is not for everyone, but it works for me and seems like the majority of other folks that posted here also. I wish you luck with it and I am sure all the other folks here wish you the same.

 

[atomicscott]

Smokey after reading all the replys on this Thread and beating my head against the wall to understand them all there is only one solution! I am going to get one and make myself learn it at 60 yrs old and see what It will do in my soil conditions and my hunting style This is one long Thread and lots of good points but some are starting to get down right Testy in their replys LOL Anyway thanks for the PM on your opinion on it and Hopefully I will make the Vaq work for me

No problem Barry, one thing about this thread is there is some useful info posted on it. The best thing about the Vaquero or any other Tesoro is in most cases if you are not happy with it you can sell it or trade it with minimal loss and then try something else. I am sure the Vaquero is not for everyone, but it works for me and seems like the majority of other folks that posted here also. I wish you luck with it and I am sure all the other folks here wish you the same.

The Vaquero's disc worked great for me today! I was out at a local high school and was popping coins out left and right. I dug 53 targets, 29 being coins (including a washington $1 coin) and a piece of old costume jewelry, 25 targets were trash; pull tabs (hoping to find that gold!) pencil ferrules and other things in the pulltab range. The 5.75 DD coil pinpoints so precisely with the heel & toe method, I was able narrow down many targets to within 1 inch! I was able, in many cases, to cut a slit with the Lesche and pop the target right out. The Vaquero is really a great machine, it just doesn't prefer iron infested sites (or it loves iron infested sites depending on your POV, lol).

 

[DigDugNY]

Smokey after reading all the replys on this Thread and beating my head against the wall to understand them all there is only one solution! I am going to get one and make myself learn it at 60 yrs old and see what It will do in my soil conditions and my hunting style This is one long Thread and lots of good points but some are starting to get down right Testy in their replys LOL Anyway thanks for the PM on your opinion on it and Hopefully I will make the Vaq work for me

No problem Barry, one thing about this thread is there is some useful info posted on it. The best thing about the Vaquero or any other Tesoro is in most cases if you are not happy with it you can sell it or trade it with minimal loss and then try something else. I am sure the Vaquero is not for everyone, but it works for me and seems like the majority of other folks that posted here also. I wish you luck with it and I am sure all the other folks here wish you the same.

The Vaquero's disc worked great for me today! I was out at a local high school and was popping coins out left and right. I dug 53 targets, 29 being coins (including a washington $1 coin) and a piece of old costume jewelry, 25 targets were trash; pull tabs (hoping to find that gold!) pencil ferrules and other things in the pulltab range. The 5.75 DD coil pinpoints so precisely with the heel & toe method, I was able narrow down many targets to within 1 inch! I was able, in many cases, to cut a slit with the Lesche and pop the target right out. The Vaquero is really a great machine, it just doesn't prefer iron infested sites (or it loves iron infested sites depending on your POV, lol).

Sounds like a good hunt man, good job. You can definitely see a difference between the targets you can find at parks and high schools compared to some iron infested places, but sometimes those iron sites just need to be cleared out if you have the time. The Vaquero is definitely awesome