Vista or Vaquero???

[gmcole]

I was all set on ordering a Tesoro Vaquero until I stumbled on the Vista ( Gold or Smart) . If I understand the two right, the Vista will only identify ferrous vs. non ferrous while the Vaquero will better predict the target (by thumbing the disc knob once a good target is found) Can someone help me with the pros and cons of each? By the way, I live in N.W. Ohio and my wife and I are just taking up the hobby. I think she will start with a Fisher F2 . I thought I would get something a bit more powerful etc. Thanks in advance for the opinions/advise etc.

Jeff in Ohio

 

[synthnut]

Hi Jeff,
Congrats on your intro to this great hobby ......Since you and the Mrs. are just starting out , perhaps a machine with a display might be in order ...... While both machines you speak of are great machines neither the Vaquero nor the Gold have a displey ....You will be going by tone alone .... This can be frustrating to even the most seasoned veterams in the hobby ..... There are machines out there with dispays that have plenty of bells and whistles to keep you etnertained for a long time to come ..... Once you have a better grasp on what's going on , you can move on to whatever machine you want to ..... The F2 is a nice choice for the Mrs , and you may want to consider an AT Pro or the like .....THe AT does everything well and is a light weight machine .....You could do a lot worse for the money .... You could outfit yourself , and the Mrs with aprons , hand shoels , and other gear for pretty close to $1,000 if you shop wisely ....Please understand that this is a suggestion only ....Only you know whates best for you .....There are a lot of machies to choose from ..Good Luck ......Jim

 

[amcjavelin]

my opinion only but start off with a tone machine and a good pair of head phones make a test bed from a penny to dime to nickel to nail brass shell cartridge and listen for the nuances of the machine play around with the disc displays for the most part will side track worse not only that pass up on possible potential good targets, also dig everything in the begging get acustm on how the tone works the bigger or longer the tone bigger the object nothing hard here here, the frustrating part is once you you start getting coins and want to score nickels and rings, tin foil will be the worst enemy becuase there in the same disc range, if more started with a tone machine then jumped with a TID machine being now more seasoned it will aid you on giving more info but concentrate on more listening to the sounds then looking at a screen, simplicity is where its at.

 

[GunnarMN]

I started off with a whites M-6 7 diffrent tones , VDI numbers and barr graphs, they work good for the shallow stuff but i found I liked to dig all things to get masked tagets so I moved to the single tone machines, plus lots of Items can mimick good items like a pop can, many pull tabs can number like a gold ring so in the end it came donw to Iron VS non Iron and in many casesi dig the iron to unmask coins, plus 75% of the time I can tell Iron from non Iron even with a single tone machine . if it was me that vista smart would be my pick over the vaq. but that just me .

 

[jimmyk]

Both are good choices. The Fisher F 2 is a great little machine for the money. Will hit coins down to 5 inches. I have one and have used it for years. Haven't had the AT Pro, but know guys who have and seen great reports on it. It's another machine that is a great value for the money. I know it's hard choosing. Hey, that's why you asked. Opinions are like belly buttons. We all have them. If you have a dealer that can demonstrate them, that would help you a lot. Good luck in your quest. Watch youtube videos to get a sense of what these machines can do..

jimmyk in Missouri

 

[gmcole]

Thanks for all the advise. As for the type of detecting we will be doing...I don't have a good anwser, we will start with the 1800's family homesite(house is gone) and see where the hobbie takes us. I want to get the equiptment that will give the hobby a chance. I live in N.W. Ohio if that makes a difference.
Thanks again-Jeff

 

[jimmyk]

The Vista is more suited to relics, as the discrimination wont go much higher than nails and smaller pieces of iron. Pretty good for old home sites. The AT Pro will be a more all around machine for both relics and coin hunting parks, school yards, yards, etc. Learning curve for a person new to the hobby would be pretty steep for the Vista. At Pro would be much easier to learn. Same with the F2. YOu might consider the F2 to start to see if the hobby suits you, although an old house site would be a bit much for the F2., depth=wise. Just some thoughts. Whatever machine you get, air test it with different types of objects. Coins, nails, pulltabs, rings (both silver and gold). Then throw a dozen coins out into a grassy area and hunt them down. You might even bury a couple at different depths to see what kind of signal you get. I do that with any new machine I get. Probably done it with a couple of dozen different machines since I started metal detecting 34 years ago. It's a fun hobby.

jimmyk in Missouri

 

[Tajue17]

I guess I'll comment on your 1st post and thats just get a vaquero and then head over to the tesoro forum or check the YT videos and learn to ground balance it and super tune it for some serious depth-- you will not be upset with the Tesoro.. I honestly don't know nothing about the vista but the vaquero has a lifetime warranty and the all the user reviews speak for themselves its 5 stars everywhere you look,, the machine is aweosme and I will never sell mine even though I'd like to try some others.. the fisher F2 my wife has one and it does have the display but for us here in the North east it can be a little jumpy at times but for the money it is a nice machine and even nicer with the sniper coil, if you do choose the fisher check out Digger27's posts he's done alot of posts on the F2 and nailed it on how the machine runs and for new users to the F2 his posts are very highly recommended,, if you choose the vaquero check out 53silver's YT vids and posts in the tesoro forums,,,,, I'm sure vista has someone too! I'm wondering about the blisstools which I also know nothing about..

 

[Jedi]

Wouldn't the Tejon be a closer comparison? I don't own either machine. Just curious after watching the you tube videos. That comparison test of all the flag ship detectors has me considering buying something new.

 

[Michlar]

A Minelab X-terra 305 is also a good metal detector to begin with.
Regards
Michael Larsen, Denmark

 

[KVM2]

There is no question about it. The Vista series may work best where there is just iron and good stuff. Add some other trash and the frustration index goes up ..I had the RG 750 and wish that there was a small coil available for it at the time...I just got tired of not being able to pin point accurately in trashy conditions , and virtually gave the machine away. I have a Vaquero , and one spot where I may actually buy a Vista to search the area...Can anyone give me an air distance on a Fifty dollar slug?. That not withstanding, an air distance on a $20 gold piece? Grass may be the deciding factor...So air distances are important...

 

[dan b]

My opinion: Displays talk you out of digging good targets. At least that's my experience. All the rings I have found have been with Tesoros. For me, machines with displays were good for clad hunting.

 

[SkiWhiz]

I can't comment on a DeepTech as I have never used one but I know that the Vaquero is a very good detector as all Tesoro's are. Nothing wrong with the F2 but I would check out the Teknetic's Eurotek Pro, I had one and they are an amazing little detector especially for the the price.