Tesoro choice

[Skyhawk777]

I was just introduced to metal detecting this past Christmas with an entry level Bounty Hunter. I've done a lot of reading on the Tesoros and want to purchase one of their "more basic machines, either the Compadre or Silver Umax. Does the Umax really have any advantage over the Compadre with the separate sensitively dial or can they both do about the same? I live in Piedmont North Carolina with red clay being the most common soil (high iron content but didn't seem to bother my basic Bounty Hunter) and will mainly be coin and relic hunting.

Thanks for any advice.

 

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[pinenut]

Mojave.

 

[Welgund]

I agree the Mojave would be a better choice in your soil.

 

[Gary41]

We have highly mineralized soil in Oregon and my Mojave is working great. Operates very quiet in High mode. Someone on the forum recommended running the Mojave between 2 and 3 on sensitivity and that tip has proved to be a good one for me. I also have an Outlaw and I have to say I am picking up coins where I had gone over previously with the Outlaw. Being a newbie with not yet a year doing this great hobby I am soaking up the advice from forum members. Swinging the coil more slowly has also been good advice for me.

 

[Skyhawk777]

Thanks for the input guys. Interesting you have used the Outlaw Gary, and the Mojave picked up coins the Outlaw apparently had missed. I had put the Outlaw high on my list of detectors because of all of its features. Time to rethink.

 

[Gary41]

Skyhawk you said you would probably be doing mostly coin and relic hunting. Don't write off the Outlaw based on my experience. Like I said I am new to this hobby and learn more as I go along. Living in Oregon does not give me the opportunity to do much relic hunting. I would think the all metal mode of the Outlaw would be a big feature to have for relic hunting. I used all metal mode on the Outlaw while detecting a lake with low water shoreline and it worked great. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Mojave or Outlaw.

 

[Mo Diggins]

On the Low GB (which is about 1/2" deeper than High), my new Mojave is a 5-6" detector at best, air test or over ground. I covered my next door neighbor's 60 year old lawn that had just been mowed to 3" (set between 4 and 5 Sensitivity) and only got a couple of hits. His Kentucky Bluegrass is like most around here, fertilized by a lawn service and thick, so you can only sweep about an inch into it. I went back over it with my AT Pro and got dozens of hits--most reported six inches depth, some 8". But I got the Mojave as an alternative to a small AT Pro coil for trashy soil, so I can live with this. An Outlaw 3-coil is in my sights.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I suggest the Outlaw three-coil package if you can afford it, because it has manual ground balance capability. My second choice would be the Mojave, however, you'll need an additional, larger coil for hunting deeper than 6", and you'll have to send the machine and coil back to Tesoro to have the larger coil tuned to your machine.

 

[Stoof2010]

I always find stuff in areas I've gone over with other detectors lol.
I can run the outlaw, then run the compadre and find stuff, then run the outlaw again and find stuff.
It's more in my apparent inability to properly overlap my swings. With concentrics the overlaps have to be close and precise for the deeper targets.
I don't mind really.
I don't have much competition where I am, that I've seen. I'm sure many have hit my parks since the 70s, but I haven't ever seen another in my area running a metal detector. That's not to say they aren't. I just have never seen any lol

 

[Mo Diggins]

...It's more in my apparent inability to properly overlap my swings. With concentrics the overlaps have to be close and precise for the deeper targets.

This is why I like the Outlaw 3-coil pack with the 12x10 Widescan DD coil. You have the option to cover a lot of ground faster without so much overlap. The 5-pin 5.75 concentric that's so discerning in trash won't get as much depth on the Outlaw as the 4-pin version does on HOT Vaquero, so it's good to have the depth of the 8" concentric for general hunting. The concentrics pinpoint, discriminate, and ID better too. With the 3-pack, it's about the same price as buying one additional coil to add to the included one, and getting a coil free. Nice package.

Plus the Outlaw doesn't locate the switch where you can accidentally change it when thumbing the Disc knob, or when going back and forth between disc knob and push button. The Outlaw's retune/"pinpoint" button is in the middle like most other detectors... more intuitive if you use another.

 

[pinenut]

need to go slow..

I always find stuff in areas I've gone over with other detectors lol.
I can run the outlaw, then run the compadre and find stuff, then run the outlaw again and find stuff.
It's more in my apparent inability to properly overlap my swings. With concentrics the overlaps have to be close and precise for the deeper targets.
I don't mind really.
I don't have much competition where I am, that I've seen. I'm sure many have hit my parks since the 70s, but I haven't ever seen another in my area running a metal detector. That's not to say they aren't. I just have never seen any lol

I see the same thing. I can go back to the same areas I'd thought I did pretty well, and find more each time. Guess I get into too much of a hurry the first couple times and always leave something. I get a little discouraged too, if I only find clad.. Makes me just want to hurry more and get done with the area. The better stuff probably is down deeper but you need to go slower and be more careful to find it. So many new places to hunt though.. I'm going to another different one today and I'll probably rush through again...unless I start out finding older stuff.

 

[Skyhawk777]

I thank you all for the valuable advice. Your experiences and sharing your knowledge is making my experience with learning detecting very worthwhile. Also, this not being an advertisement I guess, Kellyco has the Outlaw with extra coils on sale. Not sure if it is new or a "demo" but it's @ 100.00 off retail. Thanks again for all of the advice. Still haven't decided which to get.

 

[Mo Diggins]

...Kellyco has the Outlaw with extra coils on sale. Not sure if it is new or a "demo" but it's @ 100.00 off retail.

There's MSRP, then there's Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) on new ones--the price everyone usually charges. If you call them, some of the smaller authorized sellers may give you a better "unadvertised" price. The one I'm looking at at Kellyco for $100 off is a used demo... that clearly states No Warranty. Without the Lifetime Warranty, it's at least $50 any time you would send it back for work.

 

[Terry Soloman]

You'll probably NEVER have to send it back, and you can get an excellent resale value on it if you decide to move to another make and model! Big Gold to you whatever you decide.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Skyhawk777,

IMHO, I would consider the Tesoro Outlaw with the three coil package. I tried an experiment this year, using only the Outlaw at my usual Playgrounds and Small Parks. So far, I've beaten both of my hunting partners with very high end machines on each of the hunts for jewelry (gold, silver and bling) and clad. Now I will admit the operator's experience as a detectorist plays a part with good detecting techniques will find more most of the time. That being said, the Outlaw is keeping up with the "big Boys" when detecting these sites (the other machines are deeper, but you will learn that isn't the most important feature for this application). I am not bashing any make or model as you can see from my listing I use many machines and all are excellent in specific areas of treasure hunting (coins, jewelry, relics and water). I feel the Outlaw just works best for this application. The discrimination of the machine is fantastic and pin pointing is dead on!

Regards,

Doc

 

[Honest Samuel]

I be out soon with my new Tesoro Majove.

 

[Stoof2010]

Yes I have to agree about the outlaw too.
It's the little brother of one of the most loved tesoros ever made, the bandido II micromax. I have both and it is a great detector. Plus with the three coil pack you're covered on all needs for the most part.

But if cost is an issue and your choice is between the compadre, silver and the Mojave, I think the Mojave is a great choice because of the ground switch and the 12khz. I still don't know if it's as hot on gold as the compadre, but it runs at the same frequency. That ground switch can make your day if you have bad ground.

 

[cammobunker]

And I do, indeed, have bad ground. The Compadre works great here in NW Arkansas, land of the hot rock. I've only got a few hours on my Mojave and it seems even quieter than the Compadre.

 

[Skyhawk777]

Thank you all for your valuable experienced input. Decisions, decisions! I think I will probably go with the Mojave after I get my tax refund; it's a little more versatile than the Compadre and as much as I would like to latch onto the Outlaw 3 coil deal, not enough $ in the budget. Of course, if I run across a good condition preowned Vaquero that would be great. Cannot go wrong with a Tesoro no matter the species. Thanks again for your time spent to better inform me.

Dave in NC

 

[Terry Soloman]

Don't be a stranger, and WATCH the classifieds here on TreasureNet!