I miss my old Vaquero

[CoinShooter-Craig]

I sold off my detectors a few years ago for a couple reasons. #1 - The detecting laws in Wisconsin suck. #2 - Not much time to detect because of work. #3 - Funds were / are tight being a single income of four (for almost 9 years).

Of all the detectors that I used to own, I had the most fun using my old grey Vaquero. Here is a quick story that I'd like to share about it.

I detected my grand parents property up North (Wisconsin) which is now owned by my Aunt with the Vaquero a few years back. After a couple hours of detecting I had found 8 silver dimes (6 Rosies and 2 Mercs), and a dozen or so Wheaties. A few months later my buddy came up to visit me and he brought up his Minelab SE Pro. I figured that I'd take him up to my grand parents property thinking that I must have missed out on some deep coins or coins on edge. He didn't find any coins - my Vaquero cleaned them all out. I was shocked!

My youngest daughter wants a detector because her cousin got a bounty hunter for a gift, so I decided to get her a Compadre (which I am ordering early next week, and am sure that I will barrow on occassion). My wife just finished school and passed her certification for a medical assistant, so hopefully she can find a job sometime soon so we can get re-cooped a bit. I'm hoping down the road after we get re-cooped to pick up a used black Vaquero. How does that new style coil on the black ones compare to the old style coil on the greys?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[Herb Jones]

Kinda surprised no one has jumped on this, so I'll chime in.... There are two versions of the compadre being sold now... a 5.75" coiled and an 8" coiled. Aside from that they are the same...I am kinda new to the compadre detector, but I can say this. The 5.75" is a very decent coil. It is small enough to maneuver into tight spots. The 8" obviously covers more ground with each sweep, and I believe (from what I have read) that you may gain another inch or so of depth.... I can hit coins @ 6" with the 5.75" coiled version in my test bed, as well as out in the real world.... , but that is its limit...I can honestly say that if I were to fall into the same situation of having to sell off those rigs that I own, the compadre would be the last I sold... i can't imagine the small amount of $$$ I could get for it if I sold it would make any significant change in any cash crunch.... to the contrary, it's cheap entertainment, and that exactly what anyone who is behind the 8 ball financially needs.... an inexpensive distraction... it is easy to look around on here and find numerous stories of guys sporting high end machines, as well as compadres simultaneously.... just a few days ago, someone had a similar story of running a nice rig and then rechecking with a compadre and finding coins the high end machine had missed somehow. I don't really care to dig plugs much over 6" on any public property. Good to know young folks, especially girls are being turned on to the hobby. It's a crazy world for kids today, nice knowing some are being turned on to the simple pleasures of the great outdoors... & I have only met 1 female that ever was into detecting... the chics I know have no hobbies, unless texting, snap chatting, tweeting, etc. are hobbies. Between the two of you, I am positive you will get many happy, fun, exciting times... good luck... by the way, if I had to choose and it were my only detector, I'd buy the 8". The only disadvantage would be a minuscule amount of weight, and a slight reduction of tight places that could be checked...I'd trade that off for a touch more coverage and 15-20% more depth. Bottom line is they are really hot little, light weight, machines, and the discrimination and recovery speed works wonderfully

 

[jld66]

I have the older gray vaquero. Bought the 11x8 coil for it a year after it came out. But, if I only had to have one coil for it, i'd take the stock 8x9. As far as color, there is no difference between them I have read.

 

[HaroldILL.]

I hear yeah about Detecting Laws as Illinois is the same way. I seriously considered leaving the Hobby after 17 years. But thined the heard for now. I am shocked some people still have public property to detect. Hobby went mainstream it killed it for My area and a lot of places eventhough most don't want to admit it. Some days I still think I will just sell My 3 and leave. Sorry to be negative But That's way it is in Cook County.

 

[CoinShooter-Craig]

I hear yeah about Detecting Laws as Illinois is the same way. I seriously considered leaving the Hobby after 17 years. But thined the heard for now. I am shocked some people still have public property to detect. Hobby went mainstream it killed it for My area and a lot of places eventhough most don't want to admit it. Some days I still think I will just sell My 3 and leave. Sorry to be negative But That's way it is in Cook County.

Thanks for the replys.

In Northerm Wisconsin I am surrounded by National Forests and lakes with beaches and am not allowed to detect any of it. Pretty disheartning. The last beach that I detected a few years back (it didn't have any sign saying no detecting allowed) I had a pouch full of trash that I dug up, and a lot of the trash were dangerous, sharp or pointy metal items and I only found a buck or two in change and some matchbox cars. A warden came up to me and told me that I had to show her what I found and that I was breaking the law and that she could ticket me, but let me off with a warning. I showed her all of the dangerous items that I removed from the beach and shallow water (fish hooks, sinkers, nails, screws, sharp can lids, ect...) and said that most detectorists bring a bag to remove the trash that they dig up. She said that she appreciated the trash removal, but if she saw me detecting any lakes in the area I would be ticketed. Kinda took my heart out of it for me.

I figured since my daughter wants a detector and there are still a few places that we can detect together that I would go for the Compadre. I would have a hard time spending big money on a detector again with so much of the land / water in my area being illegal to detect on. I really enjoyed metal detecting even though I never had any big dollar finds. Heck - I got enjoyment digging up wheat pennies! My best finds were a couple silver half dollars (3 Walking Liberty & 1 Frankilin), A few silver quarters (only 1 was a standing liberty with the date worn off - the rest were Washingtons), a lot of silver dimes (both Mercury and Rosevelts), A few Buffalo and Wartime Nickles, several Indian Head pennies and dozens of Wheat Pennies. I did dig up a Dog Tax Tag from a nearby town dated 1917 in my dad's yard that I got $90 for on eBay. I found a couple silver rings, but never got the glint of real gold in a hole. I probably would kick over if I ever did. Regardless, I just enjoyed the excitement of not knowing what the singnal was until I dug it up, and just getting outdoors and the exercise that came along with it.

 

[pinenut]

Thanks for the replys.

In Northerm Wisconsin I am surrounded by National Forests and lakes with beaches and am not allowed to detect any of it. Pretty disheartning. The last beach that I detected a few years back (it didn't have any sign saying no detecting allowed)...

Craig, you may want to check into the laws again. I live within a National Forest area, and was told by the local head ranger, that I MAY metal detect within this National Forest, BUT - I may not dig near bodies of water, including creeks and streams, and that if I come across any native American (indian tribe) artifacts, that I may not take or mess with 'em. It's National Parks that don't allow any metal detecting. In fact, the current local station's desk ranger, just gave me some old maps and told me of abandoned mines and a recently torn down cabin I may want to detect around! Two days ago I was detecting directly across the street from the ranger station, where their old ranger residence was, which is now nothing more than a rock surrounding wall. The ranger actually suggested that I may want to try there. Here's some what I dug up. The two Rosies are silver, three wheats are all '50s. The token-like thing is a ranger key-chain fob featuring "Paula Bunyan", a Forest Service safety mascot; probably from the 1960's. BTW - Paula was created by the same artist as Smokey.

 

[Welgund]

I have had no issues hunting the national forests or blm land here in Colorado. I even emailed the blm office and got a email on my phone from the head of the blm here in Colorado saying it's ok for me to detect the campgrounds and such, just leave old indian stuff alone etc. The beaches and picnic areas of state parks are ok here to I just check on when I get there. National parks are the ones you cannot detect on.

 

[HaroldILL.]

You are lucky as We lost 68,000 Acres of Forest Preserves which use to be Victorian era Picnic groves.
Seems We were fine till a bunch of Newbs on another Forum use to have group hunts 10-15 at a Time with shovels. That just draws too much attention. Of coarse they say I am pointing fingers, But We were fine for Years before they came along. Doubt it even bothered them as Went back to there Golf game or other things. Killed it for us with the True Passion.

 

[Herb Jones]

every time i have spoken to any authority about blm, national
forest/ corps of engineers i have gotten a different answer. some seem to view it from the aspect of
archeological digging, possibly mining/prospecting and get into permits and permissions...
others seem to approach it from
the point of view of leisure hobbiest recreation... the later view always says yes. but those
who group metal detecting with historical artifacts / archeological recovery or mining/gold
prospecting always say no... if you have an email i would print it out so i could have a copy
on hand should cell service not be available when/if proof of authorization is asked for....
too bad about the loosing acess to that prime hunting ground. i fear that eventually only
private property will be accessible. its convoluted. at some point lookong for natural
gold nuggets could be considered prospecting, and a claim may need to be staked...
it all depends of who you talk to, how you present it and what kinda mood they are in.
the authority having jurisdiction always has lots of discretion... getting them to lean your way
isnt always easy. i was told recently by a police officer that i could not detect curb strips
shortly after talking to a sherrifs deputy (within the same town) who is also
a metal detectorist who spoke to me at length about where would be good
places to hunt.... when the second cop came by a while later
and gave me static. i just apologized packed up & moved along... the autority having jurisdiction is
always right even when they are wrong. its all in how they interpret the laws , thier responsibility
and your actions.

 

[CoinShooter-Craig]

Thanks for all of the replys and information.

There definitely seems to be conflicting information on National Forests and it seems also between different wardens and police officers on their enforcement (or knowledge) of the law. I will definitely have to re-visit the detecting laws in the great state of Wisconsin. I have been out of the game for a few years now and just decided to get back into the hobby again a little to continue my daughters newfound interest in metal detecting.

Thanks again and happy hunting.

Craig (and daughter Brielle)

 

[Monte]

I think someone mislead him about the rules of engagement when it comes to battling the NFS and other bureaucratic regulations. I also hunt in nation Forests and on BLM land. It's out property and for our use to go recreating, so I do.

Nice tips from that desk jockey at the Ranger Station, too!

Out of curiosity, how much hunting time did you put in there, and what detector(s) and coil(s) were you using?

Monte

[size=small]Oh, since that Ranger was kind enough to provide you with some maps and tips, would you like to e-mail me a copy of the map and circle the old ranger residence for me? I mean, you wouldn't want a fellow detectorist to get lost w/o a map, would you?[/size]

 

[pinenut]

I think someone mislead him about the rules of engagement when it comes to battling the NFS and other bureaucratic regulations. I also hunt in nation Forests and on BLM land. It's out property and for our use to go recreating, so I do.

Nice tips from that desk jockey at the Ranger Station, too!

Out of curiosity, how much hunting time did you put in there, and what detector(s) and coil(s) were you using?

Monte

[size=small]Oh, since that Ranger was kind enough to provide you with some maps and tips, would you like to e-mail me a copy of the map and circle the old ranger residence for me? I mean, you wouldn't want a fellow detectorist to get lost w/o a map, would you?[/size]

Monte, the maps he gave me are the big fold-out maps, the size of the ones gas stations used to give away. The ranger station actually sells similar ones today, but the maps I was given were two dated 1984, and one from '96. Not that old, but they do show all of the old camp areas from that time, some of which aren't seen on the current ranger district's web site map. Those include off-road vehicle and horse-trail camp sites, marked "rustic". I know from talking to hikers and locals, that a couple of those out of the way camp spots have been in use for at least 100 years (specifically one called sheep camp - that should give a clue as to the area).
The new desk ranger is doing duty there temporarily, to fill in for the older gentleman who recently passed away. It was the older ranger who told me it's OK to detect the forest here, but I had asked the new guy if he'd seen any old maps around that may be stashed away.. That was a few weeks back, when I'd asked about old maps, and when I went in last Saturday, the new desk ranger remembered and gave 'em to me.. and we chatted for a while.. Turns out he grew up in the area and recently inherited a couple of metal detectors from his grandpa, and he may want to go detecting with me. He also mentioned another map he found from '92 that wasn't for the public. That one was a survey map showing all the old mine locations, most of which are long abandoned. The Lost Padres Mine wasn't shown on it though.. (even though it's supposed to be around here..)
BTW - I was just there to buy a new firewood permit, but had my Bandido ready in the car..

I spent about two hours around the old ranger residence on Saturday afternoon, using my favorite Bandido II μmax / 5.75. I know you're not a fan of modified Tesoros, but that particular Bandido is my favorite, 'cause I stuffed a 10 turn GB pot in it (old one needed cleaning or replacing anyway), and it just works extremely well. The soil is moderately mineralized in this area but the 5.75 concentric works just fine nearly everwhere around here.

Going back to that old ranger residence later today; there was plenty more area to do all around it.

 

[Monte]

[size=small]Oh, since that Ranger was kind enough to provide you with some maps and tips, would you like to e-mail me a copy of the map and circle the old ranger residence for me? I mean, you wouldn't want a fellow detectorist to get lost w/o a map, would you?[/size]

I'm sure you knew that was all tongue-in-cheek.

The ranger station actually sells similar ones today, but the maps I was given were two dated 1984, and one from '96. Not that old, but they do show all of the old camp areas from that time, some of which aren't seen on the current ranger district's web site map. Those include off-road vehicle and horse-trail camp sites, marked "rustic". I know from talking to hikers and locals, that a couple of those out of the way camp spots have been in use for at least 100 years (specifically one called sheep camp - that should give a clue as to the area).

I try to find and hang on to any of the older maps I can find. I noticed a lot of BLM, USFS and other 'government' associated maps started to have old places, or old names of places and other mapping distinctions vanish by the early-to-mid '80s.

Turns out he grew up in the area and recently inherited a couple of metal detectors from his grandpa, and he may want to go detecting with me. He also mentioned another map he found from '92 that wasn't for the public. That one was a survey map showing all the old mine locations, most of which are long abandoned. The Lost Padres Mine wasn't shown on it though.. (even though it's supposed to be around here..)

A 'local' guy just might have a few places in mind to talk about. I'd be sure to stay in contact, offer to help him with the old detectors, and 'talk detecting' with him to encourage involvement .... and sharing potential sites with you, too.

BTW - I was just there to buy a new firewood permit, but had my Bandido ready in the car..

Always good tom have a functional detector on-hand in all your travels. While I aalmost always have 5 or 6 devices loaded in my truck, there are times when I need to room or have other cause to thin-down for a trip, like to the VA Hospital or some other place where I'll be away from the pickup for a while. In those times I always have at least one Tesoro with me, usually my original Bandido w/6" Concentric. Sometimes I'll take the Silver Sabre µMAX w/6" Concentric or now possibly the Mojave will do service with the 7" Concentric. 'Be Prepared.' A 'motto' used by Hunters and Fishermen and other adventurers long before there was the Boy Scouts.

I spent about two hours around the old ranger residence on Saturday afternoon, using my favorite Bandido II μmax / 5.75. I know you're not a fan of modified Tesoros, but that particular Bandido is my favorite, 'cause I stuffed a 10 turn GB pot in it (old one needed cleaning or replacing anyway), and it just works extremely well. The soil is moderately mineralized in this area but the 5.75 concentric works just fine nearly everwhere around here.

I am not a fan of 'butchering' a detector, or of people who don't really have a clue what they are doing try modifying. Also those why 'over-modify' a unit. I wouldn't mind having a 10-turn GB pot in my Bandido II µMAX as I enjoy it on my early Bandido..

Going back to that old ranger residence later today; there was plenty more area to do all around it.

Well, it's late in the day and I haven't checked so I hope you had some success. I left on an adventurous trip to an old site this early afternoon, but have a bad battery cell in my truck and figured I didn't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere, so I retuned home..

Monte

 

[pinenut]

Went back and put in another two hours today, this time searching near the road then around the sides and further behind the area. No silver coins today and just one more wheat cent ('56), but also more toy cars, a LA bus token, and a smashed 925 ring. Ring still needs some massaging, but I got it round again. Thanked mister ranger once more for the old maps, and he encouraged me to head up the road to a couple of old cabins which are on forest land.. I'll check those out in a couple days.

My apologies for taking the thread off course; I'd just intended to let CoinShooter-Craig know that National Forest land is (or, should be) OK to detect on..

 

[UtahRich]

 

[Monte]

If I could only return to those good old days of abundant coins, mainly older coin, and have my current detector battery. Oh, and the youthful health and mobility I had back then would be nice as well.

 

[roceda]

Amen brother.

 

[Stoof-tabsallday]

I guess I don't know what I missed back then. Probably a case where ignorance is bliss. I'm lucky to walk away with a clue $ clad lol.