New Indiana Member & New Tesoro Owner

[TCosbyJr]

Greetings, I just stumbled onto your forum from a link from the Tesoro website. I've been here in the past searching with Google but figured it was time to register and say hello. I live in Bedford, Indiana and I just bought my first Tesoro MD this Friday 7/28, and I got a Cibola. You might have seen me elsewhere online, but for those who don't know I was a big Bounty Hunter fan (got me back into detecting), but after trying the Discovery 3300 for about a month I was more than ready to switch gears and get a Tesoro.

I got back to detecting using a BH Tracker IV, but I was quickly looking for more depth and thought a upgrade to a LCD with plenty of displayed info would be a great upgrade, but I was wrong. The guessing the LCD showed was only right in the 1" to 4" at best and was costing me finds due to how unstable the results were. My last hunt with the 3300 told me a penny or dime at 4", I swung it around to check at a different angle/side and it jumped around wildly - the sign of trash. I dug the signal anyway and it turned out to be a wheatie about 2" down.

After that last hunt I set my sights on finding a Tesoro, and selling my 3300 to pay for it. Just seemed the 3300 wasn't for me, I got more depth than the Tracker IV, but was losing finds due to how wildly the info/tones jumped around on targets. I haven't sold the 3300 yet, but already got my Tesoro.

Getting my Tesoro

Calling around all the pawn shops in a 30+ mile radius turned up nothing lately as usual (not a single one to be found) so I decided to look again at Craigslist. Turns out I found a listing for a Tesoro Cibola about 72 miles away from me. I contacted the guy, turns out I responded the first day he listed it and it was still available.

He said he would meet me halfway (a 32 mile trip for me) and only charge me $200 cash to buy it, I felt bad not giving him more so I gave him $220 to help cover gas at least. He was happy he found the ring and said it paid for the MD, so he just wanted to get about half his money back without having to list it on eBay.

As you can see in the ad he used it once to find his wife's lost wedding band and detected around his yard for about 30 minutes and decided MDing wasn't for him. Still has the original battery that came in the box and has a full charge. It looks like new, the only downside is there is no box/manual/paperwork as he tossed it once he opened it - like many others do. He never registered the MD so I'm hoping I can with Tesoro (I contacted them about it).

Tesoro responded that while it is not officially under warranty they said, "We however do a lot of repairs as a courtesy." Also they are going to mail me out a new manual at no charge - can't beat that. Either way, a Cibola that looks brand new and used only 30 minutes for $220 I couldn't pass it up. I will be selling my Discovery 3300 on eBay in the box to help pay for my Cibola

I'm hoping to get in some good detecting tomorrow, can't wait to try it out for the first time! Here are some photos of it with my headphones on it, a light cleaning with a rag and it would shine like a new one.

 

[Hank68]

Welcome and congrats TC you have a great machine a true relic killer , and they PP like a dream!! HH tigerhank68

 

[Les in the UK]

In the UK the Cibola has made a lot of good finds, i can see it making good finds and finding a lot of good stuff where you live.
Welcome to the forum. Les in the UK

 

[mudpuppy]

Nice work! Let us know what your find today!
Mud

 

[Beale]

Welcome to the site! Congrats on your new MD! I am sure you will enjoy it. Oh yea, get a good digger, Beale.

 

[mike5853]

Welcome to the forum The Cibola will work wonders for you.

 

[daddyflea]

Man it is cool enough in Indiana to hunt with Headphones? No way you can do that here in Texas.

 

[tabman]

Welcome to site! You got yourself a great detector at a super price.

Now it's time to post pictures of all the good stuff that you find with your Cibola.

tabman

 

[TCosbyJr]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I couldn't believe the price myself, but it does work perfectly (far as I know) and looks brand new.

Nice work! Let us know what your find today!
Mud

Today I went to a park I've hunted before. I was amazed at the amount of coins I found that I left behind when I detected it with my BH 3300. Most of my finds were in the 2" to 4" range, and was obvious they weren't recently lost. The shocking thing was I found a total of 50 pull-tabs.. I counted twice to be sure due to the odd number. The detector was sounding off in areas that I never heard a peep out of the BH 3300.

I had a good day the first time out with my Tesoro, I found more than I have in awhile and more than I thought I would. I have a lot of learning to do on this machine and can't wait to get in some time and get to understand it.

My first discovery was a nickel about 5" deep in the sand tot lot. As it was my first with the Tesoro I couldn't pass-up the chance to take a photo...

In total I found 1 quarter, 1 dime, 5 nickels, 7 pennies, a metal Jordache button, and a Hotwheels car. Not shown was some random trash and the large collection of old beaver tail pull-tabs.

Welcome to the site! Congrats on your new MD! I am sure you will enjoy it. Oh yea, get a good digger, Beale.

Thanks. So far I've been using one of the multi-tool diggers, but it sure blistered my hand a month ago - and still does at the same spot (in the palm of my hand) each time I detect before calling it quits. I'm thinking of getting a nice round ended knife from the local army surplus store -- or simply save a bit more and get a Lesche digger.

Man it is cool enough in Indiana to hunt with Headphones? No way you can do that here in Texas.

I always wear them no matter how hot it gets. A few weeks ago in the 106 degree temps me and my dad was out for about 4 hours with the large headphones. I wouldn't think of detecting without them, although I wouldn't mind getting a coiled pair of the lighter style (like the Garrett ClearSound Easy Stow Headphones).

 

[mudpuppy]

Nice work! You write a good post and take good pictures, so we will be looking for more great hunts from you!
Mud

 

[charlie dert]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your first Tesoro. Good people here always willing to share and help. Lesche tools are good but you can also make your own if you are "el cheapo grande" like myself. Here is a pic of my digger fashioned from a round pointed shovel. I put a metal blade on my table saw and trimmed it to my liking.

Charlie

 

[TCosbyJr]

Nice work! You write a good post and take good pictures, so we will be looking for more great hunts from you!
Mud

Many thanks Mud. My best finds so far are a silver ring and my wheaties, often it's some clad and a handful of trash, but now that I have a Tesoro surely the finds will be greater.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your first Tesoro. Good people here always willing to share and help. Lesche tools are good but you can also make your own if you are "el cheapo grande" like myself. Here is a pic of my digger fashioned from a round pointed shovel. I put a metal blade on my table saw and trimmed it to my liking.

Charlie

Thanks, I just wish I would have realized from my Tracker IV that the next upgrade should have been a Tesoro - and skipped the display MD in-between (would have saved me some cash and headaches). Glad to hear it is a wonderful forum, and I hope to contribute.

Congrats on creating your own digger. I have tried making my own modified digger, but so far the tools I have tried were cheap metal and the results were unusable tools. Usually after shaping and sharpening a trowel to better suit my needs, it would either bend or the edge would be broken/malformed after just one test hole. Seems after buying a tool with good metal and making it I might be better off buying one.

Although I haven't given up trying to make a better digger yet.

 

[charlie dert]

I had a Lesche of the type most of us have used. (red handle serrated small digger) but it cracked after being bent. I had it welded by a friend twice but it finally gave up the ghost. I like the modified shovel better. I use it as a crutch on hills and it has backbone. It has not bent even when I use it to pry out rocks. I find it much less fatiguing especially when the ground is hard. The "ears" make it easy to push in with a foot. I paid less than $15 for it and it suits my style of hunting.

Good luck and keep posting your treasures.

Charlie

 

[allcav]

Welcome to the club Mr. Cosby! If you have any question, all of these guys here can answer them. If they can't, give me a call I will be happy to help you!

Happy Hunting!

 

[TCosbyJr]

I had a Lesche of the type most of us have used. (red handle serrated small digger) but it cracked after being bent. I had it welded by a friend twice but it finally gave up the ghost. I like the modified shovel better. I use it as a crutch on hills and it has backbone. It has not bent even when I use it to pry out rocks. I find it much less fatiguing especially when the ground is hard. The "ears" make it easy to push in with a foot. I paid less than $15 for it and it suits my style of hunting.

Good luck and keep posting your treasures.

Charlie

So far my hunts are in parks and schools, but I can really see where a great shovel would come in handy for fields/woods/etc. I'll have to see what I can do with my angle grinder and a cutoff blade. The "Ears" are a great idea and would really help. Thanks for the details and photo, I'll have to see what I can do with a shovel.

Thanks I will, and GL & HH to you

Welcome to the club Mr. Cosby! If you have any question, all of these guys here can answer them. If they can't, give me a call I will be happy to help you!

Happy Hunting!

Thanks for the warm welcome, and glad to see you on the forum. Great to see such a helpful forum community, and the kind offer of help by phone, it's appreciated. So far I don't have any questions - just have to spend some time out detecting to learn the machine.