christian_99
New member
I have seen so many people knocking down the Tesoro's and am actually scratching my head wondering what those people are doing wrong. Literally if you look at all of the selections we have as diggers on machines, sure you have the TID machines, the IMAGING machines, and etc....but the number one thing you and I want to do is to be able to find things that others left behind. What do I mean? Most of the area's that you and I are digging in have probably been searched by others...so that means you have to "outthink" the other digger who was in there before you. It doesn't matter if is a Park, Camp, Skirmish site, or whatever! You have to use both skill, imagination, and knowledge to out dig someone else. I own the top of the line machines from other MFR's.
The Explorer is a good machine, however for some reason the frequency on the machine really loves iron. Possibly because of the circuitry of the machine or ?? Some people do really well with it, and I am not cutting it down in any way, shape or form. However, had I had the Cibola and Vaquero during the past four years, and not had the Explorer, my finds would have been fantastic! I used the Explorer on one of a kind sites that will never be replaced. I detected with that machine for four years and now...that site has been destroyed by construction. Most of the time, while using the Explorer on this site, I would find a percussion cap, and an occasional underwear button. This went on for YEARS...going out on the weekend from 7 A.M to 7 P.M. digging. There were hut sites everywhere, a truly beautiful camp. So a good day with the Explorer in this camp would be finding one or two things. Last year, I purchased the Cibola as I saw the square nail/dime test. The dealer pulled up a square nail, put the machine in disc- pulled up the coin and was able to hit the coin with the nail crossing over the coin. He did this with the disc both low and high!!! I was sold!!! I purchased the machine and took it to the camp where the Explorer had hunted for the past four years. In the mineralized/ironized camp- within minutes I found four percussion caps and a bullet. It would take me about 2 weeks worth of digging to find the same thing with the Explorer if I was that lucky! Just to verify it wasn't beginners luck I went out to the camp again, and the same thing four or five percussion caps, pieces of lead and a brass grommel for a haversack. All dug in area's of heavy iron. The camp is gone now, however while they were doing the construction, I was finally rewarded for my patience and faith- you can review the find in this forum or another in one of the top ten finds of 2005. This was found with the Vaquero at about 12 to 14 inchs in mineralized soil.
Needless to say, my eyes were open, so I started using both the C and V, in some of the hunted out camps. Now I am digging cuff buttons, PISTOL percussion caps- I don't know if you know how small they are but they are half the size of a regular percussion cap- bullets and in fact recently an 1858 o half dollar at about 7 - 8 inchs on edge (picture posted in this forum). I detected this and the other items in an area the size of a medium sized kitchen. I found a gold masonic emblem in an area the size of a bathroom. Am I running through the woods digging these things up left and right, NO-WAY...I am going slow, very, very slow.
Now keep in mind I have both the Explorer and the Sov XS-2. Both are good machines and again I am not knocking them, but they were in the SAME exact area where I was finding this stuff! Did I miss them or were they nulled out because of the iron? I will never know but I do know one thing...both the C and V are great for relic hunting- and you must go slow....with them. Listen for every little bit of sound fluctuation. Dig the iffy signals and don't disc too high. If you are in mineralized soil and then most objects will be disc'd out even at low disc. A coin will sound bad and in fact anything will sound bad for that matter. Why?, because of the iron content in the soil is causing all objects to read lower then what they are. If you have an "AUTO GROUND BALANCE" on your machine, guess what? How do you really know that the machine is reading the soil correctly? With the Vaquero- I sometimes ground balance 5 or 6 times in the area the size of a living room. This is because the ground content can change so quickly and again, if you aren't ground balanced correctly, you will lose good things. So keep all of these little tips in mind....and yes...the sounds...if there is a hint of a sweet whisper coming from out of the iron, dig it! Don't think gosh the machine is acting odd, or its probably another nail. Dig it and be amazed. Keep the disc low and see your finds increase...with both quality and quantity.
The Explorer is a good machine, however for some reason the frequency on the machine really loves iron. Possibly because of the circuitry of the machine or ?? Some people do really well with it, and I am not cutting it down in any way, shape or form. However, had I had the Cibola and Vaquero during the past four years, and not had the Explorer, my finds would have been fantastic! I used the Explorer on one of a kind sites that will never be replaced. I detected with that machine for four years and now...that site has been destroyed by construction. Most of the time, while using the Explorer on this site, I would find a percussion cap, and an occasional underwear button. This went on for YEARS...going out on the weekend from 7 A.M to 7 P.M. digging. There were hut sites everywhere, a truly beautiful camp. So a good day with the Explorer in this camp would be finding one or two things. Last year, I purchased the Cibola as I saw the square nail/dime test. The dealer pulled up a square nail, put the machine in disc- pulled up the coin and was able to hit the coin with the nail crossing over the coin. He did this with the disc both low and high!!! I was sold!!! I purchased the machine and took it to the camp where the Explorer had hunted for the past four years. In the mineralized/ironized camp- within minutes I found four percussion caps and a bullet. It would take me about 2 weeks worth of digging to find the same thing with the Explorer if I was that lucky! Just to verify it wasn't beginners luck I went out to the camp again, and the same thing four or five percussion caps, pieces of lead and a brass grommel for a haversack. All dug in area's of heavy iron. The camp is gone now, however while they were doing the construction, I was finally rewarded for my patience and faith- you can review the find in this forum or another in one of the top ten finds of 2005. This was found with the Vaquero at about 12 to 14 inchs in mineralized soil.
Needless to say, my eyes were open, so I started using both the C and V, in some of the hunted out camps. Now I am digging cuff buttons, PISTOL percussion caps- I don't know if you know how small they are but they are half the size of a regular percussion cap- bullets and in fact recently an 1858 o half dollar at about 7 - 8 inchs on edge (picture posted in this forum). I detected this and the other items in an area the size of a medium sized kitchen. I found a gold masonic emblem in an area the size of a bathroom. Am I running through the woods digging these things up left and right, NO-WAY...I am going slow, very, very slow.
Now keep in mind I have both the Explorer and the Sov XS-2. Both are good machines and again I am not knocking them, but they were in the SAME exact area where I was finding this stuff! Did I miss them or were they nulled out because of the iron? I will never know but I do know one thing...both the C and V are great for relic hunting- and you must go slow....with them. Listen for every little bit of sound fluctuation. Dig the iffy signals and don't disc too high. If you are in mineralized soil and then most objects will be disc'd out even at low disc. A coin will sound bad and in fact anything will sound bad for that matter. Why?, because of the iron content in the soil is causing all objects to read lower then what they are. If you have an "AUTO GROUND BALANCE" on your machine, guess what? How do you really know that the machine is reading the soil correctly? With the Vaquero- I sometimes ground balance 5 or 6 times in the area the size of a living room. This is because the ground content can change so quickly and again, if you aren't ground balanced correctly, you will lose good things. So keep all of these little tips in mind....and yes...the sounds...if there is a hint of a sweet whisper coming from out of the iron, dig it! Don't think gosh the machine is acting odd, or its probably another nail. Dig it and be amazed. Keep the disc low and see your finds increase...with both quality and quantity.
