Tejon, Vaquero, or Lobo ST for metal detecting in Arizona?

[Arch Stanton]

Anyone used the Tejon, Vaquero, or Lobo ST for metal detecting in Arizona? I have the Shadow X2, Bandido II umax, Eldorado Umax,and Tejon. I haven't used the Tesoros yet but only the Shadow X2. I've found some relics and a few coins with the X2. Most of the ground is pretty hard and rocky here, and I've never found anything very deep. I've read that the ground here is mineralized. I thinking about getting a Lobo ST to look for gold and meteorites. Would this be a good choice? Would the Lobo ST be good for relics and coins as well? I read that in only uses the auto-tracking ground balance in the all-metal mode. Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Desert_Rat]

Any of the three are great in Arizona soil. If it were me I would go with the Vaquero. The Vaquero also make a okay nugget shooter.

Also remember that Tesoro is in Prescott! I took my X2 in and had the GB adjusted for Arizona and a tune up. Takes no more than 45 min if they are not busy. Or they will ship it back to you. IMO you have the best coin machine made,

Where are you hunting for relics?

 

[Arch Stanton]

Thank you for the information. I bought the X2 from Monte. He had a friend who was a dealer, and I traded him an older Bandido and paid the difference for it. It's been an easy machine to use and I've used it for all my finds. At the time the Tesoro dealers were recommending the Bandido II Umax, but the ground balancing scared me away. I've always wondered about the mineralized soil in Arizona and its effects on the performance of metal detectors. There are a lot of abandoned mines and mining camps close to where I live, and I'd like to look for relics and gold. The ground is most likely mineralized and there is a lot of trash in these locations, i.e. shell casings, cans, wire, nails, etc. I have the seven and nine inch coils for the Shadow X2. I probably need a smaller coil for the trashy areas and maybe a DD coil for the mineralization. I've heard that there is gold in southern Arizona, and I'd like to find some. That's why I was thinking about the Lobo ST. I read some reviews that the Tejon didn't handle bad ground very well. Regarding the Vaquero, AKmining.com sells them, and they are in the gold country of Alaska. I wish I had had a metal detector when I lived in Alaska, but I was just a kid and my family was into fishing. I think your idea of going up to Prescott is a good one. I should take my older detectors up there and ask them for a tune up. I'm still debating whether to keep the Tejon or El Dorado. Thanks again for the reply. Have a good day.

 

[Desert_Rat]

Get the Vaquero, best all around detector made IMO. Keep the Tejon, haven't used one but people swear by them and trade or sell the El Dorado. The 5.25 DD or the Elliptical are great nugget coils on the Vaquero. I know those old camp are loaded with iron. Just keep stripping it back and your find old tokens and other cool finds. For nuggets use little of no discrimination, and listen for the smooth soft signals. I got my Diablo from Monte's friend, got it two years ago and just love it. If you take a trip to Prescott, you can always go prospecting on Lynx Creek. How far south are you? I live west of Phoenix and spend a lot of time around Prescott in the summer. Other times I'm around Wickenburg.

 

[AUDuke]

IMHO the V is a better prospecting Tesoro than the T. I have had good sucess with the V, the Tejon can be a little "squirrley" and the V handles hot ground better.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Thanks for the reply mate. Have you tried the Lobo ST? If so, how does it compare to the Vaquero? Thank you.

 

[azsh07]

I live here...in Goodyear actually. I have used the Tejon and Lobo here....I thought the Tejon was more than a bit squirrly. Simple reason is that the ground changes or can change quite fast in certain areas and that can be within just a few feet. So with a fixed GB it gets nuts sometimes. Now the Lobo ST tracks the ground so you will get a more stable GB as the ground changes.
If it were me....and I wanted to use one of the three here I would use the Lobo ST simply for the ground tracking. Normally i am not a fan of auto ground track but here I think it is extremely usefull. Back east the ground di not change drastically from one square foot to the next so there I prefer a fixed GB.
As for depth they will run about the same here ...between all 3. Now some will say the tejon is deeper however that is true in milder ground. Once you get in some of the hotter soil out here the V the T and the LST will run very close in depth. Plus...most coins and relics are not that deep...generally. Also the LST is very hot on small gold....if it matters?
I used a Tejon back east in some mildy hot ground and in those places the depth dropped to on par with my LST. If the ground was very mild then the Tejon was a bit deeper. However even then I found that the Vaquero was a more stable machine overall than the Tejon. I had some spots that were pretty nasty and the Vaquero was much more stable and the depth was identical.
Now the Vaquero I never tried out here.....I used all three back east but only the T and the LST here.
Man i sure miss relic hunting....not a fan of the prospecting thing here.....too much like work..

 

[slowmotion]

Hi Arch;
I used the Lobo ST in AZ. for 5 years. Used it around Wickenberg, Vulture mine, stage stops,trails, watering holes camps and ever thing in between. Jack Gifford said AZ. is "mean ground ". The ST will do good for you. I use the Tejon now with the 5X10 elliptical coil about 50% of the time. The 5.75 HOT conc. 40% and stock 8X9 coil 10%. I don't have the patience for gold nuggets. To hard to find. The Tejon isn't like the ST. It seems more for small stuff.
I don't live in AZ. any more so I don't know how the Tejon would work there. But then that is where Tesoro was born !
The best advice is to go to Tesoro web, go to Field report, go to Tejon and Lobo ST. It was big help for me.
Willard in Spokane

 

[Arch Stanton]

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Tejon and Lobo ST. I'd like to look for relics, but it's slim pickings here in Arizona. That's why I'v been thinking of looking for gold and meteorites. I think that I'm either going to get the Lobo ST or the Vaquero. There was a review on Akmining.com regarding the Vaquero. I wonder how the Lobo ST does in the discriminate mode in mineralized ground. I read that the auto-tracking ground balance doesn't work in the discriminate mode. I will have the Shadow X2 and the Bandido II Umax as well. I'm going to get rid of the El Dorado Umax. Thank you for the feedback.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Thank you for the reply. I'm leaning towards the Lobo ST, but I"m also considering the Vaquero. From what I've read, the Tejon is better for neutral ground. I read that it was designed for hunting relics in the South. I think I might take a trip up to Prescott and talk to Tesoro in person. Thanks again. Have a good evening.