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Getting Too Old?


Jim_Alaska

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On 9/5/2017 at 7:38 AM, LukeJ said:

I recently found a few 'sassy' bits with my Goldmaster V/sat.  :biggrin:  The dinks on the patina'd dime were found with the DD shooter and the pieces on the shiny dime were found with the 6" GMT concentric.  The two smallest crumbs on the shiny dime were actually found by a good friend of mine using a blue waterproof foldable model of detector.  :wink:

Luke

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This was really encouraging to me Luke, Goldmaster V/Sat is the only detector I own. That, plus not doing much detecting equals no gold. But, on the other end of the scale I find lots of nails. lead shot and small bits of other metals and hot rocks.

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Jim,

If you're finding the tiny lead birdshot and you're hunting in a gold bearing area, it's just a matter of time.  Keep at it.

The gold will most times be not as loud as the trashy stuff.  It also has a sharper "Zit-Zit", kind of a zippy crackle if you will.  

Getting a small nugget,  .1g or less and practicing with it will help a lot.  Take it with you and bury it down as far as you can and still hear it.  Listen to it over and over again until the sound is burned in your brain.

When it comes to hot rocks and iron stones (cold stones, boingers)....   Make sure you pick them up and recheck to see if there is another signal underneath.  It is especially important with the iron stones, they will mask other small targets.

Several of the nuggets pictured were found under hot rocks or cold stones in areas that other people claim have been 'hammered'.  :biggrin:

Good luck, there is still lots of gold to be found for those who are persistent enough to find it.

Luke

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Luke,

After owning this detector for many years and using it both in Alaska and now California, I am convinced that my problem is one of persistence, or the lack of it. That, along with a healthy dose of impatience works against me.

Steve has told me  for years the same things you outlined. I am not saying that the advice is not good, just that I think I lack the persistence that it takes to find gold. I do have a "dig everything" mentality, which works against me because of the amount of trash.

I have two good test nuggets and am very familiar with their sound at differing depths. That is what baffles me. I know what gold sounds like, but just can't seem to get my coil over any.

I have hunted the same areas that both Steve and Lipca hunt, but no gold. It has to be me, not the machine or the good advice I have been given. I just don't get out detecting much, which doesn't help. Now with advanced age and the problems I experience with my legs, I find it extremely difficult to navigate uneven ground.

I am just about to the point of nugget shooting vicariously through other's efforts, so keep posting good results, I love to read them.

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Jim I can sympathize with you....

I have found a lot more gold in the form of jewelry when hunting parks, schools and private property than I will ever find nugget shooting.

Like you I just don't have the patience for it and I don't navigate uneven terrain very  well either.... the knees just don't like that stuff.

That's also why I don't get much prospecting done. So I have pretty much resigned myself to coin and jewelry hunting and beach mining.... Both of which get me some exercise as well as instant gratification...:smile:

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2 hours ago, johnedoe said:

Jim I can sympathize with you....

I have found a lot more gold in the form of jewelry when hunting parks, schools and private property than I will ever find nugget shooting.

Like you I just don't have the patience for it and I don't navigate uneven terrain very  well either.... the knees just don't like that stuff.

That's also why I don't get much prospecting done. So I have pretty much resigned myself to coin and jewelry hunting and beach mining.... Both of which get me some exercise as well as instant gratification...:smile:

I can identify John. As I said in my original post, I always thought that once i became old and feeble I could fall back on metal detecting. Mine is not a knee problem, I have what is called Neuropathy, which is a condition of degenerating nerves in my legs and feet. I have no feeling from the knees down, consequently I can't tell what my feet are doing or what the ground under them feels like.

I have to use a cane at all times, even when on a flat floor, otherwise I stagger around like a drunk trying to keep my balance. You can imagine how much harder this would be on uneven ground. So any detecting must be done with a detector in my right hand, because I am right handed and a cane in the left, which is backwards for me because I usually have to use my cane in my right hand. It just makes it twice as hard and even dangerous on hills, gulches and cobbles.

OK enough of the depressing old guy stuff, you guys get the gold, I'll do the reading about your adventures.

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21 hours ago, auminesweeper said:

Thing is John, even the guys with years of experience and flagship detectors have to work hard to find Gold, Our machines can find it but you have to be driven and know the right spots to find it. 

J.

:smile:  Yup... Also I don't really live in an area conducive to nugget hunting. So I get my fix from beach mining and coin and jewelry detecting.....

We all have our niche .... The wife and I got out a little yesterday ... no jewelry but some coinage.. the wife found a Susan Anthony dollar,,,,,,, she out did me again...:biggrin:.... all I can say is that she has yet to find any gold jewelry while I have found quite a bit.

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Jim, It's got to be the V/Sat and you.....

The first gold machine I got was the V/Sat.  I used it for 2 years and found one small nugget.

I then got a Gold Bug 2 and within 15 minutes I found a 70 grain nugget!  They just rolled in after that.

There is hardly a day that I take the GB 2 out that I don't find something.

I'm not saying you can't find gold with it. It's just that you need a change like I did.

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Anymore with the bans on mining in California and Oregon, plus the problem with my legs, I am down to crevicing using my gas vacuum and hand tools. Fortunately I love doing this and it is something I can still do. It's not difficult to sit of rocks and clean out cracks.

I am fortunate in that I have a high bench, close to home that has lots of exposed bedrock. I go at it pretty vigorously, using a two pound pug hammer and chisel to break the cracks deeper than just scraping them. I don't get rich, but do get some gold each time.

Mine is a two step process because there is no water where I clean cracks. I have to clean cracks one day and then take the buckets to a small creek another day to run them through the sluice.

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5 minutes ago, LipCa said:

Jim, It's got to be the V/Sat and you.....

The first gold machine I got was the V/Sat.  I used it for 2 years and found one small nugget.

I then got a Gold Bug 2 and within 15 minutes I found a 70 grain nugget!  They just rolled in after that.

There is hardly a day that I take the GB 2 out that I don't find something.

I'm not saying you can't find gold with it. It's just that you need a change like I did.

I am sure you are right Harry. And I have taken your advice to heart. But as far as investing hundreds of dollars in another detector is concerned I just can't justify, or even consider doing it with my only income being social security, it's just not possible. If I were still in the work force I would certainly consider a Gold Bug2. It is foolish to argue against yours and others proven results over the years.

Even  when I was still in Alaska I remember being amazed that you would post about going out for an hour in a morning and come home with a few nuggets. And still to this day I see you continue to do it all the time.

Thanks for the advice Harry, I have learned a lot from you over the years.

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