Nugget Scoops - Do You Use One?

[Steve Herschbach]

Do you use a plastic scoop or cup to separate gold nuggets from that pile of dirt while metal detecting?

Good use of a plastic scoop is critical as these tiny nuggets can be very hard to find. I use the "divide and conquer" method. Scoop up the material that has the nugget in it. Give the scoop a good shake to get the nugget into the bottom of the scoop. If you have a couple inches of dirt in the scoop and the nugget is on top, you may not be able to detect it when you run the scoop over the coil. I prefer to do this with the bottom of the coil turned upright so I can get the scoop right over that hot spot in the middle of the coil. If I confirm the nugget is in the scoop, I dump half in my hand and check again. If it is still in the scoop, I place the material in my hand on the ground where I can check it again later. If the scoop no longer beeps, the nugget is in my hand, in which case I discard the material in the scoop. I just split and check until I'm down to a bit of material, which in the case of these little mud covered nuggets sometimes is just a few little pieces of dirt which have to be check one at a time to find which one has gold in it.

Once you get good at this it goes real fast, but care must be taken to not get a nugget in the scoop only to discard it. That is why you put all the dirt in a place where you can check it again when you are done. Sometimes you can get more than one nugget in the scoop at once. Another option is to simply put all targets in a pan and pan it all later. But since I'm following the gold I want to know just where each nugget came from so I prefer to locate them as I find them.

[normmcq]

I also use the "divide and conquer" method, but a little different version than yours. All of you GPZ users know exactly what I mean. If you find a very small nugget, once you have moved it, it can be very hard to locate. Instead of turning the coil over, I find something that will elevate the coil, then I pass the scoop over and under the hot spot.  Before I started doing it that way, I had thrown nuggets in the discard pile because of too much dirt in the scoop.

                                                       Just another way to do it.  Norm

[Steve Herschbach]

That is an old article that had hot VLF detectors in mind, and in particular the Gold Bug 2 concentrics, which are hottest dead center. With PI detectors or the GPZ it’s different. GPZ I do use the top rear of the coil while others use the top front. The hot spots are where the windings cross over. PI mono coils are hotter at the edges than the middle. So really it just depends where the coil hot spots are.

[phoenix]

Thats not a yes/no/rarely answer for me.   Spoked coils I always use a scoop. I never use a scoop with the 7000 and 14" coil, I just push the dirt around on top of the coil till I locate the target. With the 2300 if its a nice loud signal I push the dirt around on the coil, if it`s a small target with the 2300, I use the scoop.      Steve am I allowed to select all three answers?  ?

[flakmagnet]

The scoop is the way to go for me except for the bigger ones - I just roll them to the car.

[Norvic]

Had a bit of a go with a scoop years back, it didn`t work for me, just drop material on top of coil and move round with finger, works a treat with the Z on front/top of coil. No troubles just is important to work sensitive edge of the coil once signal is dug out to pinpoint easily.

[Andyy]

When you're running the Z, you have a good idea if it's a small piece or a gnat.  I use divide and conquer for the large or small pieces, but the ones that are faint, I will put dirt in the scoop and then run the coil over the ground to see if I got it.  Then I will spread it out on the coil like Phoenix said, either moving it with my finger or blowing the lighter stuff away.  I used to lose the really small pieces before because I didn't know how to separate the really small < .03g pieces.  Now I get those little suckers every time :)

[afreakofnature]

Almost always use a scoop unless they are big 

[Hobo]

Started using one when the GB2 came out,  before that I just dribbled the dirt onto the top of the coil and listened for the nugget to hit.

[Shasta gold hunter]

I like the scoop better than the occasional crawly stuff in my hand. Scoop is better for small stuff anyways.