Newbie Returns To Old Interests

[Cascade Steven]

As a young man over 50 years ago I became interested in prospecting for gold, especially in the Western Cascade Range of Oregon.  As is often the case, life has a way of diverting ones interests and attention through such events as jobs and family.  Now that I have finally retired and am living near Spokane, WA, I have once again chosen to pursue the hobby of gold prospecting.  Only this time I decided that in addition to the gold pan, I would add a more modern companion prospecting tool, the metal detector. 

I am a lifelong fan of White’s metal detectors and have for many years wanted one of their instruments.  This fall when I learned of their closure I decided to act quickly while I still had some opportunity for equipment acquisition, albeit limited. 

While doing research on equipment options I found this forum.  I do greatly appreciate the wealth of information presented here, and must give a “shout out” to several people on this forum who were willing to help me with basic questions about equipment and aid in purchasing the proper coils and related items for gold prospecting. 

I now have both a White’s Goldmaster 24k and also a White’s TDI SL.  After viewing several videos on YouTube to learn the proper settings, I was able to test my 24k in one of the mining districts in the Cascades.  I am pleased to report that although I have not yet found gold, I did find some very tiny flakes of iron shavings and also a couple of lead bullet fragments.  This provided the needed encouragement that the 24k had the correct settings and now all I need is to practice and find favorable terrain.  There are also candidate terrains in Idaho that I hope to research.

I do appreciate the wealth of information provided on this forum.

[Valens Legacy]

Welcome to the forum and there are many here to help you with your questions.

Please share some photos of your finds when you do come across them as we all enjoy the hunt and the finds.

[BeachHunter]

Welcome to the forum Steven. Good luck on the hunt!