Feel Like Selling My Machine....

[Mike Hillis]

Learn to dry pan and take one with you everywhere.   Pull the detector out when you find color.

HH

Mike

[fredmason]

Well...if you have not found any nuggets you can't know what they sound like. They probably are not the big, loud signals...but, you can't be certain unless you dig them....

If I get in a lot of trash, I walk away unless I have the energy to dig every signal. I certainly do not want to clean out the trash for someone else-dig it all or leave it for another day.

I thought this was a large caliber bullet-I could have walked away...one oz nuggie

[Gravelwasher]

High caliber gold there Fred!!

Honestly the trash can be a let down but keep your spirits up and be curious as to what the ground holds.

Play it different ways so your mental game stays strong. Like dig a set number of targets from 1 area then move to another interesting spot(close by not a drive away)that feels good to you and do the same. Or half way through the trip quit digging loud big targets and focus on a few difficult signals.

 Patience and persistence pays!!!

Enjoy the time spent in the field detecting as it is most of the time vs time digging gold.

[cobill]

Hey nighthunter,

We all dig trash and lots of it. My very discouraging prospecting adventures, after years of zero gold,  reading lots of books and magazines, forum posts, etc. took a turn for the better when I decided I needed some "professional help".?  I took a 3-day training course in a proven gold district. Some professional dealers on this forum offer training and it's the best advice I could offer anyone. I also had a GPX 5000 and most of my settings were way off. Try it, what do you have to lose!

Bill 

[Steve Herschbach]

Detecting is in many ways a mental game. I count on my ability to dig vast amounts of trash without getting discouraged as a strength. I see bullets as a sign an area has not been properly detected - a good thing. I can also detect a week of full days for no gold and not feel like I wasted time. If you are really prospecting that is how it goes testing new areas. What most see as negatives I flip mentally into positives.

Two threads that might help....

https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/2233-trash-treasure-and-more-trash/

https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/where-to-prospect-for-gold-nuggets-r121/

 

[Andyy]

It helps a lot to team up with people once in a while.  You share your insight they share theirs.  You'll be amazed.  Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know.

Keep at it.  Gold hunting aint for sissies :)

Andy

[IronDigger]

As everyone pointed out its part of the game to dig trash when nuggethunting. We all get a little discouraged but we keep on going back for one reason. That reason is to find gold...and the best motivator is that you found gold before. Unfortunately at this point you have not... so I understand being down on it. I can guarantee you when you do find that first piece...you won't stop! Imagine being in position of finding some nice patches and than having the skunk visit for months...now that is  discouraging. Talk about mental games this seductress is playing. 

[gambler]

join a club and go out on club outings. every prospector I've met shares info freely. that being said, I've yet to find gold with a detector, even in areas I've found gold using other methods. but any day out in the field is better then a day in the city. keep diggin.

[1515Art]

I hunted all the amra claims a couple of years ago with my detector and had exactly the same results as you, I covered as much ground as possible trying to understand the terrain and the gold indicators. Same thing with the other two clubs I belong to and the areas I explored off on my own. 6 months into nugget hunting I managed to score my first nugget a one 1/2g rye patch beauty wandering with that same style. Luckily a friend gave me a little help confirming an area I’d previously been skunked on several times was an old hunted patch and my confidence in the area changed, as did my approach. I slowed down and stayed put and eventually found another little piece, then another. Wandering will hit the random nugget, but it’s tough because most of the easy spots have been hit so hard and so much depends on which foot to follow, the easy ones are gone. Trash is good if you can have confidence that detectable gold was found in the area you are hunting,  If I went back out to any of the AMRA claims I’d grid a small spot clean it out and move over to the next grid until I started to skip targets then take a break until I could go back and dig all targets and think  I’d have a higher chance of success really slowing down and finding confidence in one spot. 

[geof_junk]

I have been chasing gold since 1964  and found about 5 oz before I started detecting in 1980. Spent 8 weeks 12 hours a day detecting in the golden triangle victoria at the start of the detecting rush. I knew about panning and dredging for gold but those 8 weeks detecting was only a learning activity (NO GOLD).I was not hunting in the right spots. As for lead I have over 35 kilos from bullets and sinkers (Thats would be over 1000 oz if it was gold.) I have found over 100 oz of gold and I still do not know what is worst finding heaps of targets or spend days trying new ground and finding no targets at all, but finding a virgin patch sure makes up for it. My advice keep trying and changing your methods till you find what suit you, then refine it. I will not say best of luck as luck only goes so far but persistence pay off better.