Review Of Gerry's Field Training Course

[GB_Amateur]

Those of you who frequent this forum (especially the general gold forum) are familiar with posts by Gerry in Idaho (https://www.detectorprospector.com/profile/182-gerry-in-idaho/)

who among other things is a full-time multiline dealer with 40 years of metal detecting experience and 20 years detecting for native gold.  He conducts four 3-day training classes each year, two in central Nevada (Rye Patch) and two in Southeast Oregon.  The tuition varies depending upon whether or not and which detector you've bought from him.  You can see the details on his website (http://gerrysdetectors.com/training/), on one of his Ebay ads (e.g. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Minelab-GPX-5000-Metal-Detector-with-7-Coils-3-Days-Gold-Nugget-Training/273599397260?hash=item3fb3cb7d8c:g:2zsAAOSw5tNb-KBu:rk:1:pf:0&LH_ItemCondition=3000) or by calling him.  He hasn't asked me (nor did he know until I told him in an e-mail today) that I'm writing this review, so everything here is strictly my view/opinion from having taken the class.  Everything is from memory so there may be some errors but I'll count on responses from others in attendance to correct my inaccuracies.

Overview:  The class consists of one day of 'lecture' and two days of 'lab' (in-field experience).  Gerry himself conducts most of the lecture part (Lunk: https://www.detectorprospector.com/profile/401-lunk/ talked about coil design and applications) but the meat is the hands-on training for which is provided an expert staff of assistants.  Each day consisted of (approximately) 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM contact with 30-60 minute lunch break.

Demographics:  There were 16 students in attendance (18 signed up with 2 no-shows) and a total of five instructors (besides Gerry and Lunk: Scott, Mark, and Spencer) for a very generous 1::3 teacher to student ratio.  The 16 students were from the following states (I may have missed a couple):  California, Nevada, Montana, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Texas, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, and Virginia.  My estimation of age split is two younger than 50 years old.  (I'd like to think I, at age 65, was about the median but probably in the highside tail....?)  All were male although some brought spouses/significant others.  Four of the five instructors were from Idaho and the fifth from Nevada.  (I think 2/5 were under 50 but I may be being generous.  ?)  We wore nametags with first name, state of residence, and detector.

Location, etc:  Many here are familiar with the Rye Patch area, a high (4000 ft elevation), relatively flat desert with little vegetation.  The site of the actual class is only 15 miles driving distance from the I-80 superhighway and all but the last 1.5 miles are on maintained 2-lane 'gravel' road.  One student actually arrived daily (by commute from nearby town) in a 2wd compact (Ford Escape?) which was likely challenging over the last 1.5 miles of rutted single lane road.  The area where we met had several 'primitive' (no ammenities) camping spots and about half the attendees took advantage of that, all the way from tents to fully-outfitted travel trailers.  The weather was quite cooperative (typically mid-60's and sunny daytime but freezing or lower overnight) with no precip.  The lecture part was outdoors with seating provided.  No sound system (but Gerry didn't need one).

Requirements:  basically few, but you were allowed to train on one detector (pre-approved to make sure at least one instructor had familiarity with it) and any accompanying family members could sit in the lecture but otherwise would receive no field training.

Detectors:  nine students brought the Minelab GPZ 7000, three brought Minelab GPX's (mostly 4500's but I think there may have been one 5000) and one SDC 2300, 1 1/2 White's Golmaster 24k and 1 1/2 Minelab Equinox 800.  (1 1/2 because Gerry made an exception on the "one detector per student" rule for someone to train one day on each.)

Day 1 Lecture:  began with personal introductions of all 21 (students and staff).  Gerry related some of his many experiences in the morning session, including lots of detector info.  Afternoon began with explanations equipment he brought for sale (and why he stakes his reputation on them) then continuation of general detecting advice.  The day ended with a demonstration of how the various technologies (PI, VLF, ZVT) respond to various types and sizes of native gold in air tests.  Much of the day was a review for me since I've read a lot of articles, forum posts, and books on finding gold.  The highlight was the last part where the different gold specimens were exposed to the detectors and the responses (or lack of such) were demonstrated.

Days 2&3 lab / hands-on experience:  As mentioned above, this was for me by far the most valuable part of the course.  Students were split into five groups (typically 3 per group) and assigned instructors for anywhere from 2 to 4 hours of personal training.  The division was by detector type, so there were three Z7000 groups, one PI group, and one VLF group.  The instructors were rotated such that each group experienced the expertise of each of the five instructors.  Their styles varied but I learned something from each.  For example, it was interesting to see the different setups preferred between instructors for the same detector (in my case the Eqx 800).  One added feature is that if a student got a promising signal (verified by an instructor) the others were given the option of watching the dig and (more importantly) trying their own detectors pre-recovery to monitor the response.  Day 2 training was close to the lecture site and day 3 was another part of the area.

Summary/Conclusion:  I was one of the few who paid the full tuition (since I had not bought my detector from Gerry) and it was worth every penny.  The comaraderie was great (kind of like on this website ?) with (as far as I experienced) no bickering and a lot of encouragement and support among the participants.  There was not a weak link among the instructors.  I was left wishing for more, but that only emphasizes my satisfaction of 3 full days of instruction/training.  I think a majority of GPZ swingers found gold but the rest of us (PI's and VLF's) drew blanks (well, until the encore, for me: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/8195-lost-my-gold-virginity/).

 

[afreakofnature]

I was there, one of the under 50 guys 

GB's write up is spot on.  Excellent class and had a lot of fun.  The main thing for me was asking questions.  Come with lots and lots of questions.  Its your chance to ask directly, get advice, and see with your own eyes any of the things you might only read about.  With all the questions I asked and all the new techiniques I learned my confidence as a good detectorist increased exponentially!  

Also it was fun to meet other detectorists and hunt with them, bounce ideas, etc. I have no detectorist friends where I am from.  Finding gold on your own is not as much fun as to share your finds with someone immediately.

 

[GB_Amateur]

9 hours ago, afreakofnature said:

I was there, one of the under 50 guys 

....

With all the questions I asked and all the new techiniques I learned my confidence as a good detectorist increased exponentially!

Ok, Brian, you confirm I got at least one of my age conclusions correct.

Yes, I agree 100% that the main takeaway from the class is confidence.  That always sounds so simple but it is probably the most difficult thing to accomplish, especially when learning on your own.

[Lunk]

You guys hit the nail on the head. I read somewhere once that the one big secret to successful nugget shooting is that there is no one big secret; it's many things combined, including technique, location, persistence, etc. And I know from experience that the sum of all those things is an emergent confidence: confidence in your ability to operate your detector, confidence in your detector, and confidence in the ground you are searching. When you attain to that level of confidence, you’ve truly become a successful nugget shooter and the gold finds come as a matter of course.

[Gravelwasher]

 I have always heard good things from people I meet about Gerry's sales and service. I have not personally had any dealings with Gerry.

I have been out in the field prospecting for over 10 years now.

 So many people think a detector does not have a learning curve. It beeps when it's over metal, how much more to it could there be?...haha after 3 PI machines and running a few VLF's besides the one I own, I can tell you there is much to learn about running a detector, let alone looking for gold with one.

 If you can attend a class or get out with a experienced nugget shooter, your going to be more successful!!

[Jim McCulloch]

Ger and his Gang are all great teachers, and great guys.

[Gerry in Idaho]

Chuck,  I applaud you for going the extra mile...not only in the distance traveled to get there, but in the comments of the Field Training we offer on Gold Detectors.  Yes we have a big group, that was the most we have ever trained for, but I also knew there was enough staff members to make sure everyone had plenty of opportunities for 1 on 1's.  Plugging in with the instructor and each wearing their own headphones (when permitted) allows for much better learning of the foreign sounds from each detector and the ground.  Glad you were able to have some Success after the class when there was no instructors present.  That in itself goes to show home much you remembered.  Rye Patch, NV is one of the most ideal places to train as it is real life hunting in the exact fields some of us still detect.  No we don't fill our pockets with gold and if you do find a nugget, you earned it.  But sometimes the real nuggets are the ones you learned from the experts around you.  The little bits you put away in the back of your head and at the end, the self confidence you are doing it right.

Thanks again for the nice comments as I was not expecting to see this posted on such a well known gold prospecting forum.  Steve has stopped in on a couple of our classes and has an idea what my staff members and I are about.    Passion is what keeps us going and I also have to give credit to my staff members as they also are open minded easy going and love to share their gold detector expertise.

Looking forward to having another find season in 2019 too.

[Majuba Man]

I too was at the Rye Patch training with GB_Amateur and about 15 others, great time and learned quite a bit. This was my second training session with Gerry and his crew of top notch instructors. I had also gone to Oregon in September and learned a lot and found my first gold with a detector at that training.  Having the time and desire to learn more I went to Nevada to pick up more tips and tricks for gold detection, I was not disappointed.

  I did pickup two more pieces but after the training.  I stayed for an additional two days and wished it could have been more.  I did run into Lunk out in the field, the guy is amazing to watch with a detector, thanks for the help!

[wardo]

This is a great write-up. Thanks to GB_Amateur for taking the time to put it together.

Congrats to Gerry and his crew!

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 12/17/2018 at 6:47 AM, Majuba Man said:

I too was at the Rye Patch training with GB_Amateur and about 15 others, great time and learned quite a bit. This was my second training session with Gerry and his crew of top notch instructors. I had also gone to Oregon in September and learned a lot and found my first gold with a detector at that training.  Having the time and desire to learn more I went to Nevada to pick up more tips and tricks for gold detection, I was not disappointed.

  I did pickup two more pieces but after the training.  I stayed for an additional two days and wished it could have been more.  I did run into Lunk out in the field, the guy is amazing to watch with a detector, thanks for the help!

Earl,  Now you have 2x the knowledge and have a better understanding of desert style nugget hunting and then the mountain terrains as we did in eastern Oregon.  Now it really doesn't matter where or what states you are hunting gold with a detector, your skills will be served.  After all, you did find the nicest nugget in Sumpter on that last day, all on your own too.  Thanks for the kind words.