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Last time I had to chance to take a metal detector outside was about a month ago. FINALLY was able to plan for some detecting time Sunday morning. I'd been thinking about my G2+LTD audio profiling abilities, so I unpacked it Saturday night and go it ready to go for Sunday morning's hunt. Was hunting gold as always but was mainly into audio target size profiling so I was digging coins too. This was just another stinking zincoln signal. Boy was I surprised when about 3" down out pops a silver ring. 925 silver with a EC hallmark. Don't have any idea if the stones are real or not. Being silver I don't have my hopes up but you never know. Its like a starburst on the finger in the sunlight. I'll get it tested and find out. If they are real its ching ching. If not, it is still a $100 bill. HH Mike

Swinging along in the shallows this morning I eventually came across a coin spill. While the first scoop brought up a dime a couple other coins came to the surface along with what I at first thought was a twist off aluminum cap. Once in the scoop i realized it was a ring with a nickel stuck perfectly inside it giving the appearance of a cap. 4.6 grams marked 417. While I don't remember the TID with the nickel by itself it comes in 18-19 on the 800. The 14k 8.9 gram ring I got the other day read in the 20 to 22 range. the 35 cents in coin and a ring made for a nice "spill"

Anyone a Pistol Expert? I just dug this banger of a find. Minelab Equinox 800 sniffed it at only 10". Please share with your gun buddies and we'll get it figured out. It is one of my cooler Idaho digs. Oh, and if you have been lucky enough to have found a pistol or gun, please share story and photos on here.

There was a spot that I had driven past hundreds of times over the years, and always in the back of my mind was some old timer telling me "I got a few bits there back in the SD days". But it just didn't "look" good. Well, I will never think that again! I decided to finally stop there after having a bad spell, and a bit of renewed interest in the GPX5000 teamed up with the 15" Evo coil. Well in short time I got 3 bits for 1.4 grams, and a heap of junk targets. I decided to go back for another look, but this time with a 12" Evo coil, and this was the next lot of finds:

Yesterday after work which i finished at 8pm i got home and had a while to rest before going to the beach for the night . I got there at around 1am and first because the tide was very high and long i used the 705 on the dry tops for the coinage . For the first hour or so i seemed to miss all or most of the coinage , seemed to be passing around them i think . Then when i got to an area near pubs i started to find a steady stream of coinage , after a while i found a then broken now fixed Silver bracelet and a lighter. After that i was still finding more coinage . At around 4am it was starting to get light and i knew it would be time to change to the Nox but for a while longer i stayed with the Terra and then on the tops which in a small area were being turned over by a digger i found an old Silver ring . At about 5am i took the Terra's control box and coil off the Anderson stem and put the Nox box and coil on and started the low tide , soon after i found a small Silver ring and a few coins but the finds were few and far between . At around 6am a few other people turned up to detect and 2 were using Nox's . After seeing and talking to the first one i saw i went along the beach into the surf a bit and found a Silver band . By 7am i was getting a bit knackered and wanted rest but the long low tide kept me going for a bit longer but apart from a few targets i was getting nothing else so at 8.30am i finished and left the beach. My finds with the Terra were £49.96p , a Silver ring and Silver bracelet and the Light and a small foreign coin and a 20 Euro Cent . My finds with the Nox were £4.86p , 2 Silver rings and 2 x 20 Euro Cents . The tides will be getting shorter from now so not sure when i will use the Nox next , maybe a different beach somewhere but my normal beaches are not sandy all the time unless long tides .

After the rain storm / snow melt off, a place that was already work, was check again and the Gold Bug 2 did it's job again. 3 penny wt.

Here are some of my finds so far.

Noah, If you are going to Phoenix then you need to try to find a nugget there. There are lots of nuggets still being found within 2 hours north and west of Phoenix. Many of us still find nuggets in Quartzsite. There are several metal detector dealers in that area but I would call Bill Southern at 623-910-0345 and that would be on your way to Las Vegas thru Wickenburg. You could see Rich Hill and the LDMA ground there. Go to MyLandMatters and find some unclaimed ground where gold has been found in the past. (That is your best chance for getting lucky!) If you join GPAA then you can skip a lot of research. The idea of you going to Rye Patch would be a very, very long drive. It is about 800 miles. You would be better swinging a detector on ground where nuggets had been found before rather than driving all that distance. I've hunted nuggets in Arizona and Nevada. Mitchel

Around here those are referred to as nuggets lol. Quite the antediluvian flood needed to move those chunks :) Anything +30 mesh around here is a nugget. rex

Cool find! looks like a smith ( Otis A. Smith Company ) from i can search. The new model was steel frame, yours looks like brass?

Ok, Thanks very much Chase ☺️ todays little hunt $44.50

This is the Ultimate Minelab Equinox 600/800 VDI Numbers and Tones video covering Rings and other Jewelry. I cover Platinum, Gold, Silver, Tungsten, Stainless Steel, and Aluminum Rings. Pendants, Earrings, and even go over various different style Pull Tabs. A lot of time was put into this labor of love Test/Demonstration video and hope it helps out new Equinox users. Make sure to also check out my video covering Coins. GL & HH

I just spent two months overhauling the website and could use a break from the keyboard. I promised myself a reward when it was done and now it’s time to collect. I am going to be off grid most of the next couple weeks and for those times when I might be in range I am not going to think about it. That being the case you are all on your own until the end of the month. My absence is in itself is an experiment just to see what happens. You are all a really great bunch of folks so no worries on my part. I hope you all enjoy both the forum and your own adventures. If things get a little sloppy I will sort it out when I return. So take care, have fun, and see you all on or before Aug 1st. The goal when I get back will be a day by day accounting of the adventure with photos and hopefully some good finds to show. I know the adventure will be there regardless of finds - going to be a good time. Again, best wishes to all, and thanks for being the best forum members ever! Steve Herschbach DetectorProspector.com

I bought my nephews from Denmark detectors a few years ago but they haven't had a lot of luck most likely due to the fact that I wasn't there to teach them how to use them. I took them out on the lawn and they had a blast finding my wheaties, old nickles, a few rough indian heads, and assorted relics. The only downside is now they have unrealistic expectations of how many fines are actually in the ground ?

3 month Equinox 98% beach use roundup Today I've put together some stuff I've found with the Nox in the last 3 month. Most of the stuff has been pictured in my last posts, anyway I've counted ~ 400€ worth in clad: We had execptional good weather the last 2 month, so this doesn't seem to be normal amount you'd expect by any means .. - a friendly detectorist found the same amound with a cheaper machine The blingy stuff: Foreign and old coins: Some buttons: 10 liters / some kg worth of various trash: ... and other not pictured stuff like bullets, spoons, fishing lead, keys, locks, far gone coins ... you name it! All in all pretty successful. Beeing out veeeeery often and the nice weather surely helped a lot this season. Definitely need to hit the water for some more ring finds.. but wimpy as I am, I suspect that to happen soon I am still running stock beach1 with changed tone breaks. I might try the park and field modes, but only having ~2h per hunt, doesn't leave much room for experiments and hunts for small jewelry. Nevertheless I sometimes find veeery small stuff pretty deep down.

Big boy....... side of a hill .... bad angle and possible leaning on the machine to dig. As a water guy ....... many have that bad habit when using the scoop out there...... we love using the machine to balance ourselves while we are getting pushed around and dig. Some have broken coil ears by allowing the lower shaft rubbers to wear ..... which wears that head......... which makes them crank down that bolt to much..... add that to water torque..... and it happens.

I thought so too but that idea has gone down the U bend because of cashless society. Still there a few days that will produce. My next hit might be one of them , we'll see tomorrow.

Gerry Standing by waiting for more words of what the 24K has to offer when you have the time. The Best! Chuck

this is my waterproof tdi pro that ive constructed with 14" coil and my big scan coil.

Ya never know until you get it tested. Some are allergic to yellow gold and Platinum being pricey it's entirely possible someone had it set in silver. At any rate, Nice Find! Good luck

Mike Funny you should ask that, on the drive home it occurred to me also that the last two rings were marked 417 and 583 whereas historically for me at least, that is quite rare. Today's is also only one of a very few recently lost rings I have found that are 10K but I'll take it!

I Love sho-goo. the stuff comes in black and clear. It’s a synthetic rubber which hardens to make a solid bond with just about anything. I use it to mount receiver sights and scope mounts on old guns which were not drilled and tapped or did not have dovetails. Absolutely rock solid when cured. Excess/squeeze out easily cleaned up with a scalpel or razor blade. When you want to remove it just hit it with your heat gun and it goes soft at somewhere over 250F - you just peel it away.

I believe it was running at 310 cubic ft. a second, last flood was calculated at 260 cubic ft. a second and that one was years ago. 3 days of very little sleep. Have cleared another pad and started rebuilding creek bank.

What will you be swinging?

Hi Nuke em. Awesome matey! Beats a pension fund that's for sure! Good on ya brother. Andy.

It's difficult to rent a vehicle (4wd) which will get you through many of the trails you'll be wanting to travel on. Think of it this way -- the easy places to access are the first ones to get picked clean. That doesn't mean there aren't places to find gold close to the paved and well-maintained non-paved roads, but you need to 'dig deeper' in your search to find them. As Mitchel pointed out, joining the GPAA and accessing their claims saves a lot of research. If you were a seasoned prospector then going on your own (the Land Matters search for unclaimed federal land) would likely be more productive, but you need considerable knowledge/experience AND likely a true 4wd vehicle for that. Considering your cost of travel, etc., joining the GPAA is a bargain. You get two periodicals, a gold panning kit, a catalog of claims (hardcopy and online access). There are a handful of GPAA claims in the Wickenburg area as well as the Prescott area -- more/less on your way from Phoenix to Las Vegas. I've been on several of them myself. A good clearance 2WD (such as a Nissan Rogue which can be easily rented) will allow access to some of those GPAA claims. Don't expect to drive right up onto the claim. But getting within a mile or so is doable. I didn't see when you were planning on being in AZ/NV. If soon you need to be EXTREMELY AWARE of the hot weather. I know it gets hot (and humid) in Florida, but American Southwest is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Awesome find Gerry!

Cool find !! I've dug gun parts, but not a whole gun yet. GL&HH, Cal

Man that was some kind of flood.........

Here is the link for more info: https://www.gunsamerica.com/962546477/Otis-A-Smith-NEW-MODEL-Pocket-Pistol-32-RF-Nickel-w-Gambler-SHADOW-BOX.htm

An error in VDI number and quarter/dime reporting has been noted in the early version of the new 6” concentric coil for the White’s MX series. I can’t imagine not digging anything reading in this range anyway, but it is something to be aware of. If nothing else it could affect resale value on the coils so if you have one and this is a problem it can be addressed under warranty once a fix is applied. Stay tuned.

I had that discussing about epoxy with ML some years back. As long as the epoxy was marine epoxy and didnt degrade/cause damage they had no problem with it. However....... they did have an issue with bed liner because some contained metal flakes that affected the tuning. I also believe if you have a CTX and check those ears....... they are the same size..... only difference is the supports. The CTX one make an X under the coil ..... the Nox is flat. I dont think we are going to have an issue with those ears if the CTX hasnt.

The carbon fiber upper is 34" long and it fits in my check bag on an angle. The twist-lock is included, Dave

TV was junk tonight So I settled in for some Coil testing and I was watching Gerry's Video about setting up the GMT because I saved it to my YT channel when he first up loaded it and I watch it every now and then, He was talking about hot rocks/cold rocks anyways I was sure that I got the MXT to hit them harder and that the sound was more Bell like, anyways I had the 10"2D coil fitted and the response from a hot rock was somewhat muted and I messed with the settings firing up the MXT with the tracking on so I could then lock it to "50" and it was still noticeable then I tried the 14x10 Detech and it was the same as the 10" 2D coil and then I fitted up the 6x10 and it was a fraction sharper not much, Then I hooked up the 5.3 Concentric and BOOM clear as a bell, I tried it in the default Relic mode and that was very bell like and in the Prospecting mode it was a 65%+ stronger than using a DD. Then I tried the 950 concentric and it was strong like the 5.3 coil was. On Gerry's Video the hot rocks on the GMT sound like a blend of tones some weak some a bit strong, This got me thinking that if a person was to fit the old Whites GMII coil to the GMT or that new 6" round coil being a concentric it would ID hot rocks a lot better than the 2D 6x10 GMT coil does and save a lot of digging, Bottom line is if you can get away with using a small concentric on either of these 2 machines I don't think you would ever dig another hot rock. Of coarse by using a DD it will mask the sound of hot rocks to a fair degree so it boils down do you want to ID them or try and mask them out as to which coil type you use, I know concentrics have worked for me searching old camp fires where I found a heap of coins between the bottle caps. Seeing as it was your Video Gerry that gave me the idea maybe you might want to test the theory out some time, hope that helps. John.

Recent UK 5p and 10p coins are clad iron, if you reject iron you will them also along with modern iron clad 1p and 2p coins.

Does that machine have a Pull Tab Notch on it because if it does and it is turned on you will loose hammered coins, On the MXT those coins you have listed have the same VDI's to a few Hammered Coins, On the MXT and MXT-300 they have a Pull Tab Notch and if it is set to knock out PT's those coins and hammered and PT's will most likely be notch out/Blanked. Check to see if it does have a PT Notch before you do anything else, Hope that helps, John.

Would not the Rye Patch Nugget Shoot on Sept.15th be a good place to meet same minded folks in Nevada ?

SittingElf, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lidar_Dataset_(United_States) I am by no means an expert on Lidar or its use. I started out by contacting my state's GIS department about a week ago when I first heard about Lidar. The link above gives some clue as to which states have data available. This may be a good place to begin your search for data. Living in a small state does have a few advantages - small, easier to map & easier to have a one-on-one conversation with the experts. That said, my state is continuing to build, update and improve its Lidar data resources. It was fairly easy to learn which data set to use and then the “View In” choices were pretty straight forward. Google Earth was one of them and offered the most of what a metal detectorist looks for. ArcGIS Online viewer was another choice. GE was a no brainer for me. Once I figured this out (more like stumbled into it) I was viewing Lidar images using the data my state has available in a matter of minutes. I didn't see OK listed among the states in the above link. I'm not sure how old that list is and this is a rapidly expanding effort so the list may not be the last word. Find out if your state has a GIS department and make contact if you can. Hope this helps. GL & HH

I hope it is ok to post this here but I was checking out TNET and came across this newly found Nugget, http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/580966-wife-scores-big-one.html John.

Yet.

Been out yesterday. Besides the usual clad and coins I've found an old navi button: And 925 silver again :

After taking my 600 in the water a couple times, I decided to make a one piece upper shaft like NSC did. I got a 22 x 20 x 1000 carbon fiber shaft for about $28 with express shipping (could have left free ground for $5 less) and a plugger shaft lock for $13 both from eBay. I made my shaft 26" long, carefully marked and drilled all my holes, sealed them with superglue and put it all back together. Super tight lock up and looks great! Cost me only $41.

Different beach today, did only 1,5h and not very thoroughly. Still got ~16€: I think my clad totals >300€ now, that's 1/3 of the nox buy price. I went back to the beach I did with sens set to 9. This time I've set it to 18 - only got 1,xx€ ! Okay.. I think someone else is hunting my main beach . The lowered sens even didn't seem to be that big of a deal. But guess what - I've found another ring: It's very thin, 925 silver, missing one stone - but: a ring is a ring The Nox seems to love silver..! Edit: One thing I've forgot to mention: Somebody had lost the lock from his beach chair and asked me if I could help him to find it - it took about 1min - second target = success. That surely raised my karma

I made my own big foot coil...pinpointing is easy at the front of the coil and i can get very good depth with the tdi using this coil