Nikko

Thanks! I'm happy I joined. It sounds like I picked some good size coils to start with then. 😁 The coil project started a few months ago when I got my Axiom and didn't trust it enough yet because I didn't understand the language it spoke. I went from finding some pickers and flakes here and there most full days working at one of my productive spots with the GM1000, to a sudden dead streak with the Axiom. So me not wanting to carry a gold monster on my back and an Axiom in my hand, or vise-versa when working boulders, brush, and bedrock, I thought if there was a small coil with iron check and it was sensitive as the GM1000, I wouldn't fear I was missing any opportunity to find something. Next one was inspired by watching some minelab 5000s modded and running huge coils in Australia punching waaaaaay down deep. They were really interesting with a three point harness. My back would not cooperate with such a device, as cool as they look. I was recalled some spots I've hit over and over and keep finding gold the slower I go, the less picky I get about a signal. Having dug most easily detectable nuggets and trash, there were less redlining targets, so I dug the faint targets anyways...or I came back with upgraded equipment. Both cases I found more. There's one spot a guy has been detecting for almost 30 years. It's not huge. Few hundred acres. He still finds gold. We got skunked there with the 11x7 DD-FC, 13" DD-FC, and 16" mono, so it might be worth going in with a 24" or 30" coil. 🤷‍♂️ Again, I'm new to the sport. I get it, but I haven't developed the instincts a lot of you have built over the years. However, I understand the technology and am getting up there with the knowledge of the geology of everything. So I'm hoping the collective knowledge could help everyone. I'm starting with a Mono or DD around the same size as the stock 11x7 and it's mainly a QC/POC coil. It should be comparable in sensitivity and depth as the factory coil. If that works out, it'll be a good day and will move on to other styles and sizes. Oh, and it will possibly be one that sinks. 🙂

Hello 👋 I've been lurking here for quite a while and finally decided i may as well join the discussions. Steve Herschbach, your posts are some of the most informative I've found anywhere. 🤜🤛 I primary nugget hunt in the California motherlode. I started with a Nokta Anfibio Multi, switched to a Minelab Gold Monster, and now I run a pair of Garrett Axioms and a Gold Master 24k, and pinpoint with a Garrett carrot and Falcon. I'm still relatively new to the sport (seems like most I talk to have been at it for decades) and hope to pick up some tips from some of the veterans here. I am also engineering a line of aftermarket coils for the Axiom. I hope to share the progress, pick your brains, get ideas, and find some people to to beta test them when they are ready (soon), if that's allowed. 🤙 A few pics from the past couple months. I've been filming my digs when I get time (and have the patience) to move the camera along. It's been fun, frustrating, and rewarding.