Redz

Everyone needs a day off. Glad it is back.

I am always a little nervous first day of deer hunting season

I was not refering to the sides of the hole, but rather the sides of the pinpointer, but I appreciate the description of how you use the pinpointer.

I use them for this too. Surely, however, a deeper pinpointer may be less productive as it will sound off on nuggets further away from all sides. I.e. less precise

I am not sure I want a super deep pinpointer. Sensitive, I like that for the smaller bits, but in fact I like it quite shallow as no sound tells me it is safe to keep using my pick to excavate. For depth I have my detector.

Unfortunately that will continue no matter what....

The 5000 can find coins jewelry and relics at great depth. That is why they are used on the east coast of the US. They are not as good at discriminating between targets, so if there is a lot of trash you will dig a lot of it. It really shines in ignoring high mineralization in the ground, which is critical for gold nuggets. I would reflect on what you really want to spend most of your time doing, and if this is your first detector have realistic expectations - many spend a long time finding their first gold as before they are successful they have to learn where the gold is going to be. If the place is hunted out, or there were no big nuggets to start with, detector choice is not going to matter much. Location matters.

If gray inside my bet is lead

Are they attracted to magnet? Also when they split open are they silvery or copper colored? If you hit them with a propane torch do they melt?

If your main objective is nugget gold, then a PI detector will serve you well, and the gpx 5000 is a great detector for finding gold. There is a learning curve on how to use it, however, so keep reading the manual and the forum guides. There are more recent detectors that have less of a learning curve perhaps, and find smaller gold, but they are much more expensive. Be sure to check your detector is an authentic gpx 5000 by checking the serial number on the minelab website.

And then the damn thing wouldn't let you hold the nugget...

Leave a tub of water open by your truck in the desert, or try a reciculating sluice, and you will learn how many bees there are quickly

Gpx 5000 you can use 7.4v 8000 mah lithium. Is lightweight, plus you get much less emi. The remote control vehicle ones work well. Goldhound had a good post on this but I cant find it. There are many makes but they are like this https://www.amazon.com/HOOVO-Connector-Helicopter-Airplane-Quadcopter/dp/B07V5FZV2M/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=N6PH1RPB8I3M&keywords=2s+traxxas+lipo+battery+10000mah+7.4v&qid=1683904030&sprefix=2s+tracxas+lipo+battery+10000+mah+7.4v%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-5

I get tired of seeing this every couple of years. I have never known gold replenish except fly specs. I agree it is the 100 to 500 year flood when the water is 20-30 feet above normal that really has a chance of moving gold. The only real bonanza is removal of overburden making new areas accessible.

Take a look at our teddy bear cholla...

The training nowadays for most items is on youtube, like it or not

Wonder if this has anything to do with the GPX sale a month or so ago?

I agree, hunt outside the box. That is where there is real potential for good finds.

Search For Glenn in CO

Fartraveller, It may help a little to know what state you are considering. From your references/tools used you are in the southwest US correct? But there are a bunch of states that have 6000+ elevation. I am with Norvic - hunt ground where there are no big mines, more chance of nothing, but more chance of untouched spots. They are still there- old timers didnt have detectors, and older detectors cant handle ground modern ones can. Geology map will show the right ground

Be careful of the temperatures for the next few months. They kill seasoned desert folk every year, including a couple of people i knew in last couple of years alone.

So could you train it on a specific small square of geology where you know gold to be, and have it find similar

Many find more, many find less. Few wish to divulge

I have one of these too and they make a big difference. The other large difference was moving away from the big brick battery to lithium RC batteries. Once you get rid of the battery amplifier it is a whole lot quieter and you can run much hotter, which means better depth and higher stability setting

You cant go wrong with the NF evolution series coils. Great depth on small stuff