WesD

Just download areas before heading out. No need for a signal. Couple good apps to use are US Topo maps, onX hunt, and of course Google maps.

Kiwi, Myself and a bunch of the guys I hunt with switched to the 2300 for small gold. I will tell you a lot of gold was missed by the gpx series. Why, I dont know, but probably something to do with a fast decay rate of the electric field in certain shapes of nuggets. I know the balance and feel of the detector is really goofy and not the most pleasant to swing, but the electronics pick up where the 5000 left off. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your 2300. Ive used minelabs since the 3k, including the 7k, and will say the 2300 holds its ground as a top gun. Anyway I always enjoy reading your posts, just my opinions here.

For small gold, you cant go wrong with a 2300. Handles mineralization like a champ and nice depth . And the less mineralized the ground, the more depth you will see. Great detector in both ground conditions. This was some sdc bedrock gold missed by my 5000 running an 8x6 coil. As Steve said , it basically meets a vlf in the small gold department.

If you already have a mnt bike, look up the BBSHD 1000watt mid drive kits. I paid aprox $1500 for the kit about a year ago, and it is nothing but fun. Thumb throttle too, unlike most of the factory ebikes which are only pedal assist.

SDC is the King of detectors for hunting small nuggets in all types of ground. I hate to see any negative feedback about this detector because I know how well it works. We have very mild and also highly mineralized in California, and I certainly dont see the vlf detectors getting depth like a PI detector does. There's a reason a vlf is sub $1000 and the SDC is $3000 plus. I had a friend in Nevada that was darn good with his gold bug vlf, but after finally convincing him he needed to step up to a minelab, he bought a SDC, and he sure started finding a lot more nuggets. Sure his take on tiny gold flakes dropped off, but he was finding nuggets of consequence at depths the vlf just doesnt see, and the weight was adding up fast.

Since your gold there tends to run small I would definitely get the NF 8x6. Exceptional coil for creek hunting, and hot on the small nuggets! When I had the gpx, I used to run mine in creeks all summer long here in California. I did get some moisture in them eventually, but I'm hard on coils and all coils eventually fail. Some extra silicon around the cable fitting, to minimize water entry, may be a good idea.

I wonder the same thing. We have some mines in my area that prior to the war were gold but then switched to Chromite as they were on a Serpentine/Slate contact. Not a bad deal, the waste rock was now worth money and kept the mine running.

Good times for sure! I was in New Zealand when I was 14 and still have fond memories of the pristine blue skies and mountains. You guys may want to look into getting minelabs sdc2300 for creek hunting. It kills the small gold at depth, and no hotrocks or ground noise to listen to. Just that sweet weewooo

Like Steve said, only if its windy or other background noise. I clip the speaker on my backpack strap, or detector arm cuff. Speaker is much easier on my nerves and hearing when hunting noisy ground and trashy areas like all of California

Be prepared for some nasty groaning ground noise until that alkali soil dries. Locate patch setting can help a little to cut some of the groan.

I use mine 75% of the time. Sure makes swinging the beast a lot easier using both your arms, especially if you have some grass to saw through.

some kind of gold bug

Mitchel, I'm sure there were small discoveries in California before James Marshals, but this certainly was not the spark that started the 49ers rush and mass migration of travelers, as this article tries to imply. Ive read many journals from the early 49ers and never a mention of any Lopez or Placrita canyon.

Now that's a get er done pick! I like it.

If they could overlay claims down to the quarter section, like lr2000 lists, that would be sweet!