WesD

It will be interesting to hear reports on how much more sensitive the small coil is over the original round. I would get on the waiting list, but want to hear some more feedback before jumping in.

Kiwi, I think making other coils for the 7000 wouldn't be as profitable as selling you another detector. A guy with a 7000 who wants a smaller coil is forced to buy an SDC or GPX. Too bad the new SDC coils are not advertised as waterproof. I used to use the old joey coiltec in the creek and it worked great for awhile ?

If I remember right, my buddy Mike who hunted with Dick and also lived in the area, talked with Ben sometimes. I think he saw him a few years ago out Imlay way. Mike told me the old guy used to dry wash a lot, and really knew some good areas all over.

Condor, did you read the book Bajas Hidden Gold, by Herman Hill? Good fun read if you havent.

I'd look into a sdc2300 for underground detecting. The 7000 is pretty tough to swing around in tight places and the big coil is not easily stabbed down into craggy bedrock. The 7000 is great for wide open field hunting, hydraulic pits and that type of ground.

The 7000 is great for cleanup on established patches of gold, but is overkill for prospecting imo, especially if you're hunting shallow bedrock areas. Most the slug gold on a new patch of ground can be found with a 5000 unless your dealing with crystalline, low conductive, small types of gold.. .

Cant beat the beautiful California motherload country!

Kiwi, You stated the sdc is no advantage in mild soil, so I'm comparing that's like saying that the 7000 is of no advantage in mild soil. Obviously it is. The fact is both 7 and 2300 work exceptional in mild soil and the milder the ground the deeper they seem to shoot down. Ive been over many patches I worked with the Saddie/gpx5000 combo and it was amazing how much was left that the gpx didnt see for whatever reasons. I imagine one reason has to do with an accelerated receive timing on the sdc which picks up the fast decay eddy current targets. It seems a lot of gold has this characteristic, otherwise the 7000 wouldn't be pulling the gold either, as we generally dont dig any deeper or bigger than the previous gpx's did. Its primarily that small or low conductive gold we get now. I'd spend a little more time on the sdc. You might take a liking to it, once you get over some more color. I had a friend here complain and moan about his sdc for months, but then he started to get the feel for it and had nothing but compliments from then on. Thanks Kiwi, catch you later

Kiwi if that were the case, the sdc being of no advantage in mild soils, then the 7000 would also be of no advantage, but obviously you are getting your share of small gold missed by the gpx . I use a 7000 also, but after a spot is cleaned, the 2300 can go right behind and pull even smaller gold. Its basically a 7000 with a tiny coil. Guys out here in Nevada were killing it with the sdc when they came out, and that ground is very mild. Yes the sdc has an even greater advantage in mineralized ground, but there is no doubt they will pick small, low conductive, porous, crystalline, flat gold right along side a 7000. Sorry I gotta stick up for that little blue detector because they work so good.

Flak, our California boys were no joke either! I dont know what these guys were eating to work that hard.

Im going to say the Z is a bad choice for most creeks. You would be better off with a gpx and small 8x6 coil for creek hunts unless, you have flat bottom bedrock with minimal crags and cracks to allow use of a large 14" coil. The small coils will out-depth large coils because you can bring them in closer to the bedrock and stab the coil down into cracks. Thats my experience a least.

SDC is a PI detector, so yes on more depth and stable threshold. None of that awful noise you have to put up with while using a vlf. Unless you only have tiny flake gold, get the sdc! Most guys that dig out creeks here in the Motherload of California run these.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Ok guys I just ordered some sheet plastic. I'll post when I have some done. Wes those batteries must last a looong time. I got to running the smaller 18650s, and the run time is incredible. Nice job on the adapters.