Glenn

I use a 4500 with a gold stalker 14". I have found 109 nuggets since November with it for about four ounces so it has been a great hunting trip so far

Thanks, I am hunting around the bradshaws, North of Phoenix, I cover the whole state and even parts of Nevada and California,

Finally hit a worthwhile patch today, it was a brutal trail to drive then I had to hike down a steep canyon and go almost two miles till I rounded a bend and saw a nice long stretch of bedrock, when the smoke cleared I had 9 nuggets for a half ounce then had to start the long trek out, but I was carrying gold so it was ok

Not sure about your dredge I am actually hunting an area that not too many people know about, I should be getting out that way in a few weeks, I will let you know if I see it, no running water anywhere that I know of, just a few puddles left.

Yes if you put it in channel one you can run the pick over the coil and it barely responds, but channel two is very sensitive, I have found about 1 1/4 ounces in the last week with it so I know it hits targets and I am finding them behind other guys that are detecting the same areas so either my ear is pretty good or they are missing a lot. I knew the machine was a huge step backward so I put a platypus on it because of the extra sensitivity I seem to get out of them, it is a mono and you have to be very gentle with the coil to prevent falseing, but they are very good at faint targets.

Thanks, yeah that area has been just pounded with everything and by a lot of good hunters, so it was just plain a miracle that I heard that big one, I can't wait for my machine back, that 2200 might be hitting gold but it is driving me nuts and it only has channel 2 , channel 1 won't even hit my pick

got out alone this morning and decided to hit an old area that has been beat to death, but it is easy to get to and I have a long long hike planned for tomorrow morning so I didn't want to kill myself. The old 2200d that I am using while waiting for my 4500 to be repaired was making more weird sounds than I could count, it was wobbling and screeching and just plain annoying me and no matter how many retunes I did it never got any better, so I just tried to get into the rhythm of the wobbling and see if I could hear any changes, after about two hours it started to settle down and I got a very weak signal and I spent at least a half hour digging for the target, when I got into bedrock and red clay hardback I knew my chances were pretty good, I was down at least a foot and finally popped out this yellow turkey leg and then about 15 minutes later I hit the small one for dessert. One darn good meal.

On the way in I had my doubts about the area especially since I haven't put a winch on the tracker yet and we were in a rut that really called for one, but a few stacked rocks and some back and forth action and we got into the area. Some of these roads are almost gone.

the road was horrible going in but the ride out was a little better with the extra weight we were carrying, lol. I wasn't sure we were going to get out but we did a little after dark. The storms have really moved some material.

After reading your review again, I was looking through old posts for it as I had read it once before, I think I am going to look for a gold bug pro, I think it will fill in quite well since most of the ground I have been hunting is quiet and tons of bedrock and shallow overburden. It also opens up the ability to hunt trashy areas and coin hunt. Your review answered all my questions and saved me a lot trial and error, glad you supplied the link, I enjoy reading no bs reviews, I hate having to weed out bias and hype and I find neither in your reviews, so thanks again and looking forward to hitting some ground with you this winter, I am here till late March or April

Yeah I figure if my main machine goes down I would just shift gears and hunt within the capabilities of the backup but the nice thing with the goldbug is the discrimination to be able to play in the trash which I would never do for long with the 4500. Is the white v3i similar to the goldbug or is it more of a coin only machine

Thanks Steve for the great info, in looking for a backup machine I guess I am also thinking if the second machine was versatile enough to nugget hunt and also be a machine that I could coin hunt around old houses and mining camps, so I guess another pi might not be my best choice, I know the ctx3030 seems to be a hot coin and gold machine but I hate the price for a machine that I might rarely use, is there a machine that is roughly similar to the ctx but that I could find used pretty cheap, I am putting a lot of money in the tracker so I would like to find a backup machine on the cheap

been camping in az for over three weeks and have pulled out 46 nuggets for about 3/4 ounce cleaning up old areas but my 4500 went down over a week ago and had to send it in, the repair center is less than an hour from me but I can't even get a return call from them to know what is wrong, the man that used to run their center in Vegas was good, so far I am not impressed with the new centers customer service, hopefully they will restore my faith with a reasonable repair this week, I have been using a 2200d with a Joey for the last several trips and although I still pulled out 10 nuggets, it is a real challenge changing machines when you have hunted with the same one for at least five years. As soon as I get my machine back I will be ready to start prospecting new areas, Rich Lampright is heading this way, hope to see you Steve, there is a lot of water damage in the Bradshaws. Been looking at a Whites TDI for a backup, not sure if they are a good machine, any input is appreciated

This is from my second day out in an old area, only got in about four hours, had a flat on the quad

Hey Steve , always glad to see you show up for a hunt, I am looking forward to a lot of prospecting this winter, I have a few areas in mind that are long range on foot, which I know is your cup of tea, as soon as the weather cools just a bit those areas could be fun to take a look at.