Gerry in Idaho

Glad to see you on the board for 2021 and I must admit quite soon (Jan. 1st).  Well earned my friend. 

I'm going to set my sites high....really high...so flippin high, it is out of this world.  I'm going to try and find a Meteorite before I find a nugget in 2021. 

Hope to see you soon and nice nuggies/pics.

Interesting article of the Competition Hunt in TX.  Heck they gave away a brand new Chevy Truck. 

I've done my share of those style of Speed Hunts and actually was really good in the top 10 most of the time.  But these hunts were of only a few hundred people.  Betty Weeks and Lucile Bowen were out of the NW and the hunt was at Farragut State Park in North Idaho.  I won a few detectors back then, but no trucks.

Glad you all were able to find some yellow metal.  Kind of sucks when only 1 guy finds it, so great for you all.  GPZ-7000 is hard to beat in many situations.

Very nice varieties of lead with some colorful ones too.  I have always said, these lead detectors do quite well but on occasion they mess up and you dig something odd, like a gold nugget.

Hats off to you for your persistence.

2 hours ago, schoolofhardNox said:

Where's the box for the GPX 6000??? I want to see it LOL Merry Christmas

If I posted a pic of it, I think Santa would take away my dealership.

Now maybe a could post subliminal messages by having a 5000 box and a 1000 box next to it.

A GPX-5000 technology + an SDC-2300 technology = 5000 + Monster 1000 = 6000 technology.

Or a ZED 7000 box on top of  ( minus) a GM1000 box = 6000.

4 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Another well-known fact (pointed out by Simon above) is that there is no such thing as a trash-free site. 

I feel Rye Patch is a Trash Free Site, as I can hunt all day and dig 10 targets and all 10 will be nuggets.  This is with the ZED of course.  Actually my last trip there, I dug 7 nuggets in a day and no trash.  Now if I get in a wash, I realize the trash to nugget ratio is less and usually 50/50 which is still pretty dang good.

All the newbies go there and dig all the surface trash out of the way...I so much love seeing newer hunters at Rye Patch as it keeps my odds up.

Actually, you don't find many targets at all when swinging Rye Patch and many days I go 1 to 2 hours and not dig a target.  But when I do find one, I'm most certain to dig a nugget.  Part of the reason I still enjoy hunting Rye Patch after 25 yrs..

Very interesting topic GB and I hope to learn from others on this subject.

I'm no authority at all using the ZED for coins, but did dig one a foot deep on my last trip to MX.  I had found the remains of a nugget patch and was cleaning up what few signals were left.  Right on the bank of a small dry creek bed and up under some heavy brush, my 7000 belched a nice clean loud response of metal.  This was one of those louder goofy signals, which sometimes means bigger of more dense nugget.  At about 10 - 12" down I started getting excited and expecting a solid 1/3rd oz'er to expose itself.  A few more inches of soil removed and I had it out of the hole. 

Well I was quite disappointed at 1st when I realized it was not gold, but pleasantly surprised to see it was 200 yr old coin.  The coin actually ended up being one of my favorite digs of that trip.  No it is not a high dollar value treasures, but the uniqueness and rarity of digging an early Mexican coin was very rewarding in itself.

My ZED would have easily heard the coin even deeper and I expect it would have been a clean signal to around 18-20".

If you want to talk about using the power of PI's, I have much more experience using them for Coins/Rings and CW Relics.

Glenn,  Please PM me your address so I can send a Minelab hat.

I have found some very nice gold n my years, but your treasures are museum quality. 

I especially like the before and after pics and would love for you to start a post and educate us on your preferred methods of turning specimens into picasso's.  Well done my friend.

Thanks everyone for sharing some golden ornaments, there were some really nice finds and yes even the little sparkler ornaments are precious.

On 12/23/2020 at 9:47 PM, geof_junk said:

Simon you have let my down, I was thinking it was a red bucket not a top. 😁

You mean the pic by Brian is not a red 5 gallon bucket with 2 multi ounce pieces? 

Either way, they are golden and beautiful.

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for allowing my business to prosper.  How many of you found detector or prospecting tool under the tree?

2020 was a rough year for many of us, but if you took advantage of the beautiful outdoors with your detector, just maybe you were rewarded with a nice nugget/trinket/treasure.

Hopefully 2021 is golden to you all and I look forward to viewing your pictures of new discoveries, reading your adventures and maybe even sharing a few of mine.

Merry Christmas to all.

OneGuy - Snow pic is beautiful and so are some of those slugs.

Thought I would share a few Christmas Ornaments for all of you prospectors out there. 

I realize this time of year is rough on some of us, as the ground is frozen and the gold is hibernating below.

If anyone wants to add some pics to spice up the tree, please do so.  After all..the heavier it gets, the more it shines.

Whoever adds the most interesting photo will get a free Minelab hat (US mailing only).

Merry Christmas from Gerry's Detectors

Oh my,  That bigger one with the white quartz and tail is amazing.  Well done.

I like the 5 gold ring part.  Reminded me of Christmas hunt in Cancun a few winters back and my 5 gold ring day.

Now now...lets get this straight.  Beautiful dark rich looking gold and I love the ones with the clean milky white quartz.

But....You digging nuggets the size of a quarter?  What kind of skill does that take?  Anyone could find those klunkers as those bruts usually sounds off like a beer can.  We want to see the Skill Nuggets like Simon, Lunk and Jasong show off.  That shows us all how good you really are.  Actually you do have some small ones.

Just giving you a bad time as I am starting to have detecting withdrawals up here in Frozen Idaho.

Job well done.

Blueish gray clay is a good indicator in Eastern Oregon and when I see it, I start slowing down as some great gold has been found in these ancient traps.

I also remember detecting up in Alaska at a certain Creek and when they hit the blue/gray clays sometimes woolly mammoth tusks were discovered in them (different kind of gold).

Good to see you on here Gary.  I too have dug a few in yrs past and I know a couple of them have been put away.  Here are 2 that I keep displayed in the showroom.

You have a very nice collection of them.

Positive thinking is more important than most folks realize.  

When I am out in the middle of nowhere and talking to my detector, the gold gods and horny toads...I am at peace with my surroundings.  This is when my ears/eyes/senses are most alert and the little beauty nuggets decide its time to quit running from me and surrender.

If a prospector is worrying about what someone else is finding, or if there is even gold in the area, chances are they will walk over a soft sounding deep target.  If you get to a point that needing a drink of water or needing to take care of other business (where's the toilet paper), then most certainly take the break as needed.

As you say, "it is like your detector is a dowsing rod"

Self confidence and positive thinking should never be ignored.

Zortan,  Well that certainly was a pay off.

So, What Settings were you using?

How soon of did you decide if a sound was an actual target or just noise (how many times did you swing across it)?

Did you tilt your head left or right and was there a little skip in the step after the 1st nugget?

You are certainly on your way.  Congratulations and very nice gold.

8 hours ago, mn90403 said:

There's gold in Idaho.

https://www.idahoseniorindependent.com/darr-moon/ 

Interesting piece of history they own.  I sold Mr. Moon a detector a few yrs back and had one of my associates teach him to use it.  They did quite well on hard rock ore piles with some really nice specimens.  

There is a mine just below them that I have had success with gold and breath taking scenery. 

13 hours ago, Arky said:

Sally and I use the 7000 and 2300 in the same area, and work nearby one another. We flag targets if we have any questions about them and use whichever machine is best suited to the signal after we have several targets to work. And have the old 705 handy for backup or to decieve ourselves with target ID in trashy areas.

The 7000 is the workhorse, but the 2300 has it's share of finds and often saves digging time.

Working alone, it would depend on area for which PI to use, but 705 is light, and easy to keep handy. It is aways in the cargo pod.

We are still nearly novices at gold detecting, but for ambiguous signals, this approach dual machine approach has found some gold and saved quite a bit of time.

Not saying anyone else did not give good information and many did, but this caught me at the right time.   You mentioned "as a novice" and then went on to describe how the different detectors (tools) are used to help you identify the potential signals, which saves time.  

This is exactly why my staff/I train/tell customers to know the capabilities and limitations of your detector.  No way can 1 unit do it all the best.

I enjoyed your comments and how you realize the tools do different tasks better/worse.  Well said.

19 hours ago, MSC said:

I usually take the 5000 and 7000 with me , love to have a 800 though, I have a GB2 but not the same. 

You know I can make that happen.  I don't tell/show all the Au I dig, but it has been my best gold machine in the last 3 yrs.  Not saying you would need it, but all sales of the NOX and you get a discount on the Field Training we offer.  Bonus,  I show you all kinds of gold it finds that your 5000 & 7000 can't or has issues with.

When going on a hunt do you take 2 different gold detectors or stick just to the big guns?

This last season with Covid and all, I was more fortunate to be out in the field.  On one of my trips to Oregon a Staff Member and I were eager to swing our GPZ's over some ground that held gold.  After about 2 hours of digging iron bits and old lead bullets, I decided the extra depth of the 7000 (overkill) was not proficient for this sites and hiked back to the truck to get the NOX... and what a smart decision it was.

Lighter, faster, better target ID (I like the way it - NOX talks to me) and when I hiked back down the hill to the exact same piece of ground my ZED was having issues, the 1st target I dug was gold.

Knowing capabilities of my detectors and when to make change is very important.  But as I meet so many folks that want to be nugget hunters, I see a good % of them are only taking 1 detector for a trip.  I realize if you have a Big Gun then maybe some of you feel it's best for all gold and or hunts and the little VLF types have no use.  Most folks (not all) started out with VLF technology detectors and then evolve to a PI or ZED, but do you keep the VLF at home?  Why do so many people I run into in the field only have 1 unit with them?

This pretty yellow piece is probably the last nugget found in Oregon with my EQ800 and I'm most certain it would not be in my collection if I only had the 7000 on that trip.  Knowing when to make a change is very important and sometimes rewarding.

Are you a 1 and done hunter or prefer to take #2 as a back up to the plan.

Great post and and answers already provided.

Just wanting to clear up a few things.  My Settings are totally backwards of Lunks, but yet we both do much better than most and we are actually pretty close on nugget hunts/counts.  He might get a couple extra than I on one day and then I'll do the same the next.

Proper Coil Control is MOST important and we both are spot on.

Sweep Speed - This is an interesting one as Lunk does sweep slower than I do (all the time).  Even when he's looking for new patch, his sweep speed is slower than me.  

I adjust my sweep speed based on the situation (as most folks should do) and when looking for Patches, yes I am faster than Lunk.  When hunting a site we have hunted before, I feel I am still faster than Lunk.  Now put me in a small wash I know there is still a few pickers left, and I could spend 20 minutes in a 20' long by 8' wide wash.  I go much slower at that time as I am also scuffing every little broken/change of the threshold.

Here's what I tell the customers at Rye Patch.  If you know nuggets have come from a certain wash, it is best to slowly and methodically work it and not worry about covering a lot of ground.  You are better off to go slow, keep the coil on the ground across the complete sweep width and only worry about how well you cover that piece of ground, not how much ground to cover than day.  

If you are in an unknown area, (driving down the road and see some good looking terrain), you make a decision to test it, then going so slow as mentioned above, is not as beneficial, so I would swing faster and cover more ground.

Here is where Lunk/I and most other well known and Successful GPZ users stand.  We all have found hundreds of nuggets (some of us thousands) and we have trained our our bodies, coil control  and ears to hear a certain signal and nothing but time and experience can do that.

I'll use a simple example that might make sense:

2 guys fishing side by side with same rod, same line, same bait and one guy catches trout so easy and the other guy can't seem to catch even 1.  The guy catching the trout knows the feel of a slight bite vs the bait hitting the bottom.  He has perfected his skill and all the other guy can do is watch, listen, ask questions, learn...and if he keeps at it, the 1st of many will happen.

You are on your way to great things, as long as you don't give up on yourself...and continue to perfect your skill.

1 hour ago, Dig It said:

I've been wearing Danner Stronghold Wellington 10" Brown Slip On, only metal is a little tag on side of boot that I cut off with a pair of diagonal cutters. ( Dikes ) Good snug fit, not crippled by end of day !!!!

I just ordered a pair and they'll be here Sunday.  Thanks for mentioning as I have been a Danner fan for many years (big game hunting), so hopefully these keep me just as happy.