Gerry in Idaho

You got me to thinking if I lived in or around Reno, I'd be NOX'in out on some serious ore dump piles. So many people pass on them and there is good gold be to found in a few. Usually crystalline or wire type gold, but those are some serious money makers.

I think you should head North before your detector melts. Actually, so you know, it is not good to store detectors in vehicles in those kinds of temps. Be safe, be kind, wash your hands and spread some cheer...no more heat.

Not sure if it can get much better than that, but I'll take your "best wishes". Actually, my video editing guy and his son invited me to do a hunt with them this weekend, so I might chase an old coin or two. I have not went for old coins in a few months. Here is a video he did of a cool find he made near where we'll be this weekend. Thanks for the wishes.

I offer a 15% Military Discount, VET or Active Duty. Plus I have bookoo emails of knowledge and different Settings. Small Gold, Large Gold, Old Coins, Salt Beach, General Parks and also how I use to to find and return recently lost rings. Glad the insurance did not give you any hassel.

Here are my last 2 gold finds with the NOX. Was in Oregon over the 4th and as I always do I like to hunt areas most other have issues with, the old workings that has the iron trash. These 2 finds are very different kinds of gold and pretty far apart, but yellow metal no less. The large specimen is 3.96 ozt and the small nugget is 1.6 grams. Did anyone else get out for the 4th or recent hunts and add to their heavy metal collection?

Paul, Sorry I did not catch this post earlier this year but as you folks see, I come and go in spurts onto the forum. Much of my detecting style is on tailing piles. I like hunting dredge piles, hand stacked workings, old placers and ore dump piles. For most of those mentioned above, the Equinox 800 is my detector of choice and the main reason is the amount of iron trash in the piles. The identification capabilities of the NOX is best on the market today and it has proven for me many times over. Yes I take a 5000 with 11" round DD coil in DISC mode and hunt some piles if there is mostly hot rocks as that really drives the NOX nuts. On a recent trip, I found a dandy with the NOX and stock 11" coil at approx 12" and there was iron trash all around it. I so desired to find another bigun in the area, the next trip had the 7000 covering the same ground and anything not near the surface was checked again with the NOX. (side note) You can have both machines on and be about 8 to 10 feet part. If there was no signal at all from the NOX, I dug it. Sure enough, I pulled 3 more non ferrous targets from the same piles my NOX missed. No they were not gold, but I was happy that my combo hunt produced 3 more signals that easily could have been gold. The NOX is a very capable detector and unless those piles have some seriously deadly mineralized soils, you'll still get good depth with the stock coil on decent size gold. I have found many pieces with the NOX in the 6 to 8" range and a half dozen in the 10 to 16" range. How are you setting up your NOX for the tailing as for Function Settings?

I have yet to get an invite to hunt CA so it is not my stomping grounds. I sure would enjoy a few days out West though to see how much gold I could find before you folks sent be back to Idaho. You have to stick with the detector you feel is giving you results and is most fun for you. I have no issues with your selection. Just don't go hunt any ore dump piles with it, or you might go nuts when you realize what it can't see as good as your NOX.

GMT was a serious winner in its day. As for the comparison of the NOX vs APEX. I just don't see much written or hype about the APEX gold prospecting capabilities. It would literally kill the sales of their AT Pro, their AT Max and their AT Gold. I feel they are not in that position for such a loss of detector sales. Now for the Coin/Relic/Water/Salt Beach Hunting and at that price point, it could be a real contender, especially since the majority of population is not in gold bearing regions. Thanks for input and I do hope to see many happy people with the APEX and their results.

One of the reasons I sold my $2500 CTX 3030. NOX can do so much more than the 3030 and the features the 3030 has over the NOX is as important. As many know, the NOX is a way better nugget detector than the 3030, but realize the CTX was never designed for that purpose.

Now that is one of the better tests that I have seen. The string swinging across the coil while the nugget is at the exact same location is much better than us trying to swing a detector over the same level on a target. Thanks for sharing Steve, as this video will certainly show some folks the majority of smaller gold is found best with a small coil, as many of us old timers know. Problem is so many never hunters feel bigger is better.

Why do I feel this detector gets my vote of confidence as the best gold detector on the market today. As a multi line dealer and one who enjoys the hunt for gold, I have spent more time and money than most folks trying out all the different gold machines on the market. Another of my attributes is having qualified Field Staff Experts who have been and still are in hot pursuit of the soft yellow precious metal. Some of my team goes back 20 yrs with me and many trips across the gold bearing western states including Alaska. Even my newer Staff have proven their stature with many ounces and or pounds of gold being recovered, but more importantly, by a variety of gold detectors. We also take our knowledge of the many detectors and share with each other. Heck, many times we are together and even comparing different detectors and or settings to get the ultimate signal. We find the happy medium between clearest target vs strongest response and this can really speed up ones abilities at sniffing out gold with the best of the best. At times in recent years I’ve been labeled as a Minelab guy who pushes them for profit. What those folks don’t understand is that profit is the last of my worries. Heck to be really truthful, Minelab has one of the lowest % margins out there. Early in my Dealer career, I was labeled as a Fisher guy, then a White’s dude and it seemed any detector I used and pushed, it branded in their minds. What I have learned is to put the best tool in my customers hands that will give them the greatest chance of Success. If they are finding gold, I have a walking advertisement for my business and they’ll share their experiences with all those around them who are interested. That my folks is how I work and it brings me long lived happy/repeat customer… becomes my profit. As a true die hard detectorist when in the hunt for gold, I have no other objective but to find it. I really don’t care what country detector is made, what brand, model or name it has on the label. I’ll even go so far as to say I also do not mind spending the money on a detector if I feel it will help me recover more gold. The bottom line is for me to be Successful at finding gold. This should be the case for most folks who look for Au and especially if you want to be proficient at digging more than most others. Here is the problem for the vast majority of people out there who want to detect for the heavy metal. You listen to the wrong music, lol. Most don’t have the knowledge of all the different gold units and or technologies and how they work best. Not only that, lets be honest, the majority don’t have the ok from the wife (the money) to buy them all. But even for those with no wife and or no budget limit, you still don’t have the time. OK, at least those with no wife and no limit on spending, you might have more time than most others. On top of all the scenarios already mentioned there is still one factor that really does help my detector of choice and this is where so many people get confused or have been mis informed. My detector finds more varieties of natural gold than most any other and as a bonus, it also finds man made gold as in rings and gold coins with more accuracy than the competition. But that last bit is a bonus, so we won’t even count that part of the equation, even though gold is gold. So what is this detector I speak so highly of (at least until something comes out and proves to be better)? It’s a gold machine with features I really like, use in the field and prefer. Some of the most important (in no given order) details are listed below. Target Identification - So many detectors now have the ID of (Don’t Dig/Dammit = Ferrous or Hot Diggity/Dig It = Nonferrous) and that is a nice feature, but I want more. I want digital ID that can split my Hot Diggity/Dig It targets into sub categories and it’s accuracy of low conductions, medium ones and higher ones where most gold never reads, is pretty reliable. Actually, nothing is 100% accurate when it comes to digging gold, but I’ll play the odds and trust me, I’m usually right more often than wrong. Now I will say, knowing the kind of gold at the location is very beneficial when trying to use a detector with such accuracy of nonferrous targets. Ground Balance – Better have Auto & Manual Ground Balance. My styles of detecting gold has me in many states, different terrains and soil conditions. I sometimes even go back and forth at a certain site as the day goes on and the speed of ground I am covering. Cruising and trying to find an Indicator Nugget is best left for the Auto Track Mode. But when I want to dial in a certain small section to get best depth and sensitivity, I go into the Manual Mode and do a Fine Tune. I want the option of being in charge, not having my detector do it for me. Iron Discrimination and or Iron Bias. Some of my more productive sites have bigger man made iron targets and I want the ability to adjust how they will respond. Some folks say you have to dig it all and I’ll laugh you silly at sites you can’t get 3 feet without a iron target. Sure you can dig each one and waist precious time and energy (are you listening you PI hot shots at Ganes) or you can be selective. When there is big gold in an area, big iron can fool so many detectors and to be fair, small tiny iron will also fool quite a few machines too. I feel my gold detector is the best in and around a variety of old mining camps and mined materials. Ergonomics - Light weight non tethered. It’s 2020 folks and a cell phone has more capabilities than any detector on the market. I want a detector with the main base/housing to fit into the palm of my hand. We shouldn’t be tethered to the dang detector with a battery on our backs. We don’t need extra dangling rods attached to the main detector to help swing the beast, it’s flipping 2020. Yes I do realize the size and number of a batteries are part of the amount of hours in a day’s use. I also realize some detector coils pull more juice. My detector does just fine with the weight is minimal and only needs charged after 10/12 hours (2 days hunting for most folks). 100% Waterproof. Heck so many people seem to think this is a big feature and a must have. I think you folks are dreaming and actually many of you who desire to find gold in a river or stream, have never actually attempted it. Sure it can be done as I have had some success doing so. But the reality of using a 100% detector under water is: It is hard enough to find gold on dry land let alone in a moving stream or river as the current is constantly fighting the coil, the gravels are filling back the hole you are trying to dig and the chances of you seeing what the heck is going on under water is most minimal. You better have a good waterproof pin pointer to help you. But I still want 100% WP so I don’t have to worry if someone throws me in the river. At least might detector is still going to live. Another size note, my 100% WP detectors has found me over 100 gold rings and most were in 3 to 5’ depth of water. I don’t like hunting on the beach. Yes this detector I speak so highly of for as the best gold nugget detector is also my favorite in the water jewelry hunting unit. Proper Frequency – We all know the king of tiny flea bag gold is the famous GB-2 and it’s very popular 71 kHz. We also know the medium kHz in the teens (likes of the MXT, AT Gold, LST to name a few) runs smoother in highly mineralized ground and is also deeper on larger gold. So if you want to hunt a variety of gold in different gold conditions, you better have a few gold detectors to maximize the opportunities of finding the different gold sizes, characters and shapes. The one I use, runs a variety of frequencies at the same time. In such doing so, allows for my detector to have the best chance at finding all sizes of nuggets and kinds of gold (wire, crystalline, salt/pepper specimens etc). But as an added bonus, the varying frequencies going into the ground can compensate for different ground conditions as we know they change from site to site. Sure a fixed frequency is optimized for 1, but how about the other 99 potential variables? Price – I’m a big fan of everyone staying within your budget and lifestyle. At the same time, I also realize all the items I want on a detector and that it may not be within someone’s investment range. Since we have gold capable detectors of $500 and up to $8000, it would not surprise me if my desired detector was priced around $1500 to $2000, and I’d still but it. As I mentioned before, price is not the deciding factor for me as long as I feel it will find me more than my other detector tools. What really shocked me, is the detector I feel is best is less than $1000, but gold is almost $1800 an ozt. Now that is a bargain. Warranty/Support – Metal Detecting manufactures warranty varies but not long ago the industry standard was 2 years. The one I like so much has a 3 yr transferable warranty. I like having transferable so if I ever decide to sell it, the next guy has a piece of mind for a while anyway. Shame on companies who do not have transferable warranty. Support here in USA, if there is an issue, is a big must for me. I’m not interested in sending a detector outside of the country for repair and not having a unit for a month or longer. Let alone the cost of shipping there and back is a big turn off. Luckily my gold getter has a facility here in the US. At the time, their Customer Service turn around is good and within the allowable 2 week window. I’ve even experienced a few of my customers within a week, which is hot damn skippy good. But there is always exceptions and or things out of our control. Proof of Finds – I know it works. My staff knows and so do a few others. This is where so many people are just now seeing the benefits and icing on the cake. Seems the manufacture of this detector has their head so far of their ars, they can’t figure out how to properly advertise it? Well at least their Engineers know how to make it (thank you) and those of us who took the initiative to get in the field have since found out it really is a gold detector. But most impressive, it is the best VLF classified gold detector on the market (at this time) and possibly the best of all? Please manufacture, when you make your next catalog and on your website, it would be wise to put this in both the Gold Detectors and the General Purpose section too. Heck, might as well put it in the Water machines as well, it rocks gold rings just fine. If you feel I messed up on the category of this detector, then please remove the X-705 from the gold detectors as it won’t even hold it’s own water to this machine. If you have not figured out by now what my favorite gold detector is, just call me with a credit card # and I’ll have one in the mail to you. When you open the box, it just might surprise you. My favorite gold detector is the Multi IQ Technology Minelab Equinox 800, nicknamed the NOX for those who are new. Just my opinion and everyone has one hanging around.

I think it was the 11", but he did recently purchase the 15" from me too. I'll check and find out.

I think he said it read 8, but I'll need to verify.

The Gholson family has been a big supporter of Minelab, especially back in the early days when Minelab was trying to get into the US market. We all do things a little different, but learned to play well when around each other. That piece you picked up most certainly has added some value since those days. Just think if we could have known back then what gold would be at today.

Largest Gold Find in Idaho for 2020, you tell me. As some of you who have been on DP for quite a many years, you know one of my focuses of chasing gold is in tailing piles. My biggest finds have all been in tailing piles and I feel most folks just don’t have the patience to get skunked for hours and sometimes days or weeks. But the rewards can be very gratifying for those who are dedicated and don’t mind a few “0” nugget days. Well since I’ve been training customers for 25 yrs, I see some of them actually taking that next step. Hats off to them as I know how hard they truly hunt. This particular customer is most certainly there at the Advance Level. He has found some amazing pieces of gold in years past with every gold detector he purchased from me. But to pull off this one only took his 3rd trip out with a 3 week old Equinox 800. Total weight of this beauty is over a pound coming in at 14.68 ounce troy. Specific gravity shows right at 3.6 ounces of heavy thick creamy rich yellow metal. I swear this year has been fantastic for my customers and I can’t even hardly keep up with their finds. If anyone has seen a bigger piece of gold come from Idaho this year with a detector please let us know. Heck, I’d just as soon be happy with anyone showing us some Idaho gold. So my question to everyone is this: Would you rather find a bunch of smaller nuggets or a single big rock “Idaho Golden Delicious”. Do you feel this piece is worthy of a museum and how would one go about getting it into an Idaho museum without outright donating it? Has anyone been through the process?

Well done again Doc. You are always thinking on how to make things better and or easier. Now what about the Doc's Digger you promised, the real skinny one? PM me the Dealer Pricing.

I seen that on FB. Very unique and surprising find. Thanks for sharing.

Well done Dan and thanks for sharing your ideas with some pics. I don't have pics but will tell you this. 3 of us run around in a 4 wheeler side by side and what we found that works well for the detectors is a bicycle rack that slides into the back of a trailer hitch. Most side by side ATV's now have a slide in on the back and the bike rack will easily go it. Then we have spaces with rubber straps to hold 4 detectors that are not in contact with each other. Sure they get a little dusty or wet if it rains, but we have not had any problems yet. Thanks again for sharing.

It's coming, but I just play to hard on the weekends and when I get back in shop, my customers are #1. I promise it will happen in the next couple weeks. Heck the new EQ-1000 might be out by then and if so I could change my mind? Or was that the Gold Monster 2000 or the GPZ-7500.

The one thing I noticed about being great at running a business is "Enthusiasm". Here is a fine example for everyone. Go to a GPAA Gold Show and see the different vendors and booths selling the same stuff. One will have a guy sitting in a chair reading a magazine with coffee and doughnuts. No eye catching display of gold, no video running in the background of their adventures and success hunts, no proper communication with the folks walking by. Next booth has a display of recovered gold nuggets with the product he sells, his laptop is running in the background showing some guy or gal digging their 1st nice gold nugget, he is interactive with the potential customers, has a big piece of gold there to hand to the ladies so they can feel the mass/weight of gold and has a Free drawing for a panning kit. I've seen it many times and just scratch my head at a few of the folks and wonder why they even showed up. For the 20+ yrs I've known you Steve, the words you speak around others just gets us all excited and wanting to go do it. Nike said it best "Just Do it":

You get out this way be sure to do it around one of the many training sessions we offer. You get over to MT and I have a Field Staff Expert there as well. You get up to North Idaho, I have another Gold Detector Expert up there. You get to Arizona this winter, yes I have it covered too. We offer 1 day 1 on 1 and also the most popular is the 3 day group session as your memory retains much more. Plus you witness a variety of detectors and see their strong/weak points.

That should answer how much iron is in the rock. The harder the pull, the more iron in it and the louder it will sound on a detector.

Most (not all) of my successful customers have purchased a few different gold detectors from me and been customers of mine for quite a few years. As Steve mentioned, they also have taken the 3 day Field Training we offer. Heck, there is a good % of guys on here who find gold and have taken our class. I'll say "our class" as my Field Staff Experts have a big part of what makes our customers successful. Another good point, is they have the right detector for the task and they are out there bustin their heels, swinging their coils and digging more lead and trash that most. Yes there is luck involved, but persistence is a big part of it too. Ill may not have nuggets, but you certainly have good old coins and some serious opportunities for the gold rings in the lakes. As you know, it takes plenty of swinging to be good at those styles as well.

The Jimmy Sierra Gold Foot and even the Big Foot were some really good coils. Most importantly Glenn is the time you get to spend with your father and talking about the good old golden days, seeing the pics and thinking back of the happy times. I sure miss life of the 70's and would take it back in a heartbeat. Today's folks are in such a rush to get nowhere. Most of us don't visit our family and or relatives enough (I'm at fault too) and we all want instant gratification. I know how hard it takes to be successful at finding gold and so does your wife, your dad and you. Sure wish the rest of the world had that kind of patience. Anyway, Thanks for your story and memory pics.

How come you look so young Steve? Heck, you became a dealer for White's in 1976? I was just hitting puberty back then listening to "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and there was the other 2 John guys pretty. One lived in Denver and the in UK. Your pic of Steve Houston is the same face I remember and boy he too was a great detectorist and even nicer guy.