Gerry in Idaho

Fred, It filled the whole skillet. Added a little Roo tail (many on the sides of the road to get some meat...if there are maggots, don't eat it though) and mix them together then toss a couple spoons full in a tortilla shell. One of the shells busted and it smelled like someone stuffed a dead roo under my pillow. Stayed that way for a week. Finally got to the great salt flats and I salturated my hands and the pillow. Then it was worth sleeping on again. Oh those memories and stories around the camp fire. Did you know the Aborigines sleep most of the 1st half a day when the sun in warm to their bodies and then stay up all night and drink around a big bonfire to stay warm. We seen this a few times. After noticing this, we decided our camp fires need to look small puny and hardly any heat. We did not want to attract them, as our booze were limited.

Phoenix, I love it. The Commander 12 x15" MONO has found many ounces of gold for me. It is one of my all time favorites. The weight is a little heavy, but it is great when used in grass and also seems to stay close to the ground, so I get max depth. I wonder how many nugget hunters can wear out a coil cover in 1 season. I used to do it all the time with the Commander 12 x 15" coil.

Condor and his trip/notes was the inspiration of my post. He too realized the easy gold is gone, but we go for the Adventure too. Thanks Condor for sparking my old memories. At least you can say.."I did it". Spring 2006 three buddies/I decided it was time to quit talking about it and just do "Australia" with a detector for gold. With many details left out, but a quick overview. Yes I made it home (America) and am alive. The venomous snakes, iguanas (4 foot poisonous lizard), attacking kangaroos, wild goats and monster sized spiders/centipedes could not stand up against the rancid ripe odor of an un-bathed light skinned Yankee running across the dehydrated desert flats with detector in hand. I just returned from an enjoyable 1st time trip to Western Australia and the richly red iron soils of the Outback areas of known golden fields Kalgoorlie/Leanora. Even though I caught some serious plane crud on the 16 hour flight from LAX to Sydney, AU. and it lasted hard the 1st week and a half before I got a little better...I still managed to have fun. The Outback is one of a beautiful and secluded primitive place this mother earth allows us to play with many sites, sounds and wonders to gather and ponder in the mind. I would love to return some day, but would do things a little more different and be set up for gold hunting more for the serious BUSH and not be seen for a week at a time. Most areas we detected had been hunted really hard (just like here in the US such as Rye Patch, NV.) and we would find the crumbs that others missed do to their lack of detector knowledge and skill. We did manage to find an occasional small site that was off the beaten path and get a few nuggets. The Minelab GP-3500 with a Commander 15” MONO elliptical coil ran flawlessly and found most of my nuggets. In fact all 4 of us were using GP-3500’s and were amazed at how well they ran in the much heard of highly mineralized Australian soil. I did manage to find 4 small patches that produced the majority of my gold.. In no way do I base the success of this trip on recovered gold, but as usual, I hoped for and expected more. Of the 4 detectorists (including myself), we found approx 110 nuggets and one 5 oz specimen. I managed 62 of those nuggets and the specimen. To give you a weight total, we had a combined wt of approx. 4 ounces and then the 5 ounce specimen. Of the 4 ounces of gold nuggets we all found, my total wt was just over 64 grams (2 ounces) for the 62 nuggets, so you get an idea of the size with an average of my nuggets being around 1 gram each. The largest nugget (not including the specimen) was 3.9 gram and there were 2 of those found. Yes I was hoping for a few larger nuggets and even expected that we each could find a 1/4 oz'er but that never happened. Does that mean the trip was a bust? Most certainly not and I assure you, it was an amazing trip that I'll fondly remember for the rest of my life. Moral of the story to add to Condors trip. Over 10+ years ago, 4 good American nugget hunters with the newest detector technologies did not find what we had expected and hoped for in the gold category. 4 of us Americans did something most dream about but never do and we'll remember the Australian Outback...and those girls wearing pasties, for the rest of our lives. I always wondered if there was a nugget under one of those pasties? Maybe go back some day to check. Thanks for caring. Gerry in Idaho Gerry's Detectors www.gerrysdetectors.com

April 2006, The GP-3500 was the king of machines at that time. I'll make a new post of the trip as I do not think I ever did.

That one could turn into a really nice doozy. Here is one I had etched and it's value went 10X. Before pic and most folks would have said, good job. After etching, they are shocked. Don't forget it this go around.

Condor, There are dreamers and then there are do'ers. The do'ers (when they get old) are the ones who sit back in their rocking chair and tell stories to all the dreamers. The dreamers sit back in their chair and say "I wish I would have done". Well it is to late by then. Thanks for keeping us informed (good and bad), and thanks for letting some of us read along on your journey to the land down under. My only trip there (Kalgoorlie/Leonora) had big expectations and after I returned and looked at my 3 ounces, I realized the adventure and camaraderie was worth it. After all, what keeps us going? The next hunt. Glad you made it home safe and have a new doodle to spoil.

Interesting read. I would say my gold hunting areas in Idaho are mostly mild, but I do have some hot areas. Eastern Oregon were I hunt is more mineralized than my South Idaho sites. The ground I swing in Northern Nevada is actually pretty mild, but I do know of a few hot areas. When I head to Montana, I feel the sites I hunt there have the hottest ground of all. Yes I feel MT is hotter than the areas I swing in Arizona too.

We are the modern day Prospector. Same kind of thinking person, same desire, same determination. Different tools of the trade though. We traded in water canteen for a Yeti full of cold gatorade, the dried fish/nuts for Energy Power Bars, the mule for an ATV, traded in the map for GPS, traded in the pan and eye piece for a detector. Those folks we men and times were mean/lean. Yes, I'm one spoiled bad ass pussy. But at least I still get the urge to find the next one. Thanks for the reminder Jim.

Certainly got me thinking GB about how many hours I put into a detector to get an ounce of gold. I don't keep track of my time to get an ounce, but I do know the other methods are foreign language to this kid. Only way I have hunted gold is with a detector. To me, the location and skill level on detector you own is vital. Then, making sure you have the right detector for the kind of gold you plan on pursuing, which is part of skill level. I do remember my last hunt for 2019 at Rye Patch with a GPZ-7000 netted me just over an ounce of nuggets, 34.7 grams. That was accomplished in 5 days, so I think his 40 hr average was really close. Then, the last gold hunt of 2018 was Thanksgiving Weekend and I used the Equinox-800 with the 15" coil. This was a 2 day hunt and the 1st day, 1st hour I scored a 2.67 ozt specimen. I ended up with 5 pieces in those two days with approx. 4 ounces of specimens and 2 of that was gold. Not tooting my horn, but I feel I know gold detectors better than most so my hours are probably less to get the 1 ounce. What I can't understand, is it takes 42 hours to pan an ounce of gold. Heck, I don't know anyone who has found an ounce of gold with a pan, but I don't hang around those kind of people. Surely there are folks who can do it or he would not have come up with the averages. Realize, I do not detect for a living, but do it because I enjoy a challenge. I feel nugget hunting is harder than Coin/Relic and Jewelry, so that is why I like it so much.

Certainly added value to the specimen for most buyers. Looks really nice and thanks for letting us see the Before/After pics.

Most of us have seen gold coins and a lucky few have even unearthed one. But have you seen a US gold coin that was found with a detector, like this one? Only 34,500 minted. Yes it is a really great condition 1856-S Indian Princess $3 US Gold Piece. Jared T. in WY can now proudly join the Gold Coin Club. And he is certainly happy with his choice of the Equinox 800 fitted with the small 6" coil for trashy sites.

Could have been my fault. I thought it was an 1859-S Seated Quarter, but now it is summer and I have light...I can easily see it is a Seated Liberty Half Dollar. Quite a big change in mintage and price. Who really cares if you never plan on selling it. Still a stellar beach save.

Metal Detecting is such a thrilling hobby, and there are so many different styles of hunts. I imagine those guys can't hunt the fields and forests in the heat of the summer, as chiggers, tics, snakes and poison ivy. Most farm fields are in crop too and the temps are sweltering. What better way to tame your detecting desires, than to drop into a cool relaxing slow flow river and find more treasures. They guys are showing the variety of detecting pleasures possible. Hey Steve, You know there has been many gold rings tossed into the Truckee and I imagine 100X silver coins as well. Wonder how many folks playing the casinos, hit it big and toss a couple silver dollars in the river for some more luck? Have you tried the river yet? I've detected our river here in Boise and found coins, keys, glasses, cell phones and occasional ring. What better way to cool off when the outside temp is in the 90's. Thanks for sharing.

I politely disagree with some of your points GB_. Yes, the majority of gold coins coming out of the ground are shiny golden....but not all. My 1st gold coin (1852 $2.50) had a black staining on it. The 1st moment, I thought it was counterfeit too. It took some final touch to get most of it off. Many gold coin finds in England are stained differently than the norm. As for gold in saltwater, it is the same way. Most are shiny golden and then a few have staining. Same with gold rings. Some folks will swear gold does not tarnish and I know for a fact it can. Just like the majority of silver coins coming from the ground are shiny silver, but then a few are tarnished. Nice observation and the occasional discovery that is different always adds intrigued views. I'm sure the final cleaning (it is a common date so no worries of lost value) it will look the norm. Yes there are genuine fakes out there and the comments you made are quite helpful in identifying (by weighing the coin) them. Thanks for sharing your views and knowledge.

In 40+ years of detecting, I've only recovered 2. I will say, the 1st 10 years I probably left a few though as I was Cherry Picking silver and Disc'ed out most all other targets.

Boise Parks & Rec main office at south end of Ann Morrison Park takes care of the permits. Conn's was the ones who did the permits as they were one of the main dealers in Boise back in 60's, 70's and 80's. I became dealer in early 90's and did not want to rock the boat, so they kept the permit system. Now they have passed the torch to the Parks System (who should have been doing it from the get go). Permit is for Boise City Parks only. Hope this helps and if any more questions, look me up Gerry's Metal Detectors in Boise, ID. www.gerrysdetectors.com Now go have some fun...with detector in hand.

"Metal Detector Basics" class is $50 for non customers and free to those who purchase from me. If you prefer to learn 1 on 1, we can do that too, but the cost is more. Good luck either way.

Silver & Gold at its best. I can not believe the finds some of my customers are making with their Equinox detectors. This is the 5th gold coin (I'm only counting in US finds, not England) my customers have recovered with the NOX machines. Brandon in UT, finds an old site and recovers a couple beautiful Seated Liberty Dimes (see pictures). Then the following weekend (this last Saturday) he goes back to the same site and does the Holy Grail we all dream of. Yes he unearths a glimmering gorgeous 1886-S $5 Eagle. I've been a dealer for 25 years and never before have I had so many happy customers making Top Quality Finds. All I can say, is the Equinox and the Multi IQ Technology has to have something to do with all the treasures coming up.

Lacky, Not sure what part of Southern Idaho you are in, but I have a "Metal Detector Basics" class this coming Saturday, June 29th. I'm in Boise. Learning to know which beeps are real genuine and worth checking, vs the ones to walk away from and not worry about is a big thing for never MD'erists. I'll also be educating the pin-pointing features and how to narrow down the target zone. Boise does not allow diggers in Parks so learning to use a probe is a must. Contact me direct, if you are interested. BTW. Stick to this fine forum and for those technical questions as there any many folks who enjoy sharing their detector knowledge.

DanNM, Not only did you dig a Silver Reale, but the detail is really nice. Plus you saved some stunning buttons and artifacts too. Thanks for the Settings, photos and story. Yes, I think your detecting buddy wishes he would have said....wait till we can go together. He is one easy going guy for sure. Well hats off to you for recovering a Bucket Lister.

The Big Bling Ring Return is a Karma King for you. I've been fortunate to catch a couple of them on video. The feeling you get when going home and telling your friends/family of the story is priceless. The lady and her husband will forever be grateful for your cooperation and Ring Return. Job well done and a special Hats off to you for sharing the finds, photos and story. May you eventually find a Big Bling that can not be returned, but only to a finger for your lady some day.

Stunning saves GKman and definitely the treasures us West Coasters dream of. The site you are hunting certainly has many years of use and it reminds me of a "Landing" I hunted in the early 1990's. KG Coppers from 1600's, Large Cent's, IH Cents, as well as Rev and CW era goodies. Probably one of my favorite sites from back East. The headphones you like.. TE's, why do you prefer them vs GG's., just curious. Thanks for taking the extra efforts to photo finds and share.

Thanks for sharing Againstmywill. Very nice research find.

Did you get a coil yet and if not,..I have them in stock. Yes you get more depth on bigger gold with the larger coil, as well as extra ground coverage. I post many photos of my customers finds on FaceBook and look under "Gerry McMullen". Good luck.

And I happen to sell them both too. I even have a Dealer Demo E-Trac with warranty too. But if you have a favorite a local dealer who is knowledgeable and helps answer your detector needs, then I don't want to take a sale away from him either.