Gerry in Idaho

Golden words of advice Doc. I too find gold most times I go out to known nugget areas. I am usually getting the big EGG-O when Prospecting for new ground. But on a rare occasion that new ground can lead to some serious gold. The attached photo is of one of my customers who spend a winter doing research and decided to hunt 4 different areas with his dad. The last place turned to be a real winner with over a pound of gold from there. Keep it up.

Lets say you have been a working person for 20+ years and contributing to the growth of our fine country. You are not rich by any means, but if need be you could find a way to get a good metal detector or two (just like most folks on here reading this). Heck, even after hunting season, you could sell a couple guns? NOT... You get invited by an old friend on a 1 week vacation Prospecting Trip to detect for gold. Yes, the trip of a lifetime for some and just another fun adventure for a few. You are told there are dredge tailing piles, hard rock ore dumps and also the potential to hunt both alluvial eluvial placers. Do you know these terms and the kind of gold generally associated with them? Which detector would you take and why? There is no wrong answer and please lets not attack anyone, brand or model.

Many factors, but for new product it is usually supply and demand. Also, you must realize we do have dealer contracts we sign. If we undercut the product pricing, then we could get canned. Also we are cutting our income. My job is a Full Time Metal Detecting Dealer that goes above and beyond the average. My staff and I write articles, do YouTube videos on education, work directly with engineering and do field testing of proto-types.. We offer 3 day Field Training, gives seminars etc. My only income is all through detector sales. Most folks on here has or did have a working job they earned a pay check. I just happen to enjoy my job more than most. Bottom line, will I offer a discount to a non military person? Repeat Customer Loyalty goes a long way with me. So does the referral program. Attached photo is of staff and I comparing different sizes of coils on undug targets.

I did not say it was complex. I want my staff and I to know the different terms of this new machine and some of its technology. I want to make sure my field staff are keen to the catch words and then be able to describe what they actually do. Maybe its just me and the way I have been doing things as a Senior 20+ year Minelab Dealer (Managed Partner), but I feel you better know what you are selling. With my staff and I, to be honest....we are detectorists 1st and dealer 2nd.

I'll be taking two of my Field Staff members to Phoenix for the 2 day Equinox Training for Dealers. I feel this is very important for my guys and I to learn as much as we can as fast as we can. Eventually we'll be able to pass our knowledge down to the customers. We look forward to earning your business. Yes I'll be there as well as Lunk & Scott. I figured 3 of us taking notes and listening is better than just me.

I'll accept VA Card, DD-214 or Military ID cards. Yes I am prior military myself (USMC). Hope this helps.

I feel the 3 Star Rating on the DISCRIMINATION is because the $1550 E-Trac and $2500 CTX 3030 have way more intel. At the price point of $900 for the EQ-800, there are going to be things on it that are not as good as their upper end Coin/Relic/Beach machines. We can't have it all for $900 or they would not make enough money and then we'd be swinging the old brands again.

Jin, I totally agree with Steve. Small ones for jewelry are easier to move than big ones. Also the 1 to 5 gram ones seem to move easier as well, since most folks don't have the extra money sitting around for a $1000 or more piece. One of the guys in the US who buys/sells nuggets is www.naturalGoldTrader.com and he has written a few articles for ICMJ. He usually pays a little more than most, as he tries to sell them individually to get top dollar. A few of my customers ell their nuggets to Gus and he always treats them right. You can get rid of it all quick and deal with 1 guy fast, but may not make top dollar, or you can sell many pieces separately and end up with more money, but taking a lot longer and dealing with more people (which could be bad in the long run). Another option is to trade the nuggets to a Minelab Dealer towards a new GPZ-7000.

Gary, Very nice gold my friend and can I share your photo to other potential customers? I recommend like the other guy and drop your Sens down a couple notches. Just curious which coil is giving you more fits, as I have sold 100+ units and am taking notes from my customers. We'll have to do a couple hunts next year.

As a nugget buster who has found pounds of gold with the MXT and pounds of gold with the X-Terra 705 and ounces of gold with the AT Gold, here is my spin on them. For Prospecting Only the AT Gold is better at smaller pickers, specimens with salt/pepper gold and wire gold species and if around water, the AT Gold is it. The MXT is better on larger gold nuggets, chunky specimens and much better for Coins. It also have a bigger variety of coil selection. The X-705 with the new price of $499 is much like the MXT, but lighter in weight, more technology/features and can identify iron better than my MXT. The X-705 is also a killer on Gold Rings over my MXT & AT Gold because of the Selectable Notch Discrimination.

Condor, Those photos are Rock and bring back memories. 1st off, hats off to you for busting balls to get off the beaten path. Bikes are king in many areas. One thing I would like to bring up in the bike photo is your Apex pick. Many moons ago in the 90's Largo and I were at Rye Patch and I was on my BW-200 (Big Wheel). Had the pick on the back rack. Well some how I did a wheelie and fell back onto the rear rack. That pick put a good gouge in my lower back for a month. If you can, try to keep the pick on the downside of a pack or cooler or such, just in case you do fall back. Other than that my friend, Rock on.

Doc is ALIVE and BIGGER, BADDER and BOLDER.. We go back a lot of years my friend and like I always say. You can be the norm and a follower or you can be one of the select few and a leader for others to follow. Glad to see you spread your wings even more so. Most of us dealers don't have the room to carry all the different accessories you do, so I gladly recommend Doc. After all, us 20+ year Senior Minelab Managed Partners have learned a thing or two and sharing knowledge helps everyone. See you next month Doc.

Fantastic AZ finds Chris. The 7000 is better than my Hoover when going over old ground. Like Steve said, the one with sharp crystal indentations is way cool. Keep it up.

Sorry so long. This coming from a White's user for 35+ years and a White's Dealer for 10+. I don't get on the forums much, but this was forwarded to me and I wanted to share from a dealers view. Now realize, I am not an average dealer that does not know much about detectors. I enjoy using, comparing and testing many brands/models. For almost 2 months we dealers had been getting bits of info, emails, teases of the new MS Sport. We were lead towards taking pre-orders, as the initial inventory would be short and hard to come by. We were to also get the consumers excited about the new product. Most of the info and talk, suggested this new machine was going to be the next better than MXT and then some. As a big MXT fan who has found literally pounds of gold nuggets with it, I myself was eager to get my hands on one. In fact, my initial order was express shipped to me so I could test one on a recent trip to MX. Luckily the detectors arrived the day before my flight. 2 days after the MS Sport arrived at my shop (Feb. 21st), I was swinging one in the warm waters in Mexico. Right from the 1st target signal recovered, I realized something was not right. After spending the day using and adjusting the detector, I realized the signal response was not to my liking at all. In fact, I was not very happy with it, but hoped maybe stateside coin hunting would be different. When I returned back to US, I immediately called White's and told them of my issues. The person I spoke with, said I was the 1st to have an issue and that they would get with Engineering and someone might get back to me. No phone call from White's, no email from White's. On March 28th, a long time MXT user and customer of mine emailed me a very informative and lengthy letter explaining his points (both good and bad) of the new detector, as he had recovered 600+ coins and many other items in the 4 weeks of winter in UT. With his info, I then realized there was something wrong. Then with mud on my dealer face, the customer emails me again with a link and the sending in.. if you have a unit that is bad. Folks, it was my own customer who told me about the upgrade, not White's. To me, Management dropped the ball because they did not tell the same dealers they pumped up to sell the new MX Sport, the bad news. White's should have immediately contacted the dealers and let them know of the problem. Yes I did eventually get a call from Whites, but that was after my own customer contacted them and cc'd me the dealer. Did White's do enough to notify people of the firmware issue? NO If you have an MX Sport, were you notified? Not until I told them. I was notified by my customer there was a firmware update. Are you satisfied with how it is being handled? No, but as a dealer I expected more from White's who is a top metal detector manufacture in the world. At least they used to be. Any other comments for White's? I will say this though. In reality White's Engineering did get a fix for it in less than 40 days from release and that I feel is acceptable. Now for the folks who were testing proto types and such. Either they lied their asses off to get a free detector, or Engineering did not care what the field testers told them. In my 35+ years of detecting, I have seen so many times, testers make a great report and not be honest with a new product. Seems they are more worried about keeping Mr. Engineer happy and not wanting to hurt an Engineers feelings because that new detector is his baby. Testers, If you don't tell the good and bad about what you are testing, then the manufactures look bad and eventually your word becomes worthless as well. Engineers, If you can't handle getting a report on your baby, that it walks funny and only has 3 toes, then maybe this is not the right job for you. Management, Find well known MXT users across the board who will give honest feedback (both good and bad) about your new upcoming detectors and listen to then. It seems this was not the case for this MS Sport. White's is a Metal Detecting Manufacture who's name is known worldwide for many good reasons and millions of treasures found. The company will get back on track and will provide us enthusiasts with many more great products. Will there be hick-ups, bad hires and bad fires? Yes, just like at every other metal detecting manufacture. And there will also be great Engineer hires, thorough field testers and another new young Jimmy. I'm still on board and looking forward to more new and exciting detector technology and I know White's Electronics will be one of the brands producing it.

Yes, The Bundle price is true and I have already sold a few. I'll be able to ship this week to anyone interested. I have used the SDC-2300 and ATX both in salt beaches, but will tell you for a fact, some salt water beaches are much more different than others. I used the ATX in Cancun, MX and it did fine. I used the SDC-2300 on Atlantic Beach, NC with no issues, but it does float, so you have to have gradual force to keep the coil down on the bottom. It is not hard to do, but different than my other beach detectors. I also used the SDC and ATX on a highly mineralzed black sand beach at Lake Tahoe and they ran as expected with hardly any worries. I do like the ATX more for SALT Beach and the larger coil, but boy is that SDC-2300 a small nugget slayer over the ATX in the gold field. Just wanted to share my findings, as most folkd don't get to use them all. Here is one of the videos we did:

Thanks for the nice comments guys. One thing that seperates dealers such Rob, Chris, Doc and myself is the opportunity to learn in the field. Also for me, is the desire to learn how to get the most out of the detector and then share that info with my customers on our 3 day field training and or other trips. Steve was there on one of my organized Alaska Gold Adventures to famous Moore Creek, AK. when one of my staff members "Spencer" dug that monster. Yes it was deep and we all had been through there before, but knowing how to set your detector to get best results on Deep Gold and especially on what to listen for, is key and that takes practice and time. As my detecting business has grown, I see myself in the field less, so that is why I hire some of the best nugget hunters in the States to work with my customers. Ron, Lunk, Spencer, Mark, Wade and Scott are all Proffesionals with different gold detectors and between the knowledge of all of us and what we share with you, it is hard to not to find a nugget on occasion. I'll try to attache a closer photo of that monster Spencer found at Moore Creek. & that cool Barb Wire Nugget from NV. Thanks again. Gerry

Great to see you out there collecting the yellow metal and proving the capabilities of the GPZ over the GPX.

Folks, I'd love to give more details, but what is there is all I got. I know this for a fact. It was found in the lower 48 states and in the Gold Region of the West. It was found with a Minelab pulse induction detector, but I do not know at what depth or what exact detector model. I heard about this beast early this year and spent many talks with folks in the area to try and find out more. Word got out that I was offering small reward and finally I recieved a call. Guess what...it was from one of my own customers. Their 1st comments to me were "no" and we do not want the publicity or money and the headache that comes with it. Finally after a few other conversations and guarantees of privacy, I was able to take the video. We then had to spend much time editing to make sure my customer was 100% ok with the video. I know a select few of you folks will have negative remarks and I understand your curiosity. So do I. But lets put the shoe on your foot and realize the health and saftey risk to your family, property and don't forget the tax man. Those are all potential issues the finder does not want to be part of and me neither. I feel privelidged to be able to share it with everyone and so lets be happy we can see it. On a side note, I have many customers who don't share their finds for whatever reasons and part of why my business does so well with repeat customers, is the respect I have earned. The manufactures of metal detectors I sell, some of them allow me to test proto-types and speak open minded with their engineers of new potential products, realizing my track record is clean when it comes to keeping my mouth shut and not leaking any info. I'll still do as I am asked by those who help my business grow... ...and so enjoy the video, as you really never know (until you dig it) if that deep big overload signal is a beer can or life changer.

Good to see someone else who knows a little about many different gold detectors giving some input. Well done Rya Patch Ron and we'll see you there this Fall maybe. One of the guys you helped train in May at RP found a nice 1/3rd ouncer after the class. Fastino from Idaho is all smiles. Photo is courtesy of Ray Stoval. Thanks Ray.

Norvic, When you mentioned RB7, do you mean Red Baron 7 back from the late 70's and early 80's? If so, that is quite impressive with detectors for those days. Great info.

What a great day of work. Enjoys cleaning the environment and occasional gold nugget too.

Tom in Ill, Yes I remember you from that Alaska trip. We sure did well up there for a few years. With the new MXT All Pro 10" DD coil, it does not responde in Coin Mode, even with DISC to "0". In Relic Mode, which is what I use for the MXT, it hardly sounds off an inch away and it it makes a noise it reads IRON/FOIL, but will not responde as well as FOIL. In PROSPECT MODE, again only 1 1/2" and barley audible. I think it is the DD coil. John, APEX is the prefered weapon of choice for me. Shipping International could cost more than the pick, but probably worth it if you don't have any others in your area. Now we need to see some photos of folks meteorites that we all used to think were Hot Rocks. When I detected a burned area in AZ, where all the bushes used to be were loaded with modern trash and hot rocks. Wonder how many were nuggets? Great photos and comments folks, your efforts help educate todays newer nugget hunters so thanks for sharing.

Chuck, We'll need to start calling her the "Golden Girl of CA".

I’ve been using a specialty detector in search of gold nuggets for over 20+ years. Some of the tips and lessons learned while in the gold fields are not as well known by many of today’s newer hunters. On my last trip to Australia I was fortunate enough to run into a full time nugget hunter (I don’t recall his name) and we chatted up our experiences and knowledge. One of my eye openers was when he shared with me a gold nugget that sticks to a rare earth super magnet. Since that time, I have always paid a little more attention to my Hot Rocks and especially the ones that look like this. Wonder how many nuggets and or meteorites we have tossed into the nearest bush because we did not know? If anyone else has photos of nuggets stuck in ironstone please share so we can all learn. Yes I did purchase the nugget from the guy as I needed Proof and also wanted to educate others. It weighs a total of only 2.6 grams but I expect at least half the weight to be gold.

Great looking ring find. Amazing it was on the surface. Yes it is good to see something golden that is not a nugget on here.