Gold Catcher

Looks about the same size. Do you know the weight?

I wonder how deep this coin could be detected. 20 feet?... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46821706

Spot on, Simon!

Part of their strategy was to do a lot of test samplings using smaller size excavations. That's why there are so many prospects without any mines that followed. But they also had pretty smart geologists back then.

Will go to the one mid March in the Motherlode

Soon we all will be rich 🙂

Thanks for your great technical insights, JP, as always!

Good points, Andyy. I think the 8 inch round has it advantages and is just made for what the SDC is supposed to deliver. I also like its versatility and compactness, but that's outside of performance. Looking forward to hear more field reports from you and others who have the 10 inch Xcoil. What I would be interested in to know is if the performance of the GPZ technology is somehow dependent on what type of coil you are using, in particular on the type of coil winding. It could be that GPZ is just not working the same for every coil out there. But I am no expert in this and it could very well be that GPZ technology is just plug and play. Perhaps JP would know?

I think the GPZ with 14 inch coil is even better than the SDC regarding EMI. Btw, the SDC is pretty darn good on bedrock. Not sure if the GPZ with 14' or Xcoil would really make a differenc here. Now, open field that's different.

Check out the Gold Park district, just east of Joshua Tree National park on BLM land. Less trash and never a soul out there. Found some small stuff, never anything big though.

Cool. I don't belong to any clubs there but have explored some of those massive alluvial fans hiking south of the 62, i.e. 34.071995°, -115.680626°. Found tons of trash. Also, people shoot their long guns across the canyon. Not very friendly...but need to check out the clubs there.

Hi Mitchel, I suppose you mean the Dale mining district in the Pinto mountains past Twentynine Palms? Really cool area but mostly lode I think. Andreas

I sometimes go there when the desert gets too hot. The whole area around the campground is claimed up and loaded with trash, but check out some of the expired claims around van Dusen canyon road. The gold is shallow there, usually only small pickers though.

Hi Anthony, If you read Jim Straight's book you practically already know all bout metal detecting. He was a legend and one of his kind, I had the luck to meet him some years back before he sadly passed away. Check out the James Klein's book " Where to find gold in Southern California". It is a short but pretty comprehensive summary. I personally like the Randsburg area and the greater Big Bear area the best in the South, while the Pinto Mountains are mostly lode but have some placers as well. Don't trust discrimination, it is really only meant to help in areas that are so trashy that otherwise no detecting would be possible. My SDC and GPZ don't have any discrimination features, neither would I trust them. Good luck! Andreas

Very cool. Would worry me though to run around in MX with alot of gold in the pocket and the 7000 in the hand

Welcome to the forum, Anthony. This is great place for discussing everything related to detecting and for sharing experiences and ask questions. You will find all skill sets and backgrounds here from around the world, from beginners, coin hunters, adventurers, all the way up to professional detectorists who can tell you everything about techniques and machine that are out there. Many of us have found good gold over the years and decades and we all share the passion of prospecting and being out in nature. The Mojave desert is a fantastic place to hunt and it has many known and less known gold areas where you can still find decent nuggets. However, you need to be patient. It took me close to a year to find my first tiny little gold nugget after I bought my very first detector (GB2) many years back. So, be prepared to deal with a lot of frustration at the beginning. Most of the times, we all dig trash in every form and shape imaginable including nails, bullets, casings, wires, tin pieces and thousands of other things that are metal. However, sometimes you also find pieces of value or of historical interest, like coins or spear tips, just to name a few. My single most important advice (other than being extremely patient) is to really learn the inside out of your machine and familiarize yourself with all the settings. Every small piece of trash that you find is a sign that you can find small metal items and this should encourage you. When you have a target, play with the settings before digging it up and learn all the different noises your machine is making. The "golden" rule is to dig every single target (which I highly recommend!), but sometimes the way the detector sounds can give you some clues, especially regarding hotrocks. Also, the GM has an iron meter that can be helpful. But don't rely on it too much as it often can fool you. There is a great youtube video that my good friend Bill Southern put up where he explains everything there is to know about the gold monster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OJW9HMvQ48&t=658s He also has a great channel that I can highly recommend. Making research is a key component, I use Minecache and USGS geological maps (both in Google Earth) as my main research tools, but there are many other research tools available include books that describe placer gold districts in your area. It is a mistake to just go out in the desert and start detecting (although sometimes you can be lucky). Rather, find out where gold has been found, what deposits there are, when it was found and why, was it lode or placer, what are the associated rocks and minerals that come with it, are there tertiary channels, etc. Alot of these research techniques are described in good prospecting books, I can recommend you some if you like. Good luck and enjoy your machine and your new hobby. I warn you though: once you find your first nugget you will forever be hooked on finding gold . You will start spending ridiculous amounts of money on fancy gold detectors and equipment, you will sit over maps day and night to plan your new trips, you will likely alienate yourself from your family who will fear for your mental sanity, and you will be obsessed for the rest of your life by the magic that gold has. Be warned, you can still go back now! :)

Meant " need to know where"

I hope you enjoyed the high desert area in Barstow regardless and obviously you made good use of the Xcoil. Yes, there is still alot of trash out there which makes me believe there is still a good chance for gold to be found since not much detecting has apparently been going on. What worries me a bit more is that this whole area is not known to produce larger nuggets but rather more fine flood gold. I think digging to the caliche and drywashing might be a better choice there. Check out the Desert Queen claim from GPAA, that's where I found the most. It also has some sizable hotrocks, strangely mixed in with fine sand around them. El Pasos have higher potential, but you need to go where. And I won't tell you 😉

I won't even put my SDC under water. It's like one of those Samsung phones some years back that were advertised to be the first ones to be water proof. Well, on day 2 I took the phone in the pool only to never be usable again.

Much appreciated, thanks JW. It is the adventure that matters and all the excitement that comes with it. My job is very different from my hobby and many times when I sit in boring meetings my mind wanders to all the places where I have been, and where I still plan to go. I have closer spots here too in the Motherlode, so it's not always a 5h drive 🙂 But I just love the desert and there is just not much of here in Northern CA. Planning a trip to Au and NZ soon.

Yup. An no more rookie mistakes...

Yeah I know all that and usually always do. Don't know why I just did not do it that day. Perhaps because I got up at 3 am, drove 5 hours to the site and then hiked for 3 hours to get there......

And let us all know where it is...:)

The not knowing is what bugs me too. And the thought that this might now be a sun baker waiting to be picked up is not resting well with me ;). Hard to tell from the video that it is really gold, but this area is gold rich and I was right on the bedrock. And I have found a lot there before. One of the largest nuggets ever found in CA came from this general area (Mojave nugget, 156 troy ounces). Was found by a guy who mounted a military grade mine detector in front of his jeep and drove around in the washes. Was in the 70's (the story goes it was the legendary Jim Straight). Every time I go there I hope I will find a similar one (don't we all!). Oh well, perhaps I will indeed persuade myself to get one of those praised Xcoils one day to make my dream come true...

Wow really? Good to know. Anybody knows why this happened?