billdean

That’s a great find!! I can see my detecting lasting all year now.  Arizona in the winter for gold and Michigan in the summer for gold rings. Thanks for showing us. 

Thanks Jim. I will try the streak test. The gold and mineral show is going on this weekend in Quartzsite. Maybe someone there my be able to help me also. I looked at it with a lope and it does seem to look like silver in places. Seems that there is at least 3 or4 deferent minerals in it. 

Well I was out today in a remote locating looking for nuggets with my 2300 and it sounded off on this rock. The area is noted for a lot silver. Not saying it is silver only my PI machine is pretty quiet unless it hits some kind of metal. It was lying on top the ground. It's dark gray to black. Maybe Hematite. Any one no for sure looking at a picture? Has some quarts in it also.

Randy........I have had 3 flat tires  now and finally put ten ply tires on my truck. Quartzsite rocks will eat them tires up. If you need someone to go out with while in Quartzsite give be a shout. I am always ready to go. I am over in the dome rock area.

I am using a sdc-2300. I am pretty hard of hearing and would like to no more about which audio Enhancer is best. I am using Sun Ray Pro Gold CTX head phones but I am still having some trouble hearing those faint signals. I have read a little on Steel Phase, BZ booster, Doc's screamer. Is one better than another?

Thank you........order both!

Yup........I would like one too.

Thanks for everyone replies. I bought an SDC 2300 and just started using it today. Went over the same areas thinking that it might shoot a little deeper and recover some more gold. No such luck today though I did find a few pieces of lead. It's a little different than the monster and a little different learning curve being a PI detector. I know enough time in the field and i will get the hang of it too. 

I did call Ronnie and he said they still don't make headphones for the monster 1000. It sounded like they may not either. The model you're talking about may or may not go into production. He distributed a few around as test models only. 

8 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The CTX 3030, GPZ 7000, Gold Monster, Equinox, and possibly other Minelab models require stereo headphones that are properly wired so that the external speaker will shut off when the headphones are plugged in. Mono headphones will always work, and a mono to stereo adapter will fix stereo headphones that are not wired properly.

The Sun Ray Pro Gold CTX version will work with all these detectors but may require a 1/8” to 1/4” adapter.

Steve......I have read where these headphone have kind of wimpy switches on them that break easy and come out of the adjustment that you set them in. I would be interested in your thoughts on them. I guess I am fairly hard on my equipment though I understand they will work with anything. Thank you for the wiring explanation. 

I have broken my head phones that came with my Minlab monster 1000. I have tried searching for another pair that will work without rewiring everything but I don't understand exactly what it is I need. Can anyone recommend a good pair of head phones for the Monster 1000?

Thanks everyone for your replies. I went back to my spot today and the guy was not working my little area but he had started his own little claim a few yards from mine. At least I kept my spot. Its kind of like deer hunting on opening day. You hope people don't sit right on top of you but some do anyway. I have also noticed trash, plastic water bottles all over the claim. I picked up 6 beer bottles and cans today. Doesn't seem as there is anyone from GPAA policing the claims. It maybe only a matter of time before the BLM cuts off the hole area to prospecting. Whats wrong with people!

I am currently working a GPAA claim in Arizona. Seem like every time I start working an area with my dry washer someone seems to think they can get my spot when I leave it. The next day I return and some body will some times be in it. Is there any rules that govern the spot you are prospecting so you can return to it the next day without some one being in it? Not looking for a gun fight or any trouble. I would just like to return the next day and finish where I left off.

On 12/2/2017 at 10:44 AM, mn90403 said:

Now that we know you are in Quartzsite we'll be able to have a better idea of your gold problem also.  There are many patches and many on this forum that have been going there for many years.

Make sure you go see Blake at Miner's Depot and join the Quartzsite Metal Detecting Club.  Their 'season' has just started and you will get lots of information from them at the claims and at the coin hunts.  It is truly one of the best clubs in the world.

Mitchel

Yes, I have meant Blake. He sold me my GM 1000. I will be joining their club shortly though the 6 mining claims they have, have been pretty well picked over. Their club events and knowledgeable people are worth the $20.00 membership.

I have noticed when using my monster that it really sounds off when bumping into rocks weeds and such. Especially on auto or auto plus or higher sensitivity manual.   I think I have finally figure out what seems to be going on and was wondering if and one else has noticed this. Where the cord attaches to the coil there seems to have a little to much movement in the cord and when you bump something it is actually the movement of this cord that is making it sound off. I have taken some velcro and rapped around the cord so the cord can not move when the coil is bumped. Kind of stretching the cord to the shaft to minimize movement.  It seems to help a lot. Anyone else notice this or is my machine defective?

15 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Bill,

Well done! (I bet you couldn't believe your luck!)  You have about the right amount of time per day in I'd say.  It lets you enjoy the activity and still be focused.  Now you can hear the gold.

How deep were the nuggets and were they near each other?

Patches will come your way.  Gold has a source and when you find some go in circles around where you found it.  You are mapping out a path on how it got there.  You can see the gullies and follow them.  It is harder to follow hillsides or ridges but they all can hold gold.

Mitchel

They were 4 or 5 inched deep about 10 feet apart. I went back this morning and circled the area and never found another one. Theres always tomorrow. 

13 hours ago, mn90403 said:

billdean,

I'll take a shot at your dilemma to encourage you and give you some pointers I wish I had when I was new to gold nugget detecting in 2010.  You are doing one good thing by asking questions.  Don't think you know it all or much of anything and your first gold will come sooner.  A novice with a metal detector looking for a gold nugget is a frustrating scenario that most of us can remember.  Many of us were with someone else when they found our first gold.

That is one of the first lessons.  Go with someone else who will show you their area, maybe you belong to their club or you just happen to watch what they are doing.  Many of us will help but that is part of the problem ... you don't know anyone yet.  I didn't so I spent many wasted hours on the wrong areas and often times going too fast.  I thought I knew more than I did.  What I have learned is that finding gold with a detector is an expert's game.  Go where the experts go and start to think like the experts think.

The second lesson I would say is have a target in mind.  Get a sample nugget and test it on top of the ground and buried at different depths.  Those of us who find gold know it sounds different in many cases than a nail or a bullet.  Learn that sound.  Dig everything in the beginning even if it says trash on your screen.  What kind of trash is it?

I was in Arizona near Lake Havasu (Yucca Strewn Field) targeting meteorites with my 5000 one trip.  I had only found a couple of pieces of gold then but this trip I was looking for hot rocks!  I was using all the proper swing techniques and I got a signal and I looked down at my feet and there was a golf ball sized specimen (sunbaker) that turned out to have 1.5 ounces of gold in a 3.5 ounce piece of quartz.  It was the wrong target ... but I kept it!  (A year and a half later I went back looking for gold in a meteorite field and found a larger piece but that is a different story.)

I'll followup on your post by going line by line ... sort of:

I have a new GM 1000. I have never done any detecting for gold before and could use some help deciphering the area I am detecting in. I have been reading mining reports that say this area has a lot of shallow gold in it but after few days of detecting (total 15 hours) all I have is bullets, bird shot, tin foil, tin cans and a few magnetized rocks I have found.

My first observation is that 15 hours is not a whole lot of time.  Experts (not me) will sometimes go a day or two without finding a nugget and they know where to look.  As they say ... don't be too impatient grasshopper.  Your research is good and you may be close but that only counts in horseshoes and ...

I am not sure I am detecting in the right type area? I have been concentrating on the deeper washes in Sw Arizona. I have attached some pics of the area. Maybe I should try higher ground. Just getting a little discouraged and need some help on the type of area I should be looking for. Do my areas look ok?

Two guys that I respect a lot have already given you some advice and I think it is good.  Being a novice you may have missed what they said.  Do you know what a bench is?  Do you know what happens when water flows and moves rocks and gold?  Do you know where gold will tend to collect?  Scott said look in areas up on the sides ... that would be gold that hasn't really moved or washed in a long time.  Benches can also be in the center.  Big rocks can also trap nuggets.  Move a few of them.  JW and Scott both said look for man-made stacks.  These would have been made by someone before you picking up those rocks and stacking them to the side because they were in the way of the gold they were looking for.  The more stacks and the bigger the stacks probably means more gold was found.  By now some of it will have replenished with the monsoons.  You can find it.

If you have stuck with me through all of this then you might have the patience to find your first gold before you throw the detector in a closet and never use it again.

Mitchel 

Thanks Mitchel....I really don't know what a bench is or what side the gold collects on a wash. Yesterday a tried a deeper wash with lots of gravel. I look mostly on the sides of the washes up next to any bedrock and cracks in the bed rock. I found small pieces of lead, cans, foils and bullets but no gold. The ground seems to be very mineralized with lots of hematite (blood rock I believe) in spots, so Auto or Auto + has been difficult. Manual 6 seem to quite things down quite a bit. 

I want to thank everyone for there replies and encouragements. I am off to try again this morning. I have never been to Arizona before and the beauty of the desert is stunning. I also love looking a all the different types of rock. Gold detecting gives me something to do while I winter here for the next 3 or 4 months. Thanks again everyone

I have a new GM 1000. I have never done any detecting for gold before and could use some help deciphering the area I am detecting in. I have been reading mining reports that say this area has a lot of shallow gold in it but after few days of detecting (total 15 hours) all I have is bullets, bird shot, tin foil, tin cans and a few magnetized rocks I have found. I am not sure I am detecting in the right type area? I have been concentrating on the deeper washes in Sw Arizona. I have attached some pics of the area. Maybe I should try higher ground. Just getting a little discouraged and need some help on the type of area I should be looking for. Do my areas look ok?