Compass

Thanks Diver, What you are saying makes sense, of course, and I'll probably wind up doing just that but right now I am still curious about the potential of this "tool" and how to best use it. I have set a goal of finding a nice, high quality, gold chain with it and I have a couple of promising spots I want to try it at.

I wouldn't mind sharing that information except that my close hunting buddies know where I live and things could get ugly!

Thanks Mitchel, Yes, some do and not only that- there is the CA state Limited Golden Bear Pass for seniors. It is good for most state beaches and parks with lakes. It can't be used between Memorial and Labor days but it is only $20.

Thanks Aaron, Well, nobody gets it all and I was a little limited in depth by the small coil so there is still plenty there. It is also a popular lake so people are still losing things there.

Thanks 2Valen, My GoPro was acting up again otherwise you COULD have been there with me- sort of. I think I may have gotten some footage before it froze up so I may be able to post something later.

Thanks Dances With Doves, You are correct and I know that sounds impressive but it sure isn't easy or as fun as metal detecting. It feels more like work but I will continue to experiment with it.

Thanks Joe, My total gold weight was about 7.5 grams so it won't take much to top that! I do like the rose gold ring though- it is more like something I might find at the beach and not at the lake I was hunting at.

Please GB_Amateur...I appreciate the comment but OBN is in a league by himself! To use another baseball analogy Joe is the Sultan of Swing while I play small-ball. I think that OBN has at least twice as many gold rings this year as I do and the average weight of his rings is probably at least 2-3 times heavier than the average ring I find. He also finds vintage jewelry lost over 100 years ago- something I don't think I have ever done. The main thing I have going for me is that I am blessed with the good health and stamina to hunt longer than anybody I know. Yesterday's hunt was 10 hours but I was tempted to keep going. My gold fever is borderline addictive sometimes.

Thanks Mike, One of the Rangers at this particular lake once told me that I couldn't detect where I was hunting so I sent an e-mail to the Chief explaining what I did and the kinds of trash and hazardous materials that I was removing from the water. I got a reply giving me permission so yes, I literally do clean up the beach and often find some nice treasure as well. 😉

Congrats! That wheatie isn't worn down much so it's likely been there a while which is a strong indicator, as others have said, that silver coins may be nearby.

Took my new chain rake and my Equinox 800 for an all day lake hunt and spent around 10 hours in the water. During the first couple of hours I pulled the rake and found my first gold chain although it is low carat according to my acid test. Using the rake is not only physically demanding, it is boring IMO. At least when metal detecting you are always finding something even if it is trash. With the rake I can pull it 10-20 times and....nothing. It kind of wears you down- not only physically but mentally. I still need to play with it some more to dial in the weighting and technique but it won't be replacing my detectors (not that I expected it would). 🙂 Once I switched to the Equinox I started to find targets right away. Using the 6" coil in Gold 2 mode I dug every positive repeating Target ID. After about 2 hours of detecting I found my first ring of the day, a 2.6 gram, 14K, white gold band. As I recall it rang up around "7" on the Nox and there was something about the signal that sounded so promising that I almost expected to see something good in the scoop. It sure was a pretty sight in the sunlight after all my recent night hunts! After a while I moved to a different part of the lake and that is where I found 2 more gold rings, 2 silver rings and a silver heart pendant and chain. One of the gold rings is a real beauty- 2.5 grams of 14K rose gold with a square cut, lavender colored stone surrounded by small diamonds. The picture doesn't really do it justice. Coin-wise I did pretty well although I was surprised that I found so many nickels. Lots of dimes too but not surprising as that 6" coil hits them pretty easily. I usually find more quarters at this location but there is a coin shortage out there I hear. Thanks for reading. GL&HH!

Yes, pretty much only chains.

I'm going to try it as is to start with. Next time I might add hooks or some thing else. If all else fails I'll sell it to some Roman gladiator to use in battle. 🙂

Here's the new rake I just got from another forum member: It actually is a pretty nice design. It has holes in the back of the tines for adding hooks or anything else to fill those gaps between them. The tube the tines are attached to is hollow with a threaded cap and lead weights are placed inside the tube to control the depth of cut.

I think there is a trade-off between what can be found and the amount of drag created by adding things to the rake. Going to know more after tomorrow's hunt.

I was thinking "The Beachelor". 😄

Looks great but then I would have to buy a submarine to tow it and things start to get a little pricey! 😄

Thanks kac, It is a lot of work but so is detecting for 8-12 hours. Personally, if I think there's gold to be found I find that highly motivating. Yes, really only for chains.

Thanks Joe, Fortunately, I'll be using the rakes in areas with very little competition. In fact, in one particular area I have not seen another detector (other than my "mum's the word" hunting buddies) in 20+ years. Even if there are other hunters there they are missing the coins, rings and pendants I am finding so they, no doubt, are missing the chains as well. Going to give it another try in a few days with the new rake I got yesterday plus add some weight for a deeper cut- stay tuned!

Welcome Larry, Well I do like my 800 but use other detectors as well. The Equinox is a very versatile machine.

Congrats Joe! That is the best kind of find- a ring with a story- awesome!

Welcome Tim, Good place for information sharing here.

Okay, I've seen pictures of those and like the design- thanks again!

Thanks DWD, I did a search for "Mertich pull sifter" and came up empty. Is it much different than this?

As you know, pulling the basket can be brutal work but at least you always find stuff- mostly trash but an occasional coin and random ring keeps it interesting.