brogansown

I've seen it and the others all stacked together in the Bank. Just makes you want to get out in the hills like we did yesterday!

Yes and both of you were just 50 feet from me when you found them. I'm jealous and my bucket list includes a coin just like yours and Steve's. Thanks for posting. Your friend Gary

I can't match you for weight Gerry, but I did get a nice specimen a couple of months ago. Hoping for more next season and to meet up with you again!

Those aren't hills, there're mountains. Makes me queasy thinking about you riding a bike on that narrow trail

Without getting into the "Global Warming" controversy, I can say with certainty that Eastern Oregon was wetter and cooler this year and especially this fall. Despite that though, three of us were out on Thursday and were able to get one nice picker and the seven small pickers/pieces on a placer we hadn't been able to detect in a few years. (Private land with permission) Next week though the weather man/lady predict nighttime temperatures down as low a 11 degrees. (Onion harvest that is way behind already will essentially stop, leaving many fields to be plowed under.) Hope we can still get a few more days out in the hills.

As I'm struggling through the Equinox 800 learning curve, I'm beginning to realize it's potential for deeper gold. Both the two inch quartz specimen and the one gram piece were down about eight inches. The one gram nugget was pretty loud, but so was the specimen with only about a tenth or less of a gram. Unlike the Gold Bug 2's perfect signal, the noise and the numbers coming out of the 800 are really hard to interpret. I guess it is going to be practice, practice, practice. Rattlesnakes are still out in Oregon and I'm sure most other places as well-so be aware. Gary

Nugglorious, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I do want to conquer the Eq. 800. My brother and I and friend Mike were up in the hills yesterday and once again I encountered those pesky hot rocks. So I will take your advice and read all the "hot rock" tips in the Equinox page. I did see a YouTube video where a detectorist with a Minelab 4500 (I think), ground balance on a hot rock, thus clearing them and wondered if that would work for the Equinox. Might be worth a try. Anyway, my brother got a couple, but Mike and I got skunked. Thanks, Gary

Nugglorius, Got two with my 800 yesterday using the 6 inch coil-so thanks. The Equinox does not handle the hot rocks at all and maybe because I don't know what to do yet. And it isn't as user friendly as the Gold Bug 2. Very sensitive to gold at depth though. Gary

phrunt, Just received the 6 inch coil for my new Eq. 800 and am anxious to try it out. Here in Eastern Oregon the temperatures are finally dropping below 100 and we can get out more often. Your little nugget proves the Equinox will work and I hope for us too! Gary

I was raised in the town of Brogan, Oregon, thus Brogansown.

phrunt, Thanks, I'll add that to a growing list. Our hobby is a great way to get outdoors and although only a few will keep at it, some will enjoy the thrill of finding a treasure for many years to come. Gary

Thanks to all of you who responded. This will truly help with all the questions at morning coffee and at the Stone House Museum where both locals and travelers stop. This Forum is really helpful. I do appreciate the advice.

The group I detect with here in Eastern Oregon are mostly interested in gold hunting and we own and hunt with Minelabs, Gold Bug 2's and a few others. Many of my friends who are nearing retirement, have asked what I would recommend to hunt parks, schools, etc. for coins and I just don't know what to tell them, realizing that many wouldn't be able to afford some of the new machines. Could some of you familiar with coin hunting give me a list of their favorites, including less pricey older models. Thanks Guys. Gary

I have a collection of 19th century crevicing tools and this impact tool beats them all! Hope you find a bunch of nuggets.

Totally possible Chris. Molten metals like to form spherical shapes as we know from dropped molten lead in the old shot towers. And if cooled fast enough will retain that shape. Yours was unusual as you know. Nice too. Gary

The BB is possibly a spatter ball from a crucible used to check purity of an ore sample. I have found a number of BB's on the walls of these crucibles thrown behind the sampling lab. The crucibles were only used once and then thrown away. Often the lab guy would miss the spatters up on the sides-sometimes hidden by the flux. Good find Chris.

Lunk, Earlier this year I borrowed Mike's Gold Monster and with the small coil was able to pick up those tiny pieces even better than with the Gold Bug 2. The GM 1000's ergonomics are not so good, so I always revert back to the GB2. As you said it is a really sensitive machine. Good job with all those nuggets.

Thanks Gerry. The guys all say hello back. Gus even got out to visit Mike with his new wife and he is recovering nicely and wanting to get out with a detector. We manage to eke out a few nuggets in all the old places, nearly all of which you've been to. Looking forward to seeing you again.

My brother and I drove to an old heavily detected patch on Friday and between us found over a dozen pieces/nuggets. Although we had our Minelabs with us, we just used the Gold Bug 2's as we immediately found a couple. Most of the pieces were within two inches of the surface, but the larger specimen (5.7grams) was down about 4 inches and was loud. My point is, I guess, don't give up on old patches especially if some time has passed to allow wind and water to alter the ground a bit. And we do have wind and thunder showers here in Eastern Oregon all the time. As usual stay tight to the ground and swing slow.

Mitchel, Thank you very much. Her interpretation makes the tin much more interesting. Gary

Mitchel, Attached is lid in close-up. Sure do appreciate your wife's help with the Chinese items. Gary

Gerry, Attached is one of my tins (actually copper or bronze) that is complete and is 3 & 3/4 inches tall. I always thought they were opium tins, but maybe tea is correct, although pounds of tea would have been consumed, not ounces such as these could hold. As you know they are everywhere in the gold fields. And I do have some small opium vials found years ago in our area. Gary

Can't answer the original question as I don't have the 7000, but I also took my GP 3000 out after three years of it laying idle and within 15 minutes in overworked ground, got a half gram nugget. It was very stable despite some mineralization and hot rocks and sensitive (got a bunch of shotgun pellets and tiny tacks too). I was using the 14 inch oval mono and used the left edge to pinpoint the nugget. It is easy to forget how good this machine really is after using the 4500 and the Gold Bug 2 for three years. Think I'll be using it a lot this summer.

Thanks Gerry, I was using the 5 inch coil for the nuggets shown, but have also used the large coil. I am using Mike's Gold Monster while my Fisher GB-2 is in for repairs. (It is back as of today, but of course the season is over now.) It is probably true that I was pushing the sensitivity on the small coil and that could have been my problem. I was able to learn which signals to ignore and by going a little slower was able to pretty much solve the problem. Thanks to all the forum member's comments and help. Sure, use the photo as you need. Looking forward to getting out with you again. Your friend, Gary

We were out a couple of days ago and detected these nuggets with the GM 1000. Temperatures were right at 32 degrees and the ground was wet and slightly frozen in a few places. One of the guys got a 6 gram nugget. My Gold Bug 2 is in for repair, so I was using the Gold Monster. It is more sensitive than the GB 2, but certainly more difficult to handle. The signals are not as friendly and the chirps on every blade of grass is annoying. But you can get gold with the Monster.