GoldenHillbilly

Much abliged!

Good thinking Joe. The Nox is looking more and more attractive.

I actually live half way between Hendersonville and Bat Cave. But a family member has property close to Burnsville.

Thanks for the info Gold Seeker. I've looked at the publicly available gold maps and the majority of it is definitely associated with the Carolina Slate Belt. But there were some gold mines in the mountain region too. I think the Boylston Mine at Mills River worked a quartz vein, and it's not far from me. I don't expect to get much if anything, but thought if there was a mine on the neighbours property then I might find a few tiny bits while learning how to use a detector. When I was researching dredges/sluices, I decided that various Gold Hog mats would be the first thing I try. But recently I noticed these Dream Mats are getting popular. Pretty cool design.

Thanks. Looks like I may need to rein in the nugget fever and spread my horizons a bit.

Yep, I pretty much have free rein there. I've panned a couple of times with a cheap off brand plastic pan and a cone shaped stainless steel batea. I haven't found anything, but I'm pretty inexperienced with panning. I've spent lots of time researching, but don't have much experience. My lower back also starts acting up after leaning over a few slow/unskilled panning attempts. The creek is also fairly skinny, maybe 2-3ft across and runs straight without any inner bends to target. There's a few spots I tried to remove gravels to get to bedrock, but I only hit the top of buried boulders. Western NC. I live near Hendersonville but the 10ac property is in Burnsville. I'm definitely flirting with the idea of heading out west eventually. I actually have family in Arizona. Why can't you imagine nugget detecting out east? Is it the combination of hot ground, thick organic layers, and lower quantity of nuggets available? Thanks for the lead. I'm definitely a proponent of doing homework. I've been researching prospecting for years to decide a method of attack to invest in. Detectors seem more versatile than dredges. More portable and can be used many places dredges can't. I'm also looking into scuba gear for underwater sniping. I can do that in the national forests, just can't sluice or dredge. I thought because of the high mineralization, hot rocks, and deep layer of humus and uneven terrain I would need the depth of a PI. I was also worried that the equinox might be a little complicated for an amateur like me, but maybe it would be worth it to spend more time learning on such a machine. The 10 acre site probably has some coins/relics, but I'm not expecting much. It is on top of a mountain at the end of a cul de sac next to logging land. I doubt there was much traffic up there in the old days except maybe the alleged gold mine further down the mountain. But to be fair, I shouldn't expect many nuggets either if I haven't found any yet. I'm not expecting to find much on this property. But it's the only place relatively close that I have full access to for now, so I was thinking it would be a good spot to cut my teeth. There's actually a small public area at Ray Mine that allows detecting. But I assume it has been picked clean since there are no public alternatives in the area that I know of. There have been some pretty large (12+ pound) nuggets found a couple hours away, so you never know. I might stumble onto a nice vein. I assume a highly skilled user with a low end detector would be more successful than an unskilled user with a high end detector, so I want to get plenty of practice before going on long road trips to camp out at better locations. I have some leads on other private properties nearby which I might be able to use. Just want to learn how to use the detector first before bugging the owners for permission.

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm close to Hendersonville which is about 1.5 hours from Wilton Springs. As far as detectors go, I'm leaning towards the SDC 2300 or maybe the Garret ATX. I actually started a thread hoping to get some recommendations... http://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/14744-selecting-a-detector-for-appalachian-ground/

I'm looking to buy my first detector this year, specifically for nugget hunting. After lots of research I'm leaning towards the SDC 2300, but wanted to see if you have other suggestions based on my terrain/conditions. We don't have much public land for detecting because the national forests and state parks don't allow it. But I have access to a private 10 acre property with a creek flowing through it. There was allegedly an old gold mine that was buried decades ago in a neighbouring property, so hopefully it is a good place to work. The ground is covered in lots of organic matter sitting on top of soil heavy in granite and red clay. The creek contains a wide variety of minerals specimens and a good amount of magnetite. So it looks like I'll need to focus on PI machines. Here are my main questions. Will my time be better spent in the creek where the gravels and rocks are exposed, or should I also focus efforts in the higher areas covered in humus? Should I wait for the Fisher Impulse Gold to come out (and prove itself with users) before dropping a few grand on older technology? Does anyone recommend the Garret ATX or any other detector over the SDC 2300 for the area and conditions I'm dealing with?

Hello, I'm new to detecting but have been researching different gold prospecting techniques on and off for the last 7 years. I'm addicted to learning new things and felt it was time to stop lurking around here and join the fun. I live in the mountains of western North Carolina and am mostly interested in nugget hunting. This state was the biggest gold producer in the US until the California rush started. The gold around here is known for being very pretty with exceptionally high purity. I'm planning on buying my first detector this year, and hopefully it'll lead to some nice pics to share.