sevastras

Not unless they are digging down 8-10 inches and wedging them between the shale and then figured out how to replace the dirt in a manner that looks undisturbed. All with caliche attached.

That was in Idaho. The issues I was having was just trashy and was not suited for the 6000. The 800 with a 6" coil was a better fit because of the smaller area and discrimination/identification. Unless I wanted to go around and clean up all of the trash, there really isnt a way to take the 6000 through that specific area. As far as the 6000 and hot rocks, from what I understand, the 6000 does a pretty good job of getting rid of those on its own. The machine is really a lot more simple than the 800.

I purchased the GPX 6000 from @Gerry in Idaho a few months back and had only taken it out once for about 45 minutes and had to put it away because it was screaming at me due to iron scattered everywhere. Fast forward to this past weekend, I went down to Rye Patch to @Gerry in Idaho's training to really get out and try this thing out. I ended the trip with 8 pieces totaling 3.7 grams, cleaned. The biggest piece was pretty cool so I am including pictures of both sides of that one, 1.5 grams cleaned. All 8 were found right around the burn barrel area. Thank you to Gerry and all of his staff for a great time and knowledge! @Lunk @afreakofnature and the rest of the team.

I will give my perspective, being I first picked up a metal detector in March. I purchased an 800 just to find cool stuff and hopefully something of value. I kind of equate the beginning of my metal detecting as someone who buys $1 lottery tickets, probably not going to win that $5000 but there is that glimmer of hope of doing so. I have found some fun things and enjoyed being out and alone in my own head. My next purchase was probably premature, because I didnt have a full grasp of how to work the 800 or metal detecting in general. As we say in my line of work, you dont know what you dont know. So the Excal Il has about 20 hours on it(it should get more this winter), but I probably jumped the gun a bit on that purchase. Then I went to Gerry's training at RP this springish with the thought in my head, I am not really looking for gold, I just want to learn the 800 better. I did learn a ton about the 800 and machines in general. BUT, then I kind of got the bug a little and after a few months of deliberation purchased the 6000. I have exactly 3 hours on the 6000 while owning it for a couple of months. It isnt that I dont want to take it out or it is too confusing, I just havent had the time because I am busy with the things that actually afford me the ability to purchase almost $10k in machines my first year in. I have dedicated some time to go to Gerry's training in Nov down at RP not just to learn the machine, but to get some of what I paid for, time to myself in my own head. So to answer your question, I buy the best machine I can afford to give me the best chance at success for when I do go out. To define that success, pickers are just fine as long as I am finding something and am getting that time to just do what I want to do when I want to do it without worrying about anything else except maybe my next meal or next beer. That may change as I get more time to go out, but for now, 1 more than I get is what I really want. I think I read somewhere on here about Irish miners, "Never leave a mine until you have dug at least one more foot" or something like that(I have started reading this forum from the back toward the front cover to cover, so who know when and where that quote was). That is me and time, darkness and bugs are my biggest enemies.

Buy one and do a review for us 😉

Im sure the 30,000 reviews are for Kellyco and not the 6000.

I would imagine an OKM eXp 6000 should work? But if a 7000 is too expensive then the OKM is way too much. On the other hand, 20 ounces of gold would pay it off. I would defer to others with more experience, as I have never actually used an OKM but their claims on the website and the few reviews do seem impressive. Another option is to give me the exact coordinates and I will report back on if there is any gold. 😁

I was at the training and have to say that it was pretty impressive. I only got to swing one for about 20 minutes or so and only found a piece of bird shot but the ease of use, weight and what I saw from the performance has definitely got me thinking about one. I ended up with 5 pieces with my 800 @Gerry in Idaho @Lunk thanks again for the great weekend.

That would be over $10,000,000 in gold, buy the most expensive set up possible and hire a crew! If it is actually there of course. I would wait until the water goes down later in the summer and wade. Also, knowing your area pretty well, it isnt too far until you hit pretty solid rock on the bottom of any of those creeks so I doubt much depth would be needed at all. I would bet on gold stashes in the lava fields before the creeks, but I would break an ankle or get bit by a snake before I found anything.

Because to me it is just a rock. If it were a ring, a silver coin or a petrified alien, I would be much more excited about it. To me, it might as well be a beanie baby. If it has value to someone else, I would sell it, if not the dog can play with it.

So hit it with a hammer?

@Steve Herschbach One more for you. This one has been kicking around my house for years because it looks weird( a turd emoji shape). I also figured it was iron, but does not read anything on the Nox.

That makes sense with the iron content. Thank you for the help!

Good morning! Hoping for a little help with this rock. I found it with my Excal in the Boise river(South West Idaho). It was a faint dull sound with the Excal so I picked it up and tossed it in the bag hoping for some gold after I rinsed the sand off later. No signs of gold, but it is quite odd. Got the Equinox out at home and it reads -6 to -8 but faint. Maybe a meteorite of sorts? It was in an area of the river that has a fairly strong constant flow. Approximately 58g and 6cm x 3.5 cm x 2cm height. Appreciate any help!

On the Minelab website is a find of silver bars with the CTX 3030 in Mexico with the possibility of it being Spanish. Value is estimated at over $100k USD. https://www.minelab.com/community/news?article=289984 I wouldnt turn that over to Mexican police or government and I sure as hell wouldnt turn it over to Spain. I have however lost sleep over how I would get it back to the US.🤷‍♂️ (I have concluded that I would higher a private jet for the $20k or so it would cost)

Relax, you simply reminded me of a lawsuit that I find particularly interesting. If I could remember where I read about ghost sightings being attributed to poor electrical and high amounts of EMI messing with peoples brains, I would have added that article.

They can be. EMI can be cause by the powerlines, cell towers, lightning, sun flares among other things. Interestingly enough, there is actually an "emissions" of sorts on manmade EMI causing things.

Pretty sure Idaho Power takes EMI seriously after losing a $17.5 million lawsuit -https://www.emfacts.com/2005/11/rf-on-powerlines-175-million-court-case/ " TWIN FALLS — A local dairy that claimed its cows were harmed by stray electrical currents has been awarded nearly $17.5 million by a 5th District Court jury. The lead attorney for the dairy said that, to his knowledge, the award is among the largest ever in Twin Falls County and is also a record for so-called “stray voltage” cases in the United States. Following a 10-week trial, the 12-member jury Tuesday found that antiquated Idaho Power Co. equipment caused cows at the dairy owned by Mike and Susan Vierstra to become sick and reduced milk production over a period of several years. "

At the top of the page is downloads and then if you go to books, Steve has lots of useful books for free there. @Gerry in Idaho has written some excellent articles as well that he has on his website. It will take a good bit of practice and education. If it were as easy as buying a metal detector and getting out there, all of the surface gold would be gone. If you look at places like the Rye Patch in Nevada that has surface gold, it has been thoroughly detected for decades but still produces.

I was lucky enough to pick up a Coiltek 14x9 about 2 weeks ago. While I am brand new to metal detecting and still a month out from taking it down to the beach and detecting in the surf, I am impressed with it. Like others have said, it is heavy, but I think that is the point. I have taken in down to the river just to play with it a little and familiarize myself with it. It feels nice in the strong current and is easier to work than the 11" that comes with the 800. On the dry sand, I dug a few beer cans at a depth of 18"-24" deep. The old church key ones so, probably pre 60s. I really purchased it for the beach/surf, so I will give a more detailed report of it in about 5-6 weeks and compare it with the 11" coil and a stock Excal II.