Hard Prospector

Some gold shows are bigger and better than others.  I don;t really care so much as  I have a nice time just wandering around the scene

Do miss the Vegas venue though

Father of the PI  (unless I'm mistaken)

Really liked my T2,  but that was some years ago now. You made some very good points.  Perhaps First Texas is counting on the old saying; "There's a fool born every minute" to buy their old out dated stuff.

Kind of reminded me back when  White's re packaged the TDI SL  with new paint and decals (but not a damn thing more)

Good to see  Garret pushing the envelope.

BTW;  his mini high banker works well and the best portable high banker I've ever used.

Jobe, Wilson and CA Sluice Co  got mopped up  by Geo Sluice (Jeff).  He sort of picked up the pieces from several defunct companies recently so I would just call him and see whats up. Talked to him recently,  very approachable and likes to talk.

Was a huge White's fan for years and owned many of their machines. Anytime I had a question just call Jimmy (Sr) no problem as he loved to talk detectors and nugget shooting.  Then  he and White's had a falling out (pretty sure his knuckle head son had something to do with that) which seemed like the beginning of the slide for White's.  Tried calling Sweet Home several times after words and was rewarded with crappy condescending customer service or flat-out lies. 

Decided to keep one White's detector (Sierra Gold Trac),  mainly as a reminder of all the great conversations I had with Jimmy. 

As for the White's forum,  I vote the bone yard

This won't explain everything  but it seems like a lot of items currently  built since Covid hit have quality control issues.

18 hours ago, Bishop said:

i have only seen 2 bears in the wild and would mess my pants if i saw a grizzly.
if i was hunting up there i would have at least my 30/06 with me, i don't think a pistol would do the job.
nice gold.

 The Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull was made for such moments.

The Alaskan guide's best friend

Beautiful MT gold,  well done. Spent the last 2 weeks in Montana, my daughter was married last weekend at Chico Hot Springs (also gold country). Had a great time not just at the celebration but hiking around the country and just sight seeing. Lots of talk of grizzly encounters and couple maulings in Paradise Valley. Locals all say a hunt for griz is long over due.

Looks like a new version of "Nitrox" mixed air breathing for scuba.  Heard of supply chain issues but this seems a bit desperate.

Flooding like nobody has seen in over 100 years is taking place in some of the historic gold districts of Montana, Idaho and beyond.  An impressive late season snow pack followed by warm temps  and rain has the rivers and gully''s a boom'n.  Material that hasn't moved in over a century is on its way. Time to get your detector, sluice box,  highbanker,  dredge suits, etc. ready.  Could be once in a lifetime prospecting opportunity,  still keeping in mind the property damage is extreme & tragic for many  and our hearts go out to them.  

I know a guy who uses a mini high banker with a 12v pump and  in a closed recirculating system near a stream at least a 100' away.  He buckets the water over to his basins (3 ...of which are 30-40 gallons each),  which flow from one into another as the material settles out.  He is able to run quite a few buckets of pay in this process and feels he's  within the law.......or close enough as he's not discharging into or pumping out of the stream or using any gasoline powered equipment.

Periodically he shuts down to drain out the muddy water (via a 100" garden hose out into the boonies) and scoop out silt he spreads around the bushes.  

He told me he as operated this way for nearly 10 years and hasn't been pinched yet.

Yep,  couldn't have said it better.  Most of my gold detecting these days for  is jewelry  on the coast.  Too bad nugget patches don't get  replenished with each new beach season.

Big shoes to fill.   I'm optimistic  the new owners will carry on producing this excellent publication/magazine.

In addition to everything all ready stated, I'll put a pet flea collar at the seem where my pants tuck into my boots

Just love going into these old mills.  The practical engineering that went into these monuments of the past were impressive.  No "humanities degrees" at work here.

Bedrocker; I would go with your probable   theory..........The wrong people knew he likely had a lot of gold hidden near by.  He was jumped and forced at gun point to reveal the cache in return for  his life.  The worst kind of sort knew that "dead men tell no tales"  so after digging up the dust he was killed on the spot. 

Life can be  so unfair and tragic

Nice haul phrunt,  fun day for sure.

Entertaining read,  very much enjoyed the ride. Story's based on actual accounts are nothing new over the years, Hollywood is full of such movies.  I appreciate the effort put into this.......thanks

I subscribe to the ICMJ  Prospecting and Mining Journal,  pretty much the only mining magazine I get anymore. A monthly publication, been around for nearly 100 years. Articles are excellent and informative.  Subscription offered on line  and in print with archives access that seem to go back forever. 

NZ's  largest gold nugget gifted to the Crown,  melted down  and made into  whatever.........what a shame.

I've owned claims and have  had partners in some of them.  I really don't care if some guy swings through once in a while and picks up a gram'r here or there......good for him.   A good haul these days requires processing  lots of material (picks, shovels, highbankers, drywashers) which takes time and effort. Something detectors can't  typically do.

Be great if this new engineer could take First Texas to the "next level".  BTW;  I don't just mean keeping the life support machine running.

Thought about getting one but like most prospectors these days;  we're pretty content with either the Monster,  Equinox  or 24k to fill the VLF need.  Still I'm open minded if  (eventually)  and when more info on the unit presents.

19 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

Thanks, Simon. The GPX 4.5/5 with the DD coil is a definitely a good suggestion, thanks for that. Yeah I should have the 4500/5000 in my arsenal, also because of the huge coil selection. My first PI was the SDC and then later I had the choice between the 5000 and the 7000, so I chose the latter. But I of course know what and excellent performer the older GPX series has been. My hope is that more coil options will come available for the 6000 soon, but the 14DD suggestion is definitely a interesting one that I will try. I haven't used the SDC there yet, my guess is that for serious hot rock laden areas it will equally struggle. Where the SDC shines (IMO) is in mineralized shallow ground with somewhat less centralized mineralization, meaning in areas with not truly mass-centered hot rocks but rather with somewhat scattered general mineralization, like in many washes above bedrock. Thanks for commenting on my trip report. You certainly are a great inspiration in this regard and I always enjoy your awesome stories/reports/pics.

Best,

GC 

Actually,  for reasons unknown to me,  my SDC  seems to do better than most detectors in the area.  It  will sometimes ignore the smaller pieces of andesite and basalt when going over my drywasher tailing piles.  But the bigger volcanics....forget it!