Tom T

16 hours ago, maxxkatt said:

We have coyotes all over Georgia and in Atlanta. They can be shot and killed at any time by anyone as long as you are in a area where you can shoot firearms and the coyote season is open year round and you can hunt them at night. But you cannot poison basically any animals in Georgia.

Timely thread… just last night at about 10:15 I went out with my little JRT to let him do his thing before going to bed. As I got to the bottom of my steps, I caught some movement in my peripheral which turned out to be a full grown mountain lion taking off at a fast trot. At least it ran off when it seen me…. I live inside an enclosed area of about 5 acres with the enclosure being a 6 ft. chain link fence with another couple feet of barbed wire around the top (boat/rv storage business). If it weren’t for the fence, I’d have to keep the dog on a leash or the coyotes around here would probably have gotten him a long time ago. At least a couple times a year, I’ll get a pack of them start yipping and yapping from all sides of the fence line which I think is their way of trying to goad my dog into finding a way to get outside the fence. When this has happened in the past I’ve fired off rounds in an effort to scare them off, but they don’t seem to mind and carry on their antics till they tire and give up. I’ll give them credit for being smart, because not once in the dozen or so times they’ve done this, have they gotten within range of any of the 6 flood lights that ring the fence line.

I’ve pondered that question of life many times Steve…. But I always end up asking myself where does it end?

 Insects? Bacteria? Viruses? Or just mammals? Is there a line that gets crossed?

FWIW, I love lobster, but I’ll be damned if I ever toss another one in a pot of boiling water…. They actually scream…🤭

4 hours ago, Tony said:

We should be allowed to carry a 9mm pistol if prospecting remotely………it’s a long walk back to camp for the 30.30

I’d feel naked without my handgun. 
I started carrying one after a mountain lion stared me down some 30 years ago… 

I’d like to see more waterproofing….good, dependable, waterproofing…

I’ve found screwdrivers ok in a pinch, but for some crevices you’re gonna need a hammer and chisel a dedicated crevice tool and a long/large set of tweezers as well as a regular plastic sucker bottle for any fines…

As the owner of a Equinox 800 and a Gold Monster 1000, I’d have to say they are both capable detectors, but best or better than???

 What’s that old saying???………. It’s not the arrow, it’s the Indian. 
 If I had to go head to head in a park with my old self in the early 90s using a Whites Eagle ll SL against my current self with a new to me Equinox 800, I’d have to bet on my old self. That may change as I learn this new detector.  Same with my old Goldmaster 2 and the Gold Monster but to a lesser extent because the Monster is so simple to use. I also find it amusing that all vlf gold detectors that come on the market are compared to the Gold Bug 2.

3 hours ago, Clay Diggins said:

That's a foolish and counterproductive attitude Tom. It's always the prospectors legal duty to determine the status of any land they intend to prospect - that includes mining claim rights.

I see you are in California. Are you aware there is no legal requirement in California to maintain markers or signs indicating the boundaries or even the existence of a mining claim? Those are the "current regulations".

Mineral ownership (mining claims included) in California have the same status as any other real estate. Just like you aren't required to post a sign to keep people from entering your garage and "prospecting" for some nice tools there is no legal requirement to maintain signage on a mining claim. Under the law the only notice you need to provide to the general public is a record of the mining claim location notice recorded at the County Recorder's office. That single location notice public record legally puts the public on notice of your mineral rights. No signs or markers required.

Personally I think any mining claim worth owning is worth posting with notices informing the public of the mineral status. That's not a legal requirement in any state but as a practical matter it makes sense. Lets look at how that actually works in practice.

A placer claim can be as large as 160 acres. How many notices would the claimant have to post to make sure you know you are on a mining  claim? (Your stated standard) That probably depends on the terrain. Lets suppose that 160 acre claim is almost flat. How far away can you see a mining claim sign when you are wandering around prospecting on that claim? Can you read a sign 1/4 mile away? That's the distance between corners on a 160 acre claim. Now imagine the typical mining claim with it's many hills, washes and cliffs. How close together do the signs have to be then? A few hundred feet or less right? Now you are up to as many as 40 - 50 signs around that mining claim. Now imagine this very common situation where a range cow finally found a nice post to scratch that itch. The cow destroys your sign but dam it felt good to finally scratch that itch! This happens a lot. Is the claimant required to walk the mile boundary of their claim every day in case you show up prospecting and don't see the cow destroyed sign?

Now I know I'm just some guy on the internet and you quite clearly believe you know the laws of mineral trespass so I'm going to share some of the California laws about mining claims:

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 3900-3924

3921.  The record of any location of a mining claim, millsite, or
tunnel right in the office of the county recorder, as provided in
this chapter, shall be received in evidence and have the same force
and effect in the courts of the state as the original notice.

3922.  Copies of the records of all instruments required to be
recorded by this chapter, duly certified by the recorder in whose
custody the records are, may be read in evidence under the same
circumstances and rules as are provided by law for using copies of
instruments relating to real estate, duly executed or acknowledged or
proved and recorded.

So yeah - mining claims are real estate. Taxable real estate in California. Entering someone else's real estate with the intent to take some of the real estate for yourself is theft under California law and every other state's laws. That pretty much covers the legal aspect of mineral high grading.

Now the part where I said your idea was foolish and counterproductive. That wasn't meant to be a comment on your character but a warning as to the eventual consequences of your ideas about mineral ownership. From your posts I see you are a casual prospector. Usually folks that pursue mining for recreation get their knowledge of how to prospect successfully and their knowledge of good gold areas from other casual prospectors. Quite often casual prospectors will share a location or even their own claim with other prospectors. If those other casual prospectors can't trust your knowledge of where it's OK to prospect why would they share the spots they have already researched and found open to prospecting? As any successful prospector knows the key to success is doing the research to put you on good gold on open ground before putting boots on the ground.

This legal requirement to determine the land status before you prospect is nothing new. It's just another skill needed by the successful prospector. Prospectors in the 1880's were able to meet that requirement by traveling to and studying the paper records so there is no reason a modern prospector can't do the same thing more easily. With online public records and resources like Land Matters that necessary research step is easier than it ever has been before.

Maybe rethink your theory in light of the facts. It's the legal thing to do but more importantly respecting other people's property is the right thing to do.

 

So, using that logic, a person could get on line behind a computer screen and file a claim without ever having to leave home….right?

2 hours ago, Clay Diggins said:

Now I know I'm just some guy on the internet and you quite clearly believe you know the laws of mineral trespass so I'm going to share some of the California laws about mining 

https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/mining-and-minerals/locatable-minerals/mining-claims/staking-a-claim

You can’t pick and choose what regulations you choose to follow and which ones you don’t…. Maybe you could get away with that on state owned land, but I wouldn’t bank on it…. 

As far as I’m concerned, unless the supposed claim is clearly marked and posted in accordance with the current regulations, it’s not valid….there also needs to be a discovery monument. When  I’m out prospecting an area I always carry a USGS topo map with me and if confronted, I’ll pull it out and politely ask if they’d mind showing me the boundaries….

3 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Welcome to DP Tom and hoping your new GM-1000 is as productive as you can make it.

Thanks Gerry, I’m sure it will be. I also have a nox 800 but need to ease into it.

 No, I’m not going to try differentiating targets by tone quality alone. I’ve already found a little piece of gold in my yard area along with several #6 shot, some foil, screws, solder etc.

ETA: I just referred a Robert Brown your way….

I’m new to the monster (thanks Gerry)😎 so correct me if I’m wrong, but I “think” I’m “hearing” a difference in crispness of tone between different types of targets. It could be that this is just a remnant of memory from my time using the Explorer but gold seems to have a cleaner (crispy) sound as opposed to the “growling” that ferrous signals seem to have at the beginning and end of the tone…it could have to do with the size of target too. I haven’t tested this thought yet because I’m only slightly over a week deep into the monster…Lots to learn

Currently living in Sonora Ca. I’ve been chasing the yellow metal for about 45 years. Now, at 70 it’s getting a little harder but I’ll be at it till the end.  I’m more than happy to share what I can and believe it or not, I’m still learning….  (I’m a short bus candidate) currently have a nox 800 that’s testing my patience and a monster 1000 that I’m falling in love with…

                     
Tom T