Lanny

An old nugget shooter gave me this advice once when I told him I'd just bought a detector, and it has proven golden: he said to put the detector manual on the bedside table and to read it every night before going to sleep. I was amazed at the things I thought I knew about my detector back then (and its capabilities), how to operate it, what to do and not to do when nugget hunting, etc., amazed that is in how much I'd missed during my initial readings of the manual. Every winter, I bust out my manuals again, make notes, write annotations in the manual, and compare what the manual is telling me as contrasted to what I've been doing with the detector before that annual freeze-up hits. I still pick up things by using his method of rereading the manual even though I'm no longer new to my machines. All the best, Lanny

Steve, Thanks for your updates and for the information, regardless of the source. I sincerely appreciate your efforts to be helpful. As for the forest fire soil, yes I know what you're referring to, and I know how the detector responds to the dirt, though I had no idea why the coil responded to the altered soil, so thanks for that as well. All the best, Lanny

Fred, Nicely done! I can tell you love your 7000, so can you share any of the reasons you love it so much? If you could be as specific as you can, and if you have the time to comment, I'd appreciate it as you seem to have invested some time in using it. I'd way rather hear from someone that's actually using it while I investigate Minelab's newest gold machine. All the best, Lanny

The Snow Racer seems to perform very well in its natural habitat. I think that 's a first for me, seeing someone detect in the snow while wearing flip-flops! Thanks for the continuing updates on the Gold Racer. It's great to see it in action. All the best, Lanny

Great answer Steve which has illuminated some new thinking for me and given me a new focus while I'm riding out the frozen conditions here. As always, I'll be revisiting my manual again as it perpetually seems like I'm missing something, missing things I need to understand better to refine my detecting. You sure know your stuff! Peteren, thanks for the write-up on hematite as it sure is obnoxious stuff and being non-magnetic, as you say, it's a stinker to get out of the way. Magnetics are fairly easy to deal with by using a super-magnet, but hematite has to be removed the hard way, so I understand why it's driving you crazy. Goldbrick, great question, thanks for posting it. All the best, Lanny

Bob, I'm getting tired of the cold winters too, but I do love hunting the gold here in the summers, so I may have to do some investigating of the snowbird option as well. I have to agree that Prescott is a beautiful area, yet it seems like all places have their pros and cons. Having said that, Prescott is in a choice location. I agree with others that you should join a club for access to claims until you've stomped around enough to find a sweet spot of your own, or maybe you'll just always love the club scene as it does give you a dedicated group of friends right out of the gate. Any place in Arizona with a lower elevation will greatly inhibit your summer gold prospecting such as in places like Stanton, so that's why migrating north in the summer will remain a great choice too. All the best with your trip to check things out, Lanny

Good luck Alex! All the best, Lanny

Nice finds, and thanks for the links to your live-action youtube videos! Nicely done, and thanks for the streaming dialogue about target sounds, etc. It's nice to have another field update on the Racer. All the best, Lanny

Sounds interesting. I'll have to do some Australian research to see if I can find the details for what happened to spark the novel, and life sentences to boot! I wonder now if they think it was worth it. Plus, the novel itself may be something to get me through this freeze-up as you've suggested. Update: I found it: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-24/stephen-struber-dianne-wilson-convicted-murder-of-bruce-schuler/6647230 Interesting read! All the best, Lanny

Keep the updates coming please as I'd love to hear more of what you think of that little detector, whether you're chasing coins with it or hunting nuggets. All the best, Lanny

Those are some wonderful finds for sure! All the best, Lanny

Nice find! I've only ever seen a couple out in the desert, but that's probably because I don't get to visit the desert very often, and both of the ones I've seen were in Nevada to boot. All the best, and thanks for taking the time to post the picture that sparked the memory, Lanny

It's interesting how that dang lead takes the headlines and makes a nuisance of itself when all a nugget shooter wants to do it not detect the lead, but I'm glad you got some gold regardless. More than a few times after I've dug a pocket-full of lead, for whatever reason, I'll dig a nugget or two. Weird coincidence? Or is it just that when I'm working bedrock or the bottom of gulches I'm working where heavies have been concentrated, and that's the only common factor, heavies hanging out with heavies? Enjoyed reading your entry, so thanks, and all the best, Lanny

There you go! Nicely done!! All the best, Lanny

I'm glad to see that someone's out playing with one. Thanks for the feedback! All the best, Lanny

JP, Nice finds, and it's always a win when you get out to find some gold with the family! All the best, Lanny

Nice finds! Does my heart good to see that somewhere it's warm enough to detect and have some fun. All the best, Lanny

Thanks for the instruction Steve. I now understand what has to be done. Much appreciated. All the best, Lanny

Fun little shoot! All the best, Lanny

That's a very pretty piece indeed! Congratulations, and all the best, Lanny

Using detectors as pin-pointers, something I hadn't thought of, but I sure can see the applications now when you need to track something down, especially when working into a bank or down in a hole or on your belly in tight quarters. Definitely something to think about. All the best, Lanny

Beautiful star sapphire, and that 1000 ct parcel from Australia sure fires the imagination! Thanks for the pictures, and all the best, Lanny

Thanks for your work in putting such a handy resource together Barry! All the best, Lanny

Great response! I like how you described how nuggets bedding down in the same spot will produce a stronger signal. Last summer, I hit two spots with the Gold Bug Pro where I got a very broad signal in packed dirt, shallow on bedrock. I had never experienced this before, and I didn't know what to make of it. I almost thought it was some kind of ground mineralization effect or something, but as I'd been finding nuggets consistently in that area, I dug all of the dirt anyway. In the process of scraping and gathering, I uncovered a crevice that ran about ten inches deep, cleaned it out as well, and threw everything in the gold pan. The signal in the ground was gone, but now there was a strong signal in the pan! I panned down the dirt a bit and quickly saw the flash of gold. I spread the dirt out with the water and it was full of small nuggets, any of which, individually, the detector easily saw. There was also a 4 gram nugget keeping them company that I eyeballed as I cleaned out the crevice. As all of those nuggets had bedded down in that pocket/crevice together, that was what produced the broad signal in the dirt, but when they were concentrated in the smaller area of the pan, the signal was stronger. Thanks, as you may have solved a bit of a mystery for me. That was a fun day, and unbelievably, I repeated it a couple of weeks later on another section of bedrock! I doubt it will ever happen again as it's never happened before. I mean, I've hit concentrations of small nuggets before, but they rang individually as I swept the coil over them because they were more spread out in their patch's area. They did not give out the broad signal I received on the nuggets that were much closer together. All the best, Lanny

That piece is drop-dead gorgeous! My, what a day that must have been. Incredible. All the best, and I'm with you Steve, my gold lives in the bank too for the same reasons, Lanny