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I was curious to know if you long-time detectorists noticed any performance differences dependent on weather conditions. I have noticed that my detecting just seems a bit smoother on those days when it is over-cast. Is this just my imagination?

I read a lot about how challenging nugget hunting was before buying the ZED and everything I read was true. I love the challenge and the hunt, I'm finding adventures and getting outdoors for lots of exercise, loving every minute. I have so much to learn and am very thankful for the honest advice by everyone here. Hunting the desert is fairly straight foreword, but the conditions Im finding around the Rivers on the areas Ive been to so far are telling me I have no idea about what Im doing. for example, the american river area is wonderful, but in most every area around the claim i hit targets every 3 inches or so. Some areas I can find a little more clean ground, but it is almost impossible to even ground balance without several target hits every sweep of the coil. pinpointing is impossible with a 14 inch coil in these conditions and most of the ground is vertical and getting a target out of the hole only sends it over several other targets. I was down to listening only for faint targets and then searching the soil scoop by scoop for any targets I might be lucky enough to find. In several areas I am also getting a target response on solid basaltic bed rock, Im guessing this is only hot rock. Im suppose I need to be raking and clearing a small area at a time and trying to work through any trash layers if thats possible? My tendency is to want to cover a lot of ground like when Im in the desert, but that approach won't work down by the river, so I have to guess a more careful and systematic approach is necessary working only a small area?

G;day Folks Does anyone here Know Bill Southern, Because I joined his forum because I need to talk to some one there And There seems to be an Approval Issue thing going on there and I cant contact anyone Or Post ther even though I am Now A Member there, Thanks Guys,, John

So I have a few people here at work who've never detected, sluiced, panned or, in one case, even camped! I'm looking to take care of all of those in one fell swoop with the caveat -- they're really not in good shape for humping around the backcountry. I'm looking at putting everyone in my truck and taking them up to the Mother Lode area of California (coming up from the Bay Area.) Requirements: 1) Near an easy-access stream for panning/sluicing 2) Drive-up campsite or SUPER easy hike in/out. Emphasis on "not in good shape" for some of the party. 3) Area is amenable to detecting (Taking a GB2 and v3i. v3i is not optimal but hopefully better than nothing.) I was thinking about the Auburn Rec area - I seem to remember a campground under/near a bridge but it's been a very very long time since I've been there. Maybe it was Mineral Bar? I wasn't driving and don't remember. 😛 Something like Ruck-a-Chucky might be doable but it's up away from the river a bit. Another option is camping BLM land if the hike in is short/easy - something around Columbia that might be unclaimed. If anyone knows of the correct terrain/area I'll research the claims in that area. This is more of a "fun trip" instead of a "hunt hard" trip but I'd like to get them into a little color and get them hooked - could use a prospecting buddy or two if I can get them into shape. =D Thanks! -mox

My mother in law want to get into detecting. Gonna put the budget at $ 500 or less. She wants to do some coinshooting. She is a complete newbie. Great gold panner though. Something easy and light. What do guys recommend ?

I just bought a new metal detector making the # of machines I own at 2... I'm already wanting to add another machine to my collection...I have 2 VLF's and now I want a PI.....am I addicted??...need meetings??? etc etc etc...haha

Just thought I would share some of the money/time saving ideas that we use to make our prospecting trips a little easier. I'm sure that others have these as well and would like to hear from you about them. -To hold our daily nuggets we use the Coleman orange match case/safe that costs $1.00 at Walmart. Can be bought online too and I just got 10 from them. -The GP 3000 and 3500 batteries cost around $100, but battery stores and some True Value stores have the exact same battery used by Minelab for $19.99. Simply pry off the black plastic dome on the used up battery and reconnect to the new battery, making sure positive is on positive and wrap with duct tape to secure. I've done this many times. -A good friend of mine made me a pick from a truck spring with a two inch piece of 1 1/4 inch pipe welded to the underside. I used a long handle from a sledge hammer secured into this pipe nipple and I use it as both a pick and crutch. There must be thousands of hints that are used to find, dig, feed and help us get the gold.

Just read this and had a great laugh telling the wife and kids about it - best laugh in awhile. No need for bear spray or a gun just haymaker the ol boy. Lol http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/04/28/placer-county-man-punches-bear-in-face-to-save-his-dog/

Need some advice for detecting out in the bush here in Alaska. Keep both earphones on? Keep one on and listen for bears with the other? Anyone have any ideas or experience with this? How about full earphones vs. in-ear phones? Thanks.

Recently I picked up a Fisher F19. I have been hitting the local parks after work putting time on the new machine. Benn having a lot of fun with that and finding tones of clad and junk jewelry. Nothing to brag about but fun all the same. What I have found that interests me is the children. I get a lot of attention from the kids. Today one kid cornered me and asked a million questions. Finally I asked is she wanted to give it a go. Man those eyes lit up "CAN I REALLY". Hay why not. She spent the better part of an hour detecting before it was time to go. In talking to her I learned she was Autistic and has Asperger. That got me thinking I need a metal detector just for the kids. I am looking for suggestions on a good, entry level detector. Not really shur what to look at, but seems to me it needs to be simple in design and sized for kids but I would like it to be capable. Price is not a issue but I would expect that it would not be expensive. Maybe an older used model is the way to go? What do you guy`s think?

Looking for information on detecting the tailings piles along Prichard Creek near Murray, Idaho. I have to do some more research to see if the area is public land or private property, but curious if anyone has any experience with the area. Looks like an interesting place to check out.

Some tens of years ago a prospector gave me two gems of knowledge that have guided my prospecting to this day, they are. Gold is where you find it, and The further you are from your last nugget, the closer you are to your next. When I'm struggling to find anything more on a patch I recall this advice and move on

Hi folks, In the way of back ground I've been prospecting since 2010. Sluiced for years till I got a highbanker, which is what I do now. I work claims on the N. F. Yuba River. I've worked the Bear River, American Rivers, mostly, now mainly the Yuba. I've had the CTX3030 for a year but it won't find gold where I go, just nails: it's nails or nothing you hear out there. (I have a great collection of square nails!) BTW, I didn't buy it to find gold, was just hopin' it might work, but mainly it was to find coins when I'm not in Gold Country. A day with a highbanker is guaranteed gold but the new tech of the GPZ piques my interest so I'm going to lay my money down. It will be my first gold detector. Well, I've lurked a bit and now have a (stupid?) question: Should I buy a detector from a dealer or from the manufacturer? I'm looking to buy a couple of detectors: the GPZ and GMT (one for myself, the other a gift). Is there any difference in price, or how fast they handle your order? I presently own a CTX3030 which I bought from Kellyco, after purchase I saw dealers offering free shipping etc. Nice to meet ya, Yukon Jack

With $10,000 detectors now available, the owners better take a look at their insurance. Auto insurance, for example, usually doesn't cover theft of items from inside the car. Theft losses from your car or anywhere else away from your home may be covered under your homeowners or renters insurance. You need to check your policy however - there may be specific limits or exclusions which apply to this. Especially valuable items – like a $10,000 metal detector may not be fully covered - there are often per item limits or per category limits which set the maximum amount of coverage to equal some percentage of the value of your house. Having one or two very expensive metal detectors swiped from your vehicle or from your home could leave you with a large uninsured loss. If you're in doubt check with your insurance agent.

Sitting here listening to it rain very hard. Seeing all of the downed trees around here. Makes me think of going detecting after the storms pass. I especially want to detect the roots of trees and seasonal streams. What do you look for after storms?

So most of my grounds are hydraulic sites. I wouldn't call many of them pits but rather they are large expanses that seems almost too big to efficiently work through. I've had my fair share of success usually finding a piece or two, but would like to ask if people have any tricks to tackling such huge areas. Focus only on bedrock at the thalwag of the channel or work all the various false bedrocks made from the clay stratified layers? Any tips would be very welcomed! Cheers Calgeo

To all the experts in Nuggetshooting and Metal Detecting on here: What kind of skills and habits do you use in the field and in your reading/research to make you a better detectorist ? I've heard that 10% of the detectorits get 90% of the gold. What sets you apart? What advice and tips do you have for someone that wants to take their detecting to the next level. Is it research, the right real estate, luck, knowing geology, or as my grandpa used to say" your not holding your mouth right" ??? Is it having the best detector available or having an average detector and knowing the machine to it's fullest?

I am new to detecting and gold prospecting and have opportunity to prospect in a quartz environment which has historically produced gold. I am not yet up to the traditional 100 hours time on my metal detector and the prospecting site is a journey away. I have been practicing in my back yard getting familiar with a Whites MXT Pro. I also have access to a Gold Bug Pro although I have not yet spent much time on it. I have some test garden Qs. 1) Would I be able to simulate the quartz environment I'm prospecting in with a test garden of silica sand? The ground reading on my MXT pro varies from -50s to -80s at the prospecting site. 2) As an alternative to siiica sand, what about construction Quartz flagstone? Would I be able to simulate the quartz environment better than silica sand with this? My intuition is no, the air voids between pieces would just make unnaturally discontinuous permeability. 3) Is the hassle/benefit of building a silica sand (or quartz flagstone) test garden worthwhile relative to just using my native backyard soil? I'd like to have a better feel for what size gold target I could find at what depth in the quartz environment. Not at all sure how well what I do in my backyard correlates to the real environment in this regard. Let's say the answer to 1 (or 2) is "yes". Is the build worth the hassle? ($ not too big an issue for me, yet no one wants to waste time or $) Should I just get used to what the controls do in the backyard and go prospect and learn more about the environment IN the environment?

In my years of gold prospecting I have seen so many people hit the goldfields completely unprepared for the experience. I have been away from Arizona for about eleven months so I have spent the last month getting ready for my long winter hunt, I hike a minimum of five miles a day, I now walk in the dark so I have to get used to lifting my feet up over the uneven sidewalks and hiking trails, I just started carrying a jug of water in my right hand to get used to the weight of the detector and I am switching my food over to what I will be eating in camp. The saddest thing I saw at Moore Creek was guys who paid good money to get to prime gold ground and then burned out in two days and cramped up. I was just curious if I am the only nut out there that treats gold hunting like an extreme sport, lol.