Search the Community

I've moved from Oregon to Republic, WA and am looking for anyone familiar with prospecting in this area. Ferry County has produced somewhere around 4 million ounces of gold and still has active gold mining going on. In particular, I'm looking for places that would be good test grounds for metal detectors. Feel free to respond on the forum, or via PM if you prefer. Thanks, Carl

After a 6 year break I decided to start metal detecting for nuggets again. Background: I used to live in Temecula, CA and used to go to the Dale Mining District as well as the El Paso mountains. Back then, I started by taking a metal detecting prospecting field trip taught by Michael Greyshock. I used a Gold Bug Pro with the DP coil at that time and it was pretty tough with the iron stone in the Dale Mining District. I later purchased a Garret ATX but only used it a few times and sold it for a variety of reasons. It had great electronics but in a terrible package. Also the falsing when bumping against anything would drive me nuts. Anyway after 4 years of prospecting I got tired of digging trash and spending lonely nights in the dessert, so I gave it up. I retired last year when I turned 60 and my wife and I moved from Scal to Mesquite, NV. I recently purchased a SDC 2300 and thought I would give it a try again. I still have the Gold Bug Pro with all 3 coils also. Gold Basin is about a 3 hour drive and I plan to go there tuesday and return on thursday. I use "Backcountry Navigator" on my tablet for maps and gps navigation. I looked up the currently active claims on "thediggings.com" website and see they are pretty much clustered in the middle of the basin area. It would be handy to have a gpx or kmz overlay map file of the active claims that I could load on my tablet but I don't know if something like that exists. I prefer to detect on BLM land instead of claims and I don't mind getting remote and hiking. This will be my first trip to GB and any pointers or advice would be appreciated. I drive a brown 2010 Toyota Tundra double cab 4x4 long bed, with a color matched camper shell and NV plates, in case any of you are in GB on the same days and would like to say Hi. Regards, Ceril

I searched the forums and was not able to find an answer to this question: So when I find a used Minelab SDC 2300 how do I go about verifying that it is authentic when I go to inspect it with the seller? I looked on the minelab website and it appears there are several methods that dont require you to take it to a dealer but it is not clear to me how it is done. Is there a hologram viewer supplied with a new unit and then you enter the sn# plus the hidden code into minelab online verification app?

Hello, I’m not sure where to post it: would anybody know a good documentary on metal detecting/treasure hunting (technology, applications, history) of interest to upper high school students? Cheers!

Is the Green Aftermarket Coil Tab Protector used "to replace" the teardrop washers? In other words, if the coil of my machine is equipped with the "Green Aftermarket Coil Tab Protector," then there is No Need To Be Concerned About the fact that the teardrop washers can not be used in the set up; is that correct? Is the following a true statement: "The teardrop washers and the fact that they do not fit in place any where in conjunction with an installed "Green Aftermarket Coil Tab Protector" is of no consequence." I sure hope so because I can see absolutely no possible way that the teardrop washers can be used in conjunction with the "Green Aftermarket Coil Tab Protector" Best Regards, Steve E. Bryant

I recently was looking at a new place when I was hiking and found some interesting samples. I bought a cheap digital microscope to get a closer look and think I found something good but want some opinions before I get them assayed. Anyone want to help?

Hello, I'm a total newbie. I bought an inexpensive detector called Quick Shooter MD3030. It came from China to Thailand and it also doubles as 'Mental Detector' judging from the picture below. I think I understand more or less by now what it does - there is a sensitivity and selectivity (including notching out in 6 phase shift ranges) target identification value display plus 3 tones audio for different ID ranges. It operates on single frequency of some 6 kHz and seems to have round coils. There is also 'depth indicator' on the display, which I imagine would be the return signal/target strength (or the inverse of it)? I'm not sure if I understand how VLF detectors know the depth of the target. Would anybody be vaguely or intimately familiar with this detector and are there is any technical info or reviews, beyond what I know that I can consult to learn more about it? I don't even know who the manufacturer is... A related question: since this detector doesn't have a background threshold control, would decreasing sensitivity play a similar function? I know that this particular model may not be up to the Board Members' standards but please help the newbie. Many thanks!

hello, i love the analogic machine, with no display but only knobs and switch, i have a nautilus dmc iib. i want to buy a fisher cz-3d, i search on field with low grass they have a lot of junk like alumium foil, and iron. the problem is that: in italy the fisher cz-3D cost 1000€ new, i think for an old machine is a very high price. what do you think? there are other brand and model to consider? i already have the makro simplex, teknetics t2

Last week were purchased over 250 grams of these large gold nuggets. While we purchase a lot of gold jewelry and bullion in Boise and Nampa Idaho, this amount of gold nuggets marks a first for us. I am curious the realistic ask value of these? Most of these were under 1 gram, but there were about 100 from 1gram-4grams. The largest just over 15grams. -Sam from https://pawnidaho.com

Hey guys, need a little help here. My buddies and I would like to try some gold prospecting with our metal detectors and we all live in Los Angeles. We are experienced detectorists but when it comes to prospecting we are novices. Can you recommend any areas in the Los Angeles area that might be good for guys like us just starting out? My buddies have Equinox 800's and I had a Garrett Goldmaster. Thanks for any advice that you can offer. Bill

Well, I've now broken my second Sampson T-Handle, and it broke doing nothing you'd think, I just dug a plug in damp soft soil, went to lever the plug out and snap! sucker broke in two. Prior to this dig there was no signs at all of it going to break. At least the dig turned out to be a coin although a pointless coin 🙂 The first one I had bent really badly while digging a plug in the same way. The people at WW manufacturing were very good and replaced it under warranty for me as it was my first week using it when the first one bent, this replacement would still be under warranty no doubt but I can't be bothered with that this time, I want something better quality and stronger, these things are absolute junk. I like my equipment to be fit for purpose and these are not. I paid a significant amount more for the shovel than you guys in the US do to get one in NZ, big mistake. I'm now looking into the Aussie made Black Widow shovel, it looks good and hopefully tougher, the Nokta Digger is also available locally but it really doesn't look tough... in fact it looks flimsy. I bought a $7 camping shovel at the local hardware store that's taken an absolute beating and works a treat, no signs of breaking no matter how rough I treat it, made in China.... The only problem with it is the blade is too big so it digs quite nasty plugs. Look how thin the metal is on it, no wonder they snap I've seen thicker metal on a tin of dog food. Well, now time to buy a new better one! It ended my hunt after only 15 minutes today 😞

I have a 3030 and 800 plus Garrett gold and atx. Just curious about detecting creeks and land. Should I invest in PI detector for Western NC gold searching? Or am I wasting money and time? thanks.

Buyers need to beware there are a number of shapes and sizes of fake Nugget Finder and Coiltek GPX coils on the market at the moment out of China. The Commander coils have had fakes sitting on Chinese Auction sites for some time however more recently a large range of both Coiltek and Nugget Finder coils have become commonplace among sellers, from 8" to 25" they have them all. They've always had a few but lately the number of coils available has really skyrocketed. The Commanders have also the range of fakes available so really buying many second hand GPX coils now comes with a higher risk of fakes. People buying these coils from China likely are aware they're fake, if not they really should be, it's the people who buy them second hand off someone who bought one from China that I feel sorry for as they're the ones thinking they're getting a genuine coil, and paying the price for it too. If you're buying a second hand coil from someone, really try and get the purchase receipt to see it's genuine from a real dealer. They're not being as bold with the advertising with the NF not putting the label on the photos but with the Coiltek they are, the likelihood is the Nugget Finder do have the label on them when you buy them or buyers that request them branded will get them that way, it's not like the Nugget Finder stickers would be a challenge for them to duplicate. This poses quite an issue for those that buy second hand coils too, as you'll never know if you're getting a fake that someones bought from a Chinese auction site, found it to be terrible in performance and offloading it second hand for more than they paid for it when people are thinking it's a genuine coil so paying the normal second hand market price for it. This stuff really annoys me so I like to make people aware of it when I stumble across it. Some photos from the auction site You'll note 50 orders of that coil from that seller, and all positive reviews, I'm not sure how that happens and I often question if the Auction site ratings are faked. See the stock levels, 950 pieces available, from just one seller of the many with them. Note all the different coils he's selling in the colour selection field, the bright blue ones are 8" Commanders, weirdly coloured, but other sellers have them in the standard colours. Also, to show what they're selling is what you get some of the buyers had put photos of their coil in their review, these are genuine reviews. Note the guys fake GPX detector box in the background 🙂 A fake NF coil seller, he has various models too. This big sucker is a 25" mono. They've even got stock of fake SDC coils. And the VLF aftermarket manufacturers are also becoming targets, note below a fake Cors Strike coil (Nel Tornado) It's hard to know about the review system as the fake Nel doesn't have good reviews and only 2.5 star rating unlike the fake Coiltek with 5 star and 31 positive reviews. So everyone needs to be very careful, not only buying second hand detectors which have many copies available especially First Texas, Whites and Minelab models but also when buying second hand coils, and if someone out there thinks maybe these coils work well, it's very unlikely, and you can bet they're not the quality of the originals too.

As I stating in Gerry's Topic "Does Size and or Success Matter?" I have a follow up question for folks. Again there is no right or wrong answer, more just an open discussion on what you do. When do you consider a patch played out? Do you keep expanding the area even though you've been skunked several times? If so how far do you keep going? How often do you go back to "played out" patches in hopes for finding the ones left behind? Will you scrape a whole are searching for deeper bits? I could keep going on with more questions but I think you are getting my point. When do YOU finally say "I'm done here". I am slightly expecting different answers between those who are hobbyist and those who do this for a living. I would expect those who do this for a living to move on once it does not make financial sense to stay there, but it also might not be as much fun to pick up your scraps when there could be more virgin patches near by. I think this is an interesting topic to discuss and I am curious to see what the more experienced members here have to say!

If you just purchased a gold detector are you most interested in the finding of any size of gold? Does the size of the gold have any effect on you or does it matter most if you go home with a few nuggets, no matter the size? Is it most important to be driving home from your prospecting trip and you have a few clinkers in your nugget holder? Or would you mind knowing you missed a few small pickers just to find a 1 grammer (a nugget). My asking this question comes to mind as of the last month and a half, I have seen more of my customers showing/sharing pics of Success with their GPX-6000 and many from Rye Patch and surrounding areas. Heck I have a few customers that are already over 100+ count. Nothing big, but they seem to be happy and to me that is what counts most. What's most amazing to this long time 25+ yr detectorist of Rye Patch is the new PI technology of the GPX-6000 and how it's changing my mind and how I sell detectors. You see, I used to say if I wanted to find 10+ pieces of gold a day, I could easily do it with a VLF and small coil. Heck, I used to have many 25 to 30 and an occasional 40 piece day with said VLF. When I would run a PI, the last 10 yrs there at RP, a 10 nugget day is extremely rare, but I've done it. The SDC-2300 really opened some old patches and 10+ days came back. Then those went away and the GPZ-7000 came out. It certainly opened up the old patches again, but even 10 a day was really tough, but I did it more times than most can imagine. Now today, a 10 nugget day at RP with a SD/GP/GPX-5000 is almost failure. In fact I would not even try it. Even with a VLF at RP today, I think a 10 piece day is tough and I doubt but only a few can do it. Here is the catch though. If I did run a VLF to find 10 pickers, I'd have maybe a gram of gold at most = approx $50. Now here is what I'm seeing. The folks who go out there with the new technology PI GPX-6000 is literally tearing it up. Many customers are having their best Success in numbers that they have ever had at Rye Patch. Quite a few of them have had 10+ nugget days, but they never had a 10+ day with their GPZ-7000? No they are not finding the 1 or 2 gram nuggets of old, but they are certainly finding $100 and some even more each day. Heck I'm even getting customers who have yet to take my training going down and finding a few pieces with their GPX-6000 and that was unheard of in times past. The GPX-6000 right now is the #1 producer for gold at Rye Patch and all other previous patches. The GPX-6000 will be doing the same thing this winter is Arizona at all the worked patches and there will be many happy customers. Will there be GPZ-7000's out there in the field, most certainly, but their numbers will not be up even close to what the 6000's will be. Can I find gold at RP right now with a GPZ-7000, YES and I have done it for the last 7 yrs. Each fall I go down and find an ounce of nuggets with a 7. Each year it has gotten harder and harder and last Fall it actually took a couple extra days, but I hit my 1 ounce mark. There lies the problem, it has been out for 7 yrs and for 7 years all the old patches have been covered again and again with a GPZ-7000. From Rye Patch to AZ all the known nugget producing areas have been flogged and if you want to have Success, you better step over to new technology if you want best chance of Success or you can keep swinging the 7 and possibly get lucky for a 1 grammer or 2. As a dealer who sells detectors, I feel Success no matter the size of nuggets is best for my customers, especially the new ones just getting involved. BTW, If anyone is interested, I know of a couple used GPZ-7000s at nice prices (less than the cost of a GPX-6000), just email me for details. So I ask you again. Going home with any nuggets possible to show Success or 1 nugget of a gram or don't care as you got to go prospecting and the gold is just a bonus? There's a twist. Looking to hear your answers and I know Australia will be different perspective, which is totally acceptable.

What is a good detector $2000 or less to begin gold prospecting?

I have some places in the south where the soil is too bad to get very good depth. Any ideas?

There’s a lot of posts on this forum of prospectors complaining that gold is getting harder to find.. It’s not just that their favourite patches have run dry but also that the size of nuggets found is getting smaller.. This has made me wonder if beach hunters are catching up in the amount of gold recovered each year? If their posts are anything to go by, the amount of gold jewellery found on popular beaches is pretty mind boggling.. I realise that the purity of gold in its natural form is higher but often when it’s made into jewellery it becomes more valuable, especially when a piece of jewellery also has gemstones in it (like diamonds, rubies or sapphires).. So I guess this question is twofold: which of these two groups recovers the most gold by weight? And which group can make the most profit from their finds?

A recent post offering advice to newbies has inspired me to put in my own two cents worth.. My advice to those wanting to take up metal detecting is: Don’t! You’ll be far better off trying another hobby like banging your head against a brick wall, pulling out your hair in sheer frustration, or crying yourself to sleep at night.. Of course I’m only joking but any newbie has to prepare for the never-ending toil of digging junk, lots of it.. If you can handle this without having a nervous breakdown or flinging your detector out to sea, you’ll be amply rewarded when you finally hear that magic sound telling you there’s buried treasure below your feet.. A hard-won experience like no other! Metal detecting truly is a game where dogged determination and persistence will eventually pay off.. The only problem is that when you finally get to this stage, all you’ll ever think and dream about is metal detecting.. Your marriage will fail and your kids will starve but none of this matters as long as you can get a few more swings in.. In metal detecting there’s no such thing as an unhealthy obsession.. A house filled to the brim with all the latest detectors that you’ll never use is not weird at all.. Just rest assured that there’s many others just like you!

This is for the person who has no experience in metal detecting on what to buy and how to get started. Today's modern metal detectors are more like computers (or more exactly modern signal processors). They are very powerful and often complex. Buying one the best detectors out there, the Minelab Equinox 800 is a real mistake if you have never metal detected. Quite honestly it is too complex for you to learn in addition to learning how to metal detect. Instead buy the Minelab Vanquish 540 for $379 for a packaged deal. Why? It is simple to learn and it uses the same Target Id numerical range and tones as the Equinox 800. Use the 540 to learn the theory of metal detecting. The physics behind metal detecting is the same for all detectors for the most part. Use your 540 for the first year. Once you are proficient (eg finding some good targets on a regular basis) then and only then consider the Equinox 800. But be prepared for a steeper learning curve. But it will be made easier by your year's experience with the Vanquish 540.

Hello All, Just a warning for anyone wearing unsupported footwear! The "malady" referenced above can hopefully be preventable, or at least reduced, for us "older" folks here!! I have occasional flare-ups, if I don't pay attention to my footwear support! My sandybeach footwear, hit me with a vengeance today! As I (stupidity) thought, I was healed enough from a less severe bout, from about 2 weeks ago! I had switched from "water shoes" to above the ankle neoprene "dive boots" with a non-skid bottom, to keep all the sand from grinding my toes to hamburger, on beach/surf hunts last year! They are flat bottomed with little support! And that was with inserts! My initial half mile walk was fine, with only minor discomfort! But upon my first "deep" scoop with that foot, I felt a pop, and it felt like someone had just "shot" me in the heal! But I continued to hunt with the after-effects anyway! Not smart, but I was just starting! You know how it is! Let's just say, the rest of the hunt, and return trip, along with the rest of the day, has not been fun! I'll probably need a few cortisone shots, crutches, and a new pair of "water boots"! If anyone has some "tried and true" suggestions to keep the support, and the sand out, on and off shore, I'm all ears! Thanks!!👍👍

Fall is arriving on Vancouver Island Canada with cooler weather and some rain. The forests are increasingly resistant to fire and safe to enter. Our mining claim is at the 4000-5000 foot level on the side of a heavily forested mountain. After testing several washes with a long prob we were finding depth to be in the vicinity of 1 m / 3 feet. I do have an Anfibio Multi which is not suited. Looking for advice on buying a detector for this depth. The washes we surmise hold decent cache of placer and we also suspect a small vein is nearby. So, the washes to be investigated would contain decent sized targets not pickers or flour gold. I have heard "Minelab GPX 5000 machine with Coiltek 22" DD Goldstalker coil" and "JW Pulse 8x" would be suitable. I would appreciate your comments. I also am aware of the Minelab 7000. Although the price is high and we do not seek overkill or other uses except for this project the 7000 would have to be considered. Good luck out there and thanks in advance for posting if you do.

I know everyone says hit the sun bathing spots in parks, but around here, people don't seem to sunbathe a lot in the parks. Or I just never see it. I saw 1 woman sunbathing in the park near my work 1 time, and found tungsten close by when I came back the next day at lunch. Typically, where in the parks where you're at, do you see people sunbathing?

Well I been out several times now with the ML-EQ800 and I’ll say this …….. I GIT’N IT ! , im git’n it …. That said - I got couple questions. Does this hold true ( first pic ) it seems it is for the most part- I can see now getting use to it that on good clear pings this is right . I haven’t found any gold or silver jewelry yet but SO FAR it seems I bout got the coins down! I’m getting to where I can call them now all except for the nickels . ON EVERY QUARTER AND PENNY I dig I’m waiting for it to be a big nice gold and diamond ring tho ! I’m pretty sure thats the range they for the most part fall into . Seems on Park1 between 19 and 25 maybe 28 I’ll get the pennies and quarts ( flat quarters I think may be higher ) ok so what y’all think the question I had goes with the first pick the second pic is yesterday morning’s learning session #2 pic and today’s finds was the same except I had less trash and more quarters and dimes )

All, We have been purchasing the coil wire wishbone style holder for several years direct. We have exhausted our stock, that of repair and other sources. Anyone have information on where these may have been sourced. You can PM me direct. Thanks