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Just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to those that have no idea who I am or what I'm up to. I mainly metal detect for nuggets now (chased the gold in Alaska, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, north-central British Columbia, south-eastern British Columbia, Alberta, but now I spend almost all of my time chasing the gold in British Columbia, Canada), used to dredge, sluice, high-bank, snipe, etc., (still do a bit for fun) but for more than a few years now, I've been associated with a large-scale placer operation, one that has slapped on me the title of their mining consultant. Sounds grandiose, however in no way is it, but they like to have me do testing for them with my detectors after they've finished cleaning a section of bedrock with their massive, heavy equipment. Why have me on site? To see what they're missing. Furthermore, after I've finished poking around, they've gone back and taken more bedrock (sometimes several feet) at times when I get a lot of gold in a hurry (or they've headed in another direction if there's a good line of pay shooting off under the overburden away from where they were trending), and other times when there's hardly any gold found with the detectors, they bury that bedrock right quick. It's a win, win situation for both of us as they value what I can do with my machines, and I value the privilege of the incredible opportunity. Their only caveat is that I can't tell the total weight of the gold I find to anyone outside of their crew (and I always must report it to them), but hey, who can't live with that, right? Oh, and they let me keep what I find, won't take a percentage (I've tried many times). In addition, I know a lot of other claim and lease owners that have properties they're not currently working, ones with abandoned excavations and sites, or ones they haven't got to yet, and they love to have me snoop around with my detectors as well, and if I find anything promising, they set up and get after the gold. I've been doing that for quite a few years, but I still like to check out unfamiliar, un-staked ground too. In addition, I like to write stories about my gold hunting outings, and oftentimes, I'll include information for any rookies out there that are trying to figure things out as they get started. Why? That's how I got started; a few good people (my original mentor is now 88) took me under their wing and taught me the ropes (a few clichés too many in that sentence, I know). My one son is now a dedicated nugget shooter (the other one lives thousands of kms away), and I love training him, plus my wife is now onboard with chasing the gold (she used to love panning my dredge concentrates, always heavy with goodies and always a good time for her and my mother-in-law [yeah, I know, sometimes the word fun and mother-in-law don't get used together in the same sentence]), and I'm ordering my wife a shiny new detector this winter because she's seen what we're getting (she loves to pan down our scoops of quick finds from the detectors which we slap in the pans when they're target rich for her to have some fun with; we call that speed-panning as it saves us the downtime of isolating the positive signals out of the scoop each and every time, giving us bonus time swinging the coils). Looking forward to get to know many of you, and some of you I already consider friends from associations on other forums . . . All the best, Lanny

I've lurked, and even posted a few times, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Allen and I contracted gold fever in March of 2018 . I'm 56 years old and a computer analyst for a local law enforcement agency. I enjoy this and a few other forums, there is so much good information that is helping me in becoming both a better metal detectorist and prospector. Hope everyone is having a great day. Allen

Hi Everyone, Jacksonville, FL here! I'm new to the Equinox 600, had a Garrett AT Max previously. The Max was not too beach friendly. Look forward to learning the new machine and reading all the Minelab data on this site:) Thanks, Denise

Hi everyone. Just signed up and looking forward to participating on this forum. My main prospecting stomping ground is around the far south coastal gold areas of NSW AU mainly with a GPX4500 and a 15 inch or 14x9 evolution coil. For a quick fix my SDC2300 between mullock heaps about 15 minutes from home usually produces small sub-grammers quickly and I take what I am given. Regards Happy Jack101

hello to all, the first to forgive for my bad English, I am fond of the search for 6 years and I love this great hobby, I am from Spain where the soil is hard and mineralized hehehe, and I really like this forum, as there is very good professionals of the hobby, and I am learning a lot by reading the forum and I hope I can contribute my grain of sand, now I have a mxt pro that has given me many joys. Greetings to all and thanks

Nine years retired First Responder looking to maybe get into this hobby. It's either this, buy a new dual sport motorcycle or a paramotor and training and run into the sky. lol Spending hours reading the forum, watching YT videos, learning the lingo and tech. Narrowing down possible equipment. I'm technical minded, so I may be asking a lot of crazy questions. I'm liking what I see from the folks on the forum. TR42

I got a Fisher F2 metal detector for my birthday several years ago, but only now am I able to make use of it. I'm looking forward to finding some cool stuff. Right now, I'm figuring out when and how to get a new pinpointer.

I just realized I hadn't made an introduction although I've been following the forums daily for a few months. I'm Morgan and I've been in Alaska since 1980. I get a lot of enjoyment out of detecting as well as the advancing technology. A lot of the work I do is in ultrasonics so the concepts of eddy current, frequencies and penetration are very familiar. I've got a few detectors (well, 5) and other equipment. I'm trying to extricate myself from Alaska. The winters are long, cold and dark and make for a very short prospecting season. So, I've got one foot in Arizona and one still in AK. The forum's are a great resource and there's a bunch of great people here. Happy to be a part of the worldwide community. Thanks.

Hello to all. New to the forum from Idaho. I have been active as possible detecting since retirement three years ago. I own three machines, the AT Pro, AT Max and a new acquisition, the Equinox 800. I am looking to understand the EQ-800 and look for some gold if possible.

This is my first post. I've been lurking around reading this forum a while now and decided it was time to register so I could speak to you. Look forward to meeting you, and learning from others here. Best of Wishes! Rob

Hello! My name is Paul. I live in Perm. It is east of Moscow in 1000 km. My device (1) Garrett AT PRO ... American version. My device (2) Whites Spectra V3i Vision. I have a lot of interesting finds. I'll be glad to new acquaintances.

Hi there, I've been lurking this forum for a couple months and finally decided to create an account. I grew up in Louisiana, and moved to Alaska the day after high school graduation in May of 2000. Some of my most fond childhood memories from down south are driving around to different civil war battlegrounds with my dad following him around and being his shovel guy while he metal detected. At the time I thought he was a wizard with his magical metal finding device because it seemed like he knew what was buried just by the tone of his old Fisher. Fast forward to today, I've been in Alaska for almost 19 years. I've hiked, hunted, fished, rafted, fourwheeled, boated, and flown (buddies with planes) over quite a bit of this state. And all this time I've never had a metal detector in my hands. Now that metal detecting has recently become an interest to me, I just have to laugh when I think about all the hundreds of miles of remote areas I've been to, and not really ever giving any thought to what could be right under my feet. Sorry for the long introduction. I've pretty much narrowed down my search for my first metal detector to the Minelab GM1000. But the Fisher Gold Bug 2 is really whats preventing me from just buying the GM1000 today. I'd just like to start scratching around for some Au while I'm out enjoying this beautiful state. -Jay

Firstly thank you for allowing me to join this forum. I have done a couple of Gold Prospecting Tours to Australia, own a SDC2300 and just purchased a 2nd hand GPX5000 so I am keen to seek knowledge and tips in prospecting and also on the two detectors. Cheers ed

I finally broke down and bought my first metal detector. I caught the gold bug while working at my last job. I worked for a company that sat on huge piles of dredge tailings and it also had a creek that ran through the property. I used to pan the creek sometimes during the week and pick up some minor gold. The whole process was very enjoyable and it got me started on the path of researching old CA gold mines. I bought the Minelab 800. So far it has been a bit of a learning curve, but this is the first detector I have ever used. Im sure it will probably get better with some practice.

Well guys, it's been quite a ride the past 3 years! Working at White's has been the most fun and most challenging job I've ever had, and I am glad I took that path. But my career is taking a new and exciting turn and as of February 1st, 2019, I will no longer be employed at White's HQ in Sweet Home. I have gained a lifelong hobby, many friendships, and learned from some of the best detectorists out there. The great thing about this change is that I will have more time for detecting, so even though I will no longer be posting on DP as a representative for White's Electronics, I'm hoping to share my finds and trips with you as a "civilian." I wish White's the best of luck in 2019 and beyond. First trip to Nevada with Tim (far right) the guy who introduced me to metal detecting. The other guys allowed us to detect the ghost town on the ranch. Me in Brasil testing the GM24k. Last nugget found working for White's. Steve H. hunted with me and it is an experience I will never forget! That guy will forget more than most of us will ever know. Bonus pic of me in my winning 2017 Halloween costume. Don't get any funny ideas, I'm married and straight (but what I do for fun on weekends is my own business).

Hi all, new here from upstate NY in the FingerLakes region. I have been detecting seriously for about 10 years and mainly relic hunt. Best of luck to all

Hello all, Been nugget shooting for about 20 years and just picked up equinox 600 for some coin/relic hunting in local ghost towns/ historical sites. Glad to be part of the group!

Always get a kick out of the comic strips when they dabble in detecting or prospecting.

Hello, I am a new member from New England. I am interested in Relic Hunting and Metal Detecting.

Hello all! My dad used to take me metal detecting as a kid back in Maryland and recently I started feeling like that might be a fun thing to do again... you know how it goes. ?. He’s primarily a coin and relic guy but I find myself drawn more to beaches and gold prospecting. Learning a lot about black sand really fast! Looking forward to chatting with y’all! -Julie

Mostly a lurker here. Absolutely love the forum layout and the people who participate. I visit Detector Propector almost every day. I can tell by looking at the bold forum topics if there are new messages I have not read. When I am done, i click the “mark forum read” and it defaults to a lighter shade indicating I am current and there are no new topics. It seems this has to be done for each forum. I enjoy visiting the site and with a glance I can see forums with new messages. Some topics I do not read. Is there a way to mark all forums read so I do not have to do it for each forum? Thanks.

A couple years ago I got back into detecting. I retired my 1990's Bounty Hunter and snagged an AT Pro and last year picked up a Tesoro Tejon which quickly became my favorite machine. I stumbled on this site when I heard rumors of Tesoro possible shutdown as I was looking for a Sand Shark. Nice forum, has some nice info here and people seem pleasant. Thanks Ken

Hello, My name is Jean-Luc, my spouse and myself live in Arizona, we both work from home, and have been doing hobby prospecting in various locations in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico for the last couple years, on claims by the GPAA or the desert Gold diggers. We even had the chance to go to the Cripple river claims of the GPAA, for the last ever week it was offered via the GPAA. Because we are working from home both, we are contemplating of moving for a period of one year to Alaska, as long as we can work from there. We need the ability to get from there with ease to the remaining US once a month or so for a couple days for our jobs. We also need very good internet access to be able to do our jobs. Thus likely it would be in Anchorage that we would have to settle (unless some of you folks here know of other places in Alaska with very good direct connections to Chicago, Dallas or Atlanta and good internet). We are in the early planning stages of our move. I am a very good 'McYver' and always have build my recirculating sluices myself. Of course as part of the move to Alaska we would like during the right season do some more serious gold prospecting on the weekends and even for a couple continuous weeks when I can take off. I hope there are decent locations available not to far from Anchorage where this is possible. I am willing of course to lease or even buy a claim, All depends on the price and location. When I say not too far, I speak 3/4 hours away. I do have 4x4 vehicles (Jeep Wrangler and truck).( Hints are welcome) We likely would build some kind of an all in one trailer containing the sluice or trommel setup and a portable pump with sufficient hoses. I do not know yet if that is the right way to go, but it likely would cur done on the setup time and so forth. (Any tips on this from you folks are welcome). No Tip is bad. Heck even remarks saying that is an awfull Idea would be taken into consideration. As I am used trucking in and out my water (an AZ thing), I would even be OK looking at claims that need that in ALASKA (higher up perhaps, or not along water). This is our start of looking into this. We are OK with rent around $2500/month. We would need a fenced yard, (as we have some dogs). And of course storage place for our gear. Besides that another hobby of mine is skydiving, so if there is a skydive place in the area that definitely is a plus. So here it is. I really hope t hear from some of you. Who knows a friendship may come from this. Have a wonderful day, and may the bottom of your pan turn yellow. Jean-Luc Lejoly

Since it is the start of the new year, I was just wondering what everyone's top few detecting goals are for the year. My goals seem modest at the start of the year, but there is usually an item or two on the list that I have to hustle to achieve. ;) For 2019 - my top goals are: Best my gold jewelry count (which would be 7 pieces of gold this year... I forecast that my foil/pull tab count will also be a record this year too). Hunt in 6 different states Finally find the elusive (to me) 1800's coin (closest so far was a 1902 Indian in 2017) Nugget hunt for the first time (and hopefully not the last) Of course I have some other goals around silver coin counts, wheatie counts, hours hunted, and a few new locations that I will be embarking on my updated "Quest for a Silver Coin" challenge, but these are the ones that will be a challenge. So guys and gals, let's see 'em! Happy 2019 Hunting everyone. Tim.

Hi, I'm new to detecting and came here to learn. Anyone else in AK?