New Year's Day Garrett Axiom Nuggets

[Calmark]

With a day's break in recent very rainy weather here in northern California, my brother and I decided to hike into an area we've previously detected successfully in the past to ease some "cabin fever" that's built up.  What better chance too than to start what is hopefully a very "golden" 2023.  

Despite some wet toes from crossing a couple of newly flowing small streams, and further wet feet from trekking through wet vegetation all day, we both found our first gold of the year among the sloppy mud and gravel. 

I mostly hunkered down on a small area with fairly shallow bedrock hunted by me and my dad in the past using our SDC 2300 detectors. We've been through briefly with our GPX 5000 machines too.  Since bedrock is shallow, I was using the Axiom plus 11x7in mono coil, and I focused on the remaining shallower targets this trip.  I ended up with 8 nuggets and had 4 come out of fine tailings pile in a spot measuring 2ft by 2ft.  I bet these nuggets were lost out of a sluice by the old time miners since they were so small, but the Axiom signaled on them no problem and let me know they were there.  They are definitely on the smaller end of what I usually find and I was impressed at how well the Axiom did detecting them.  The weights are: .05g, .07g, .10g, and .13 grams.  

The .10g was about 3.5 inches deep and I had no problem hearing it.  I also found in the "mini patch" spot a lead pellet of the smallest size (I don't know the #), so I finally got a real taste of how sensitive the Axiom can be.  Despite digging a few ground noises in the super wet dirt and losing a bit of time, in general, today's performance results definitely upped my confidence in the machine as far as sensitivity to small targets for sure. 

I'm looking forward to more outings this year with the Axiom.  I'm enjoying getting more comfortable using it and I like having plenty of options for changing settings if needed.  I have some tough sites in mind to try it out later in the year. 

I wish you all a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2023!    

 

[mn90403]

Well done to get out after the storms and stretch your legs.  Thanks for the details of the hunt.

[Valens Legacy]

Looks like you had a fun hunt with a nice haul.

Good luck on your next outing and stay safe out there.

[Gerry in Idaho]

Mark,  That's most certainly a GOLDEN way to start the new year and break in the capabilities of the new Garrett Axiom.  I think the smaller 11" Ellip coil was a great selection for that site.  Those nuggets are just a beginning of what to expect as you get more time on the detector and feel for how much you can push it's limits.

Garrett did us all Prospectors a huge favor with the option on the Axiom at a price point so many of us can afford.

As for lead shot,  If it's from a shotgun, the standard Dove Load of past used to be #9 shot.  There's smaller snake shot that I have used in pistols though but don't know the actual # size.

Thanks for sharing your success and since you purchased it from me, may I share the pics/story with other potential customers who want Bang for the Buck?

Well earned and Happy New Year, it's starting out Golden.

[Steve Herschbach]

I really like that 11" elliptical coil, really a good match for the detector, both in performance, and weight and balance. I have been a fan of 10x5 coils in the past, but if I had one I don't know that I'd prefer it over the 11x7, which covers more ground and gets a hair more depth on the bigger stuff. All I can think a smaller coil might do is pull the edge sensitivity to the tiniest nuggets a little more to the center, but I'm not sure that's worth giving up the other two things for. It's always a trade off with coils. The weight difference would be so negligible so as to not matter. All in all Garrett really got it right with the 11x7.

Looking out my window at snow all I can say is good on you for the gold, and Happy New Year!

[Calmark]

7 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Mark,  That's most certainly a GOLDEN way to start the new year and break in the capabilities of the new Garrett Axiom.  I think the smaller 11" Ellip coil was a great selection for that site.  Those nuggets are just a beginning of what to expect as you get more time on the detector and feel for how much you can push it's limits.

Garrett did us all Prospectors a huge favor with the option on the Axiom at a price point so many of us can afford.

As for lead shot,  If it's from a shotgun, the standard Dove Load of past used to be #9 shot.  There's smaller snake shot that I have used in pistols though but don't know the actual # size.

Thanks for sharing your success and since you purchased it from me, may I share the pics/story with other potential customers who want Bang for the Buck?

Well earned and Happy New Year, it's starting out Golden.

Gerry, I'm glad I was at the top of your list to get an Axiom right when they came out.  I immediately sold my SDC 2300 after emailing you.  My dad still hasn't hunted with it yet, but I don't feel too bad for him since he's been traveling and golfing...

Please feel free to use my experience with the Axiom to share with others.  I think its a great machine, especially for anybody who doesn't already own a higher-end PI detector, or even for those who do that want some versatility.

As for the shotgun pellet size #, it was the smallest bird shot size.  It didn't stick to my magnet either (and I had to find it again when it dropped, oops!).  It came out with the first scrape of my pick, but finding a pellet that size with a non-vlf was eye-opening for sure.  The Axiom was in fine mode and sensitivity was on 4 of a possible 8.  Ground was "just" highly-mineralized and not "severely" mineralized like where I took the Axiom on my first 2 outings.  

[Calmark]

5 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I really like that 11" elliptical coil, really a good match for the detector, both in performance, and weight and balance. I have been  a fan of 10x5 coils in the past, but if I had one I don't know that I'd prefer it over the 11x7, which covers more ground and gets a hair more depth on the bigger stuff. All I can think a smaller coil might do is pull the edge sensitivity to the tiniest nuggets a little more to the center, but I'm not sure that's worth giving up the other two things for. It's always a trade off with coils. The weight difference would be so negligible so as to not matter. All in all Garrett really got it right with the 11x7.

Looking out my window at snow all I can say is good on you for the gold, and Happy New Year!

This 11x7in mono coil on the Axiom is SWEET.  I find it about the perfect size for most of the rough, rocky, or tight situations where I hunt.  I don't feel too bad using it in more open areas either since 11 inches has pretty decent coverage.   And it feels extremely light and balanced as well, very appreciated.  I would 1000% rather use this combo over my old SDC 2300 and its less than stellar ergonomics.

My previous favorite coil was my Nugget Finder Evolution 12x8 mono.  I like this Axiom mono coil even more.  The NF coil almost never left my GPX 4500 after I mounted it.  I don't think I'll take the 11x7 off of the Axiom again any time soon either.  These smaller coils can find really small targets and even go deep on larger gold.  The 12x8 evo found the 1.2oz nugget pictured in my profile at about 12 inches and the big nuggets often take care of themselves. 

I also used the hot edge of the mono coil to great affect yesterday.  I was able to use the left rounded "tip" of the coil to exactly pinpoint several of the smallest nuggets.  I was actually able to forego using my pick and scooped the gravel from between bedrock ridges.  Super nice to get the target in the scoop with just a single deep scoop and saved me a lot of time on target recovery, no doubt.  

[beatup]

well done and good on you

 

[geof_junk]

Below is a chart with diameters per pellet and weight for idealized lead spheres for U.S. Standard Designations with a comparison to English shot sizes.^[3][4]

U.S. Size	English Size	Type	Mass (grains)	Pellets per oz (lead)	Pellets per oz (steel)	Diameter (in)	Diameter (mm)
0000		Buck	82			0.38	9.65
000½		Buck	76			0.37	9.4
000	LG	Buck	70	6	n/a	0.36	9.14
	MG (mould)	Buck	62.5	7	n/a	0.347	8.81
00½		Buck	59			0.34	8.64
	SG	Buck	54.7	8	n/a	0.332	8.43
00		Buck	53.8	8		0.33	8.38
0		Buck	49	9		0.32	8.13
#1½		Buck	44.7			0.31	7.87
#1		Buck	40.5	10		0.30	7.62
	Special SG	Buck	39.8	11	n/a	0.298	7.57
#2½		Buck	36.6			0.29	7.37
#2		Buck	29.4	14		0.27	6.86
	SSG	Buck	29.17	15	n/a	0.269	6.83
#3½		Buck	26.3			0.26	6.6
#3		Buck	23.4	18		0.25	6.35
	SSSG	Buck	21.89	20	n/a	0.245	6.22
#4		Buck	20.7	21		0.24	6.1
FF		Waterfowl	18.2			0.23	5.84
	SSSSG	Buck	17.50	25	n/a	0.227	5.77
F (or TTT)		Waterfowl	16.0			0.22	5.59
	SSSSSG or AAAA	Buck/ Waterfowl	14.58	30	n/a	0.214	5.44
TT		Waterfowl	13.9			0.21	5.33
	AAA	Waterfowl	12.5	35	n/a	0.203	5.16
T		Waterfowl	12.0	n/a	53	0.20	5.08
	AA	Waterfowl	10.94	40	n/a	0.194	4.93
BBB		Waterfowl	10.2	n/a	61	0.19	4.83
BB	A or BBBB	Waterfowl	8.75	50	72	0.18	4.57
B	BBB	Waterfowl	7.29 – 7.40	60	86	0.17	4.32
	BB	Waterfowl	6.25	70	n/a	0.161	4.09
#1	B	Waterfowl	5.47	80	103	0.154	3.91
#2		Waterfowl	4.86	90	125	0.15	3.81
	#1	Waterfowl	4.38	100	n/a	0.143	3.63
#3	#2	Waterfowl	3.65	120	154	0.135	3.43 – 3.56
#4		Waterfowl	3.24	135	192	0.13	3.3
	#3	Waterfowl	3.12	140	n/a	0.128	3.25
#4½		Bird	2.90			0.125	3.18
#5	#4	Bird	2.57	170	243	0.12	3.05
	#4½	Bird	2.19	200	n/a	0.113	2.87
#6	#5	Bird	1.94 – 1.99	220 – 225	317	0.11	2.79
	#5½ (m.g.)	Bird	1.82	240	n/a	0.107	2.72
	#6	Bird	1.62	270	n/a	0.102	2.59
#7	#6½	Bird	1.458	300	420	0.10	2.54
	#7	Bird/Clay	1.29	340	n/a	0.095	2.41
#7½		Bird/Clay	1.25	350	490	0.095	2.413
#8		Bird/Clay	1.067	410	577	0.09	2.286
#8½	#8	Bird/Clay	0.97	450	n/a	0.085 – 0.087	2.16 – 2.21
#9	#9	Bird/Clay	0.748	580 – 585	n/a	0.08	2.032
#9½		Bird/Clay	0.63			0.075	1.91
#10	#10	Pest	0.51	850	n/a	0.07	1.78
	#11	Pest	0.42	1,040	n/a	0.066	1.68
	#12	Pest	0.35	1,250	n/a	0.062	1.57
#11		Pest	0.32			0.06	1.52
#12		Pest	0.183	2,385	n/a	0.05	1.27
	Dust	Pest	0.17	2,600	n/a	0.048	1.22
Dust		Pest	0.10 or less			0.04	1.02

[Pyriteboy]

That is a very sweet result for sure. Question: can you tell me what the difference is in the background audio between the 2300 and the Axiom on sensitivity 4?

-Jerry