Detecting Dry Creeks

[Mountaineer Matt]

Hey all,

This year I started dabbling in creek detecting and it's been a lot of fun, mainly creeks with water at low flow. I've noticed that I don't see much talk of creek detecting and especially not dry creek detecting (I could just be looking in wrong ends of the internet) and I'm curious anyone has a preferred method to work dry creeks. I've mainly used my SDC 2300 for the creeks because the way the coil is attached to the shaft makes it great for getting into every nook and cranny, and into crevices. What's your opinion on using a small coil VLF for situations like this where the ground noise is relatively calm? Do you have a preferred setup/detector for the dry creeks? I'm going to take my GPX 6000 and SDC 2300 to a dry creek on my next outing, so we'll see how that goes. Might even pack in my Equinox 800. Too many toys to play with. Of course, this is very situational but it could be an interesting topic. 

Anyway, I'll report back on my experience from my next outing. Cheers.

[phrunt]

Welcome to the forum Matt, if you search for posts by @Lesgold he does plenty of dry and shallow creek detecting and posts about it here.

You have great detectors for the job, that's for sure.

[Valens Legacy]

Should you be using the 800 in the creek, make sure that you use the 10x5 coil. They work great on the sides and the slope to hear some sweet sounds. I use that setup when I am in the creeks

Good luck and stay safe out there

[dig4gold]

The 6000 with the 10x5 coiltek goldhawk is great for creek detecting.  Wet or dry. The 10x5 coil is great for getting into those tight spots. Same size coil as what Valens Legacy mentioned for the nox 800 but that is a DD. You didn't say what coil you would use on your nox. Do you have the little 6"? That would also be good but again is a DD. The standard 11" isn't overly favourable although it is plenty sensitive enough, but its size & open web design restricts it depending how rough the ground is & is also a DD. The goldhawk on the 6000, being a mono, has that deadly edge sensitivity as does the 8" on the SDC. You are spoilt for choice.

D4G

[Mountaineer Matt]

18 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

Should you be using the 800 in the creek, make sure that you use the 10x5 coil. They work great on the sides and the slope to hear some sweet sounds. I use that setup when I am in the creeks

Good luck and stay safe out there

Interesting, I don't have that coil. Just the 11 and 6" round coils. Might get some new coils for it eventually. Do you run it in gold mode on the creek?

[Mountaineer Matt]

17 hours ago, dig4gold said:

The 6000 with the 10x5 coiltek goldhawk is great for creek detecting.  Wet or dry. The 10x5 coil is great for getting into those tight spots. Same size coil as what Valens Legacy mentioned for the nox 800 but that is a DD. You didn't say what coil you would use on your nox. Do you have the little 6"? That would also be good but again is a DD. The standard 11" isn't overly favourable although it is plenty sensitive enough, but its size & open web design restricts it depending how rough the ground is & is also a DD. The goldhawk on the 6000, being a mono, has that deadly edge sensitivity as does the 8" on the SDC. You are spoilt for choice.

D4G

I'm still trying decide which goldhawk to get. It's between the 9" round and 10x5. The elliptical coil would be great for the creeks though. I do have the 6" coil for the nox. I've been impressed by the tiny gold it can find. 

[Valens Legacy]

4 hours ago, Mountaineer Matt said:

Do you run it in gold mode on the creek?

Because of the creeks near me I use field 2 with the sense at around 21.

That works the best for me due to the size of gold in our creeks, and I also hit upon a few nice silver coins.

Grandfather and some on this forum showed me some tricks to help with the soil in my area and that made a lot of difference.

Good luck and good hunting.

[Valens Legacy]

4 hours ago, Mountaineer Matt said:

The elliptical coil would be great for the creeks though.

That coil design is really great for the creeks because of it's ability to be used on the sides of the creek. Once you hit a good signal, you can pinpoint the gold with the tip of the coil. Should you find an area that you hit a good area that is wide it is either a can or a lot of flour gold in a small area. I will then shovel out that area and pan it out.

Take your time when learning this coil and it will find you  more than you think it will.

[Lesgold]

Agree with the earlier posts. The 10x5 on the 6000 is an excellent option. If you can find something better than that for your area then go with it. The SDC has a great advantage in relation to getting into deep, narrow crevices due to its rear pivot on the coil but it is an awful machine to swing due to its poor ergonomics. On creek banks and vertical faces, there are better options than this machine. Every area is different and I can only comment on what I use and where I detect. I could say with certainty that a 6000 with the 10x5 would pay for itself quicker than an SDC or an Equinox in the country that my mate and I detect.