Prospecting For Processed Gold

[azblackbird]

I like the OP's style. He's on the right track with the mentality associating coin, jewelry, and relic hunting to nugget shooting. Both are similar in nature whether people realize it or not. Glad I have a TDI Pro. Maybe not the latest and greatest, but will definitely hang with the big boys when it comes to shooting for nuggets, jewelry, coins or relics.

[plidn1]

People Are Always Asking.....................................

What is the best Detector To buy ? or Where can I find gold? or  How do you find so much gold all the time? 

It's very simple.

I hunt every day and I hunt in places where people have the opportunity to lose jewelry.

I have a good quality detector, that is gold sensitive, and is capable of giving me lots of valuable information on what is in the ground. I have learned to understand what it is telling me and have learned it inside and out. I use the right coil for the place and conditions I am working.

I use no discrimination and dig most everything that isn't iron.

The detector is only a tool. Knowing how and where to use it, it's strong points, capabilities, and it's short comings is the secret. 
Everyone thinks they own the best detector made. I make mine the best there is.

I just love it when I am told "The place is worked out". 
I have found more good stuff in worked out parks then any other place.

I also believe, with the exception of nitch detectors, that you use only one detector. That way you learn it's values and particular language. All detectors (and coils) are different with a different language and quirks of there own. 

By using only one, you don't get confused and when an odd situation comes at you, you can trust your machine and learn a new lesson. When you become one with your detector, when using it becomes second nature,  then you have a good one.

 Every day, every hunting spot is different. Something as simple as weather can change the way a detector responds to a target let alone all the other factors involved. The only way to truly over come these challenges and be successful, is to really know your tool.

[fredmason]

Thanks plidn1;

very good pointers for all, I appreciate the reply.

fred

[hawkeye]

Have you ever encountered this?  I called a city office to find out if you could metal detect in the city parks.  "Yes", she said, " but you can't dig".  Priceless.

[Greg]

Alright so what is your favorite detector for hunting jewelry? Anyone can chime in here, just curious what is liked PI, VLF, discrimination ext.

All my detectors were bought with gold prospesting as the number one objective ATX, whites SPP and GMT. I think I am setup pretty well for a dig all approach although the GMT takes digging trash to a hole new level with tiny pieces of foil and the likes, but has the ability to find micro jewelry.

A couple of years ago I found a diamond stud on a beach in cal. Turned out to be a fake dimond but it was a small find none the less.

[plidn1]

I found this, this morning with my M6. Marked 14 K

It rang up as a pull tab and was in someone else's hole!

 

[Steve Herschbach]

When it comes to gold prospecting AND jewelry detecting in parks or other grassy locations, the multi-purpose detectors are generally the way to go. You do want to be able to reject ferrous targets and you may not want to dig every tiny little piece of foil ever dropped.

Fisher Gold Bug/Gold Bug Pro, Garrett AT Gold, Nokta CoRe/Gold, Minelab X-Terra 705, Teknetics G2, Tesoro Lobo, and White's MXT variants are major contenders for people that may already own them for nugget detecting

Being a niche detector guy my personal favorites have been the White's DFX now replaced by the White's V3i.

The secret to jewelry detecting is picking the right sites. The detecting can be as simple as set for bare ferrous rejection and dig everything else. Or you can try and get sneaky digging certain VDI numbers and ranges to try and improve the jewelry to trash ratio. Not everyone wants to dig every bit of trash in the park, and the fact is VDI targeting can be fun in its own right.

The two far opposite extremes would be a Tesoro Compadre for $160 and a single knob. It can do just fine. Set it to reject ferrous or maybe smallish foil and go to town digging everything that beeps.

 

 

The White's V3i is on the other end of the spectrum. Here is an example of just one of many possible display screens analyzing a target in three separate frequencies.

 

 

I think detecting should be fun, and part of the fun is trying different strategies and finding what works best for you. The key is to keep it enjoyable so you keep at it. If you keep at it, you will find stuff. It really is that simple.

[Greg]

Disregard that last post I thought the last one did not go through.

Nice little stud plidn1!

Steve I think I may fall somewhere in the middle like MXT , F75 or FORS Gold something with a value in prospesting trashy sites as well as jewelry.

It hard for me to get away from the prospecting aspect, oh well.

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi Greg,

Yeah, I am for sure not trying to sell anyone on the V3i. In fact, just the opposite. Most people should stay away from it unless they really know what they are getting into. Massive feature overkill.

I highly recommend the mid-frequency do-it-all machines for jewelry detecting. The MXT is the default choice for anyone wanting power and simplicity in a detector.

In theory you could use the GMT and for tot lots or other easy digging sandy areas it actually is a good choice. But like the Gold Bug 2 the extreme sensitivity plays against it in the turf. Just too much tiny aluminum to contend with.

It appears we temporarily lost Mike, not just here but on the other forums. Hope he is OK. Mike and I have kind of shadowed each other with parallel thought processes on detectors over the years. One of those two people independently coming to similar conclusions kind of things, so I have always paid attention to his posts.