nuggethunting

Hey Guys, What I really like is when you get into a very trashy location you can use the "target trace" or "pinpoint target trace" to show both targets. I've never seen anything like this before. I placed good targets such as silver coins next to a bunch of different iron rubbish targets and it picks it up right next to the trash. Pretty amazing, but I still have a bunch to learn on it. I have all the basics down pretty good, just trying to really understand the full potential of this unit. Just my thoughts so far, Rob Allison

Hey AzNuggetBob, I wish I had it maps of Nevada, but I actually got a few maps from the Northern Bradshaw area. Many of the areas have been pounded to death, but I was able to get in there with the PI's and score some gold. For years after this, many with PI's were going into the general patch areas and finding gold. Terry was one of the guys that first found the "Johnson Flat" placers. The area years later got dozed and many pounds of gold were found. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Been playing around with Minelab's new CTX 3030. Curious if anyone else is using it and what are you thoughts? I'm impressed with this unit, but I still have some time before I can say I really understand everything about it. I really like the fact you can see good targets around trash. I'm taking the unit to Virginia to hunt the "Meadows Farm - Mine Run Campaign" for about a half day, so hoping I might be able to get some Civil War artifacts if I'm lucky enough. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey BlueViking, Welcome to the Nuggethunting.com forums. Like Jim Straight mentioned, there are many guys on here, along with many guys like Jim that might be able to refer you to locals around your area. I've personally only hunting N. Cali a few times, but I'm sure others will chime in and give some advice. The Infinium LS is a gold finder, learn it and reseach gold nugget areas. Just a matter of time until you see that "gold" shining in your hand! Hope to see you posting more in the near future. Rob Allison

Hey Jim, Just think if we could bring all these great guys back for just one weekend around a campfire. I don't anyone would sleep for days listening to all the great stories they would have to share. I used to love to sit and listen to Floyd and Richard talk about places they have been prior to hunting with them. I could only imagine what Terry "T-Bone" would have to tell. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Flak, I agree with you 100% on that, but if I said that being a dealer, then I'm just trying to promote. There is always someone trying to tear you down, so I know if I posted my smallest nuggets, even though I know and others are doing the same, some will call BS on it. With smaller coils on the GPX 5000, nuggets under a grain are being found all the time. I have hundreds of them still in my collection, but they might only weight around 2 ounces for all of them. Post a picture of them when you get a chance. Rob Allison

Hey Justin, Have to agree with you that the GB2 on very low mineralization is a killer and also on exposed bedrock that is not too mineralized. However, when it comes to mineralization, hot rocks and volcanics, it only takes an inch or so of this material to mask a nugget from being found with a GB2. This is where the major advantage of the Minelab PI's comes in (mineral immunity and depth). As for those coils, the Joey has always been a winner!! The new NF 8x6 is also very hot on small gold. For small coils, I know have a Joey DD and the NF 8x6. I use the Joey DD in areas with more hotrocks or abundance of black sands and the NF 8x6 are lesser mineralized areas. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Speaking of Northern Nevada and tires, here is a picture of John "Goldmaster" Blennert and I back in Oct. 2003. The road don't look like a tire slicer, but just one sharp rock on the rock can do it. We were just driving down this road and "BOOM!" We spent some time around several of the major placers and picked up a few pieces on most of the placers. John found a real nice 1/2 ouncer in the Majuba placers, right outside an old push that everyone and their brother has worked. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, One of the forum members asked about the sensitivity on the GPX 5000 and if it can find small gold. Here are a few pictures of some small gold nuggets I picked up early this year here in Arizona. The average piece of gold on the gold scale is 2.21 grains each. There are 480 grains to 1 troy ounce of gold. The GPX 5000 with small monoloop searchcoils can pick up nuggets well under a grain in size. All the nuggets displayed in the pictures were found by the admin (me) using the Minelab GPX 5000 & 14-inch Coiltek "Blitz" Mono coil. Hope you enjoyed. If anyone has questions about the Minelab GPX 5000, don't hesitate to post questions here on the forums. If you would like to email or call us, please do that also. We will gladly give you the best advice possible on all Minelab metal detectors. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey AzNuggetBob, That is a great pix with the dirt bike and SD2000. You might be correct on the price, maybe it was in the range of 2000 - 3000, been so long ago.

Hey AzNuggetBob, I was also one of the first one to get a SD2000, along with my cousin Chris and I believe his Dad. I know I paid $3,750 for the SD2000. I'm sure you paid the same, you just might not remember it. I remember I had to convince my parents to loan me $2000 and I put the rest on a credit card. Since Floyd didn't accept credit cards, I had to go to the bank and get a cash advance for $2000 with like 25% interests ..... Well I at least got a new SD2000 and was able to get onto some ground before it got too hammered at Rich Hill and many places on the East slope of the Bradshaws. It took some time to get used do, as it was so quiet sounding and so freaking immune to some of the worst mineralization. I was used to my Tesoro Lobo and Minelab XT17000 with the loud, sharp hits on the VLF's. The Minelab SD2000 was Woo-Wee and not very loud. Back on the subject of T-Bone, I can tell you he had a handful of patches in the Minnehaha area, which I have a bunch of topos of. That being said, most of the patches are pretty beat down, many were shallower areas where the VLF's done well and left a few lumps in deeper areas. Also, some memories of blowing tires in Northern Nevada and then thinking of guys like T-Bone that drove low clearance cars. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Since we are talking about the now passed "Terry T-Bone," I would like to share the first time I met him. It was in Arizona Al's prospecting store here in Phoenix, Arizona (43rd ave & Northern). Terry walked in with a small briefcase, which I thought at first was a bit strange. I seen him crack it open on the counter and then I seen Arizona Al make a "Holy Shit" type gester. Al asked Terry if I could take a peek and he said it was fine. I must say I never seen that much gold at that time. He had baggie after baggie and large vials full of gold nuggets. Al would purchase a good amount of his gold nuggets after Terry would find them. I believe most of this gold was from Northern Nevada at that time.

Hello Shadow, I'm still holding several Arizona topos that I got from Arizona Al, when Terry said he was done with Arizona. I found nuggets in all of his old patches, most were only worked with the Goldmaster VLF's that Terry loved so much. AZNuggetBob - I agree, normally when someone buys a nice nugget, I tell them they can tell whatever story they want about the nugget. Funny, I have a story just like yours I might start in a new post. GreenBox - I still think about Richard and all the times we hunted together. Without his help back in the early to mid 90's, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now. He was truely my mentor when it comes to electronic prospecting. I have a million stories I could share about this very missed friend. Some of my first ventures with Floyd and Richard were up around Soap Creek in the early 90's. Several years later Floyd Allen trusted me enough to allow me to tag along on a handful of Rich Hill adventures. I couldn't count how many nuggets I seen popping out by all of us back then. Richard loved the smaller coils, Floyd loved that damn 18-inch trash can lid ....

Hey Ken, The GP 3500 is a great detector. I would just stick with it and if you decide to upgrade in the future go for the best unit out at that time. Jumping one detector might not be worth that much trouble selling yours, trying to find a used GPX4000 if you know what I mean. The GPX series have more options, timings and such, so I'm sure you would see an advantage with one. That being said, some believe the GP 3500 gets the best overall depth and even is the best detector to mod. Just my thoughts, Rob Allison

Hey Nuggetslayer, Great video, just the reason I added this forum to see these type of videos. Hope to see more in the near future. Congrats on the nugget. Lucky and you guys sure have some great ground to hunt. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Inhere, Thanks for the honest advice. I have to agree with you 100%, as Ismael is a good friend of mine also. It's practically impossible to take a detector that was built 10-12 years ago and make it as good as one that was just released. I know people want to believe this, but it's not possible. If this was the case, no one would be buying new detectors, we would just take our old ones and mod them to the newest GPX 5000's or whatever. Can you take an older Minelab and mod it to make it better than stock, YES. However, trying to claim your mod is now better then the newest technology, Just my thoughts, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, You normally (no offense), hear these rumors from guys that either are anti-Minelab or people that can't afford a new Minelab. Everyone is always looking for a cheap way to make the best detector (can't honestly blame anyone). I know the price tag on these Minelab's just keep going up, so understand that it's getting to the point where only the real serious can afford a big Minelab. The GPX 5000 is $5,795 US, so I can only guess what the next big Minelab will cost. My best educated guess would be somewhere around $6,200 - $6500.00. Sometimes I wonder if Minelab will price themselves out of the market, but it hasn't been the case in the last 10 years. I'm sure having the best technology allows them to keep the price tag high as no one can really match the performance in my opinion. Back to the mods, I have heard good and bad things about them. Some swear the mods on the early SD's, such as the SD2000 are the cats meow, while others claim the mods on the GP3000 - GP3500 are best. I know Ismael in Australia used to be one of the guys most would trust with mods. I believe he stopped doing mods, but the ones he done all seem to work well. Hope this helps a bit, Rob Allison

Hey Pete, Sounds good. I have noticed that "Sharp" timing on larger targets can get great depth, even more than "Normal" timing. However, this only seems to be the case in areas with low to moderate mineralization (minimal hotrocks and volcanics also). Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Jim, That is correct. I always have them in stock, but was getting low so ordered more to make sure I didn't get into a backorder status on them. Joe has always been good keeping me stocked up on your Follow the Drywasher, 7th edition. Hope everything is well on your end Jim! Rob Allison

Hello Mr. AZMan, I have never heard of such and highly doubt it. Most mods are done on early detectors, SD and some GP's, but I don't think anyone doing the mods has stated it's just as good or better than a model much newer. There are guys that claims there modded detectors are better, but I don't think there is enough evidence of that. Also, like another member stated, the GP3000 is an analog unit, while the GPX units are partial digital. Just my thoughts, Rob Allison

Hello All, Well as much as I hate to make rules, I have to make sure there are a few. I have developed this Video forum for videos related to gold mining, gold prospecting and metal detecting for gold. All videos must be informative or educational, no self promoted type videos will be allowed. All videos that are promoting another website, product or some type of self promotion will be removed. Please make sure you understand these rules before posting your video(s). Thanks for your understanding. Looking forward to seeing some great videos and finds. Rob Allison

Hey Pete, Great video. Did you happen to try Special/Sensitive/Extra in that area or over that target? I've had great success with smaller gold, much better than the Fine Gold timing with Sensitive/Extra. That being said, the mineralization might not be as bad where I'm hunting either. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Kelly, Thanks for the comments about the new online store. I received your email about the site. We have one of the most secure sites for security to protect both the merchant and customer. I think the new store will be a big hit once I get more traffic directed to it. Please pass the site around if you would. Thanks for your business and friendship. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Rob Allison

Hey New Beeper, Thanks for the order. Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Hey Stream Prospector, Looks like it will be a good read. Looks like you might be located in Australia. We would like to know more about you if you would like to post more about yourself and book here. Do you just prospect the rivers by means of panning, sluicing, dredging (wet methods) or any dry methods or the use of a metal detector? Talk with you later, Rob Allison