nuggethunting

Hey DigDeep, I would love to hunt with you here in Arizona, but it's the same old game. Sometimes you get skunked, sometimes you turn something up. Most of the easy spots have been really hammered hard. Most of the better locations I know of and been playing around at are very remote and require quad only to access. I know how it is to want to hunt another State or area, but sometimes "the Grass isn't always Greener" in a different location or State. However, hunting different locations from time to time does break up some of the repetitiveness of seeing the same old ground. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Guys, Thanks T-Bone for contacting Polaris and finding out the details on the Camo Dipping. I pretty much knew it was not tape, but didn't know what type of process was used to get the camo on the plastics. I will find a good wax to keep the plastic conditioned. DigDeep - Yep, Lockers can be expensive, but are worth their weight in gold if you're going to really get serious about off-roading and back country exploring. I used to have lockers on my 85 Toyota 4x4 and it would practically climb straight up a vertical cliff. Without the Lockers I would have been stuck in several locations! Take care, Rob Allison

Hello DigDeep, I'm still finding all kinds of small bits of iron rubbish, lead & small gold nuggets. Something to think about .... You really don't know what you're missing if you didn't know it was even there! If you don't get a signal on something, you will never dig it, so you would never know it was there (could be iron rubbish, precious metals, meteorites, coins .... ). I'm sure we are missing targets, including gold that is very small or very spongy in nature. Strange that you're missing small pieces or fragments of lead though. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Steve, It's always good to hear about your adventures Steve! Sounds like you and your Son had a great time and a venture you will never forget. Can't wait to it cools down so we can hit some spots in S. Cali or Western Arizona. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Rockhead, The quad I purchased is only about 6 months old and I keep it covered in the garage. I just don't want the camo to fade too much. I heard this camo plastic can fade after some time. Thanks for all the helps guys. Rob Allison

Hey Bob, Give me or Dawn a call and we can help you out. I have all the accessories you're looking for. The latest Goldscreamer Signal Enhancer might be the ticket for you along with a good set of adjustable, high ohm headphones. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, You had me concerned, so I went out and looked at the camo plastic. I highly doubt it's some type of tape, there are no seams and it seems like just one big piece of plastic with the camo painted in. Will call Polaris tomorrow and see what they say about it. I heard that "Wax" is the best thing to use on the quad plastic. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello All, Thanks for the comments on the video. Yep, that small nugget just screamed on the new Coiltek 14-inch Goldstalker searchcoil. The smallest one (probabably 2 grains) also sounded off pretty good. It was pretty much on the surface in a small bedrock depression. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Bob, I used to use the Ultimate Gray Ghost for many years. A great pair of headphones also made by DetectorPro. I now use the newest from DetectorPro, which is the Black Widow's. They are a bit better than the Gray Ghost Ultimates. I have all these headphones in stock if you are interested - Black Widow's - $126.00 (Retail $140.00) Gray Ghost Ultimates - $117.00 (Retail $130.00) Gray Ghost Orignals - $89.10 (Retail $99.00) Rattler's, One Sided Headphone - $81.00 (Retail $90.00) Gray Ghost Underwater - $135.00 (Retail $150.00) NuggetBuster's - $89.10 (Retail $99.00) NuggetBuster NDT - $126.00 (Retail $140.00 Koss UR30's - $49.97 CalRad's - $29.95 Take care, Rob Allison

Hey T-Bone, Pretty hard to top those Polaris quads. What I noticed on mine since I got the "Browning Package" is the camo color is different than the stock plastic. It seems as if the camo color is already fading. Someone mentioned some type of solvent you can use to keep the color bright and conditioned. Anyone heard about this? I have the quad stored in a garage, so the quad don't sit outside. Someone also mentioned I need to clean the quad to keep it clean! P.S. Those Mountains in the background look familar. Are they the Laguna's? Talk with you soon, Rob Allison

Hey DigDeep, Hope you scored today! Keep us posted here on the forum. Rob Allison

Hello All, If anyone is interested in a like new Minelab X-Terra 30, I have one for sale. This unit has never seen the field, just used at the shows for demonstration/display purposes. This metal detector somes with all the stock accessories, but doesn't include a factory warranty since Minelab don't allow warranty transfers. This unit uses the new VFLEX digital technology. This ultra lightweight, balanced design detector also has accurate multi-segment notching (12 segments). It also has a 3-tone Target ID/digital numeric target ID. Your Price $300.00 + Shipping. Normal sale price is $398.97. If you're interested in this unit, please call 623-362-1459 or email me at - auplacers@yahoo.com. You can also reply back here on this thread if you have questions or want to PM me. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Grubstake, I did look at the nuggets again and can see the dog head on the second one. Yesterday during our venture I seen many spots that show good potential. Some are very remote, but could be hiding some of that elusive gold. Real surprised, the GPX-4500's are selling very well still, even though it's really hot. Leaverite said to tell you Hi. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey DigDeep, If I wasn't so far away I would take you up on that offer. Never been up to Rattlesnake Canyon before, but had several offers from a good buddy, Richard D. Great talking with you on the phone a few nights ago. Wishing you a bunch of luck. Rob Allison

Hey John, For the last 6 years or so I told myself I was going to get a quad and stop tearing up my full-sized vehicles for prospecting. I finally broke down early this year and purchased a new Polaris 500 EFI Deluxe with all the bells and whistles. Man, I have no clue why I waited so long, I love this quad! I'm now able to access spots I've been wanting to for years, just too far to hike into. Today a few friends and I traveled over 50 miles on quads hitting some old spots and searching for new areas. I ended up finding four small gold nuggets during the venture. I would highly suggest a quad. You can carry a lot of gear, even a drywasher or dredge. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Today a new GPX-4500 customer and friend hit some old spots in the Bradshaw's. We took out the quads and traveled over 50 miles round trip today. We were able to dodge all the Monsoon storms and I was able to pick up four small nuggets from some old hammered spots. After about 5 hours of hunting we called it quits due to the Monsoon Storm conditions effecting the metal detectors (EM Interference ). Here is a short video clip of where I found two small gold nuggets from the same area. I was using the Minelab GPX-4500 Metal Detector and Coiltek 14-inch Elliptical Mono Goldstalker Searchcoil. Also a picture of the small gold nuggets I found today. Mostly used the Special/Extra mode for added sensitivity to small gold nuggets. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Digdeep, I can't remember exactly how long it took me to find my first gold nugget, but I believe it was a couple of months. I had no clue where to search, what to look for or how to even use the detector I had at the time well. The first one I found was 7.5 Dwt's and I was freaking happy as hell! Some of the most important factors are - (1) Being in a gold nugget bearing area and knowing what to look for (2) Knowing your detector and how to tune and tweak to various ground conditions to maximize sensitivity and depth (3) Having good detector techniques (searchcoil height, coil speed, ect ...) (4) Knowing what to listen for (some of the suttle audio sounds) (5) Having confidence, believing in yourself! (6) Don't give up, gold nugget hunting is a process of ellimination and a "hit or miss" game I've known guys to go a good year before finding their first, while others have hit "Trophy" type nuggets their first day out. It's just a matter of time and normally after you find the first the second, third .... start coming much quicker. Hope this helps a bit, Rob Allison

Hey Montana Gold and others, That is one reason why I encourage to purchase new if possible and if you don't know the owner of the used equipment. There is no doubt many of the used metal detectors and coils are in great condition, but others are probably really abused and someone is just trying to peddle them off on someone else. I would try the technique that Doc stated. I've actually done this and it works. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Fishbone, Sounds good. Also, just received an email from Trev @ Coiltek. He stated they have three new Goldstalker Mono's coming out soon. He also stated some new DD's. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Wilderness, The key to any fine gold recovery is really classification, angle and water flow. If you're sluicing, it's suggested you use classifier screens so you're not tossing in large rocks and cobbles in the sluice. When I used to dredge, I would try to elliminate some of the larger rocks from going up the nozzle when I was using a 4 & 5-inch. Most modern day dredges have "punch plates" over the first riffle or so to help fine gold recovery. I would also suggest miner's moss in a sluice or dredge on the first couple of riffles if possible. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Fishbone, I've personally used the Coiltek Goldstalkers on both the GPX-4000 and GPX-4500. I've never used one on prior units, but sold a bunch of them to guys that are using SD thru GP's. I'm sure either Goldstalker (14 or 18.5) would work very well on the GP3000. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Ken, Very nice!! She will love that pendant piece. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Bob, Happy Belated Birthday you Nugget Finder!! Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Claim Jumper - I will ask Dr. Erik about the color of the bus. He mentioned he might know the people. Montana - There are a lot of bullets on Weaver Mountain. Congrats on all your recent gold nugget finds & HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello All, Just wanted to let you all know Dr. Erik Melchiorre wrote another great book on the Rich Hill area. This book is about the Octave Gold Mine and History. The book is titled "Octave Gold Mine, The Gold Queen of Rich Hill, Arizona." This book covers the entire history of the mine, 140 pages of great information. It also contains fold out maps, dozens of historical photos, maps of the original townsite, names of residents, interviews, historical documents and more. This book is $20 + $7 US Priority Mail Shipping. If you would like to order a copy of this book, please contact me at - 623-362-1459 or email me at - auplacers@yahoo.com I just breezed through the pages and I'm excited to start reading about the history and production of the Octave Gold Mine. For everone that might not know, the Octave was one, if not the most productive gold mine around Rich Hill, Arizona. I've personally found some beautiful gold nuggets and specimens from the area. Thanks Dr. Erik for the note written in my book! Take care, Rob Allison