nuggethunting

Hello AzNuggetBob, Was out there today and found one tiny gold nugget. Spent 90% of the time BSing with people on the claims. A couple of small ones were found today on the pushes, but the "cream of the crop" was taken yesterday. Leaverite and I did try an old patch that produced about 35-40 ounces of nice crystalline nuggets and quartz/gold specimens, but we both got the old skunk on that patch. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Dakota Slim, Yahoo for You!!!! I was hoping to see a few more nice ones come out of the push before the end of the season. I found one many years ago that is very similar to yours. Mine was 2.02 solid ounces, but thick and solid. The marks on the nuggets are not from where the dozer or you scrapped it, but rather the marks from errosion. Many of the Rich Hill nuggets are scared from the Granite boulders. Many of them have lines, almost like striations (spelling ). Congrats on the new find, Rob Allison

Hello Iggy, Congrats on your nugget find. I heard there was a nugget almost 2 ounces found today on the claims. Haven't seen a report on it yet. Did you happen to see or hear about it? How many people were on the pushes today? Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Claim Jumper, I'm not certain, but I believe someone mentioned the Pulse Devil will not have the same depth ability as a Minelab PI, but will have a much better discrimination. Not sure I seen it here on my forum or one of the Aussie Gold Forums. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Doug, Yep, I think you are correct. Minelab kind of keeps all their stuff top secret and then release it. I really give Dave and all the other poeple involved in this Pulse Devil Metal Detector credit. Allowing all the public to see the detector working in the goldfields of Arizona is great! I'm really hoping I can return that night and post great things about the Pulse Devil. Reg Sniff is probably one of the most knowledgeable guys when it comes to working and testing Pulse Induction (PI) metal detectors. I'm glad to see Reg is a huge part of the Pulse Devil's first testing on the goldfields. Reg and I have been good friends for many years even though we might not agree on everything. Rob Allison

Hello Steve H., Visiting Moore Creek the last couple of years was a blast. I never heard a single complaint from one person in two weeks. The people, food and gold was great! I didn't do the best, but in 2 weeks I rounded up nearly 7 ounces of gold. Pretty tough to find 7 ounces here in Arizona in a two week period unless I would hit a virgin patch. I have about 4 weeks of vacation this year, but think I'm going to spend a week or so exploring Arizona, Southern California or maybe Northern Nevada. Hope everything is well up there, Rob Allison

Hello Claim Jumper, Yep, I understand where you are coming from. It's hard for me to get away from the Minelab PI's since I've done very well with them over the years just as a weekend warrior. Lets hope something new and exciting is right around the corner for us. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello AZNuggetBob, Now you let the Cat out of the Bag! The PM's and emails will be coming in. You have found a few patches in the past haven't you? Talk with you soon, Rob Allison

Hello Doug, That is why I stated, "right now" about the Minelab's. However, I know the GPX-4000 will not be the best detector for me forever. The question is, "Will it be Minelab that makes the next best detector or another manufacture?" In my opinion Minelab has had the best gold hunting detectors for the last 8-10 years. I'm looking forward to seeing the Pulse Devil in action, but I'm not getting myself to hyped up. I've heard all the rumors and hype about all these great detectors coming out, but have yet to see them .... For what I do out in the Southwestern US the GoldQuest, Gold Scan or Garrett Infinium can't even keep up. What about this great "Titan" detector we were all promised many years ago? Not knocking any other detector, but I've heard all the rumors and hype, I just want to "SEE" something that will impress me. The last time I was really impress is when the SD2000 hit US soil, then when the SD2100 came out, then again when the GP Extreme was released. Talk to you soon, Rob Allison

Hello Reg, George P, & Allen, I think it great you guys continue to work on PI design. I'm hoping in the near future there will be something to match the Minelab's. Minelab's are great and I've found pounds of gold with them, but the price is just a bit high! Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Billy, It's very possible. The biggest nugget I know was 4.5 ounces, but several 1 & 2 ouncers were found there. That area has been hit hard, but for anyone that is very persistant and methodical with a metal detector will find more. Give the spot another shot when you get time. Rob Allison

Hello Tool, Thanks for sharing your information and finds. Sure looks like a nice nugget, just can't see it well. Have any better pictures of the nugget? What was the weight? Congrats, Rob Allison

Hello Guys, The last big deep target I had was on one of the 24K Gold Hunter Club claims. The target was just a faint whisper when I originally started to dig on it. After a good hour we dug down a good 3 1/2 foot to find a iron piece of rubbish. Not sure if it was a Cat Tooth or some type of pipe. We never dug the target completely up. The problem with targets at that depth, is the fact there are no discriminators that will work to that type of depth. I was getting a good "Blanking-Out" discrimination signal when I was within 6-8 inches of the target. However, I had to dig down a good 2+ foot before I could say it was trash. I'm telling you right now, there is no detector on the market today that would have hit that target at that depth and discriminated it out at the surface! Pulse Induction (PI) detectors love deep iron rubbish ... AzNuggetBob - I believe the torn can was a different target. However, it was also at depth and wouldn't discriminate out. We need to get out there and hit some of those old patches we've talked about. Talk with you all soon, Rob Allison

Hey Billy, Did you ever make it back to that patch? Just curious if you plucked any more out? Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Dustin, Nope, Walco only makes up to the 23-inch handle. Hodan makes the 36-inch "Walking Pick," but the handle isn't as thick as the Walco's. My favorite is the 21-inch Walco. Been using mine for over 3 years and it's stronger than any other pick I've tried. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Gary, If I remember correctly I was still finding them down to that size. However, you have to run the GP3000 in the Sensitive mode and in Mono. You also have to pay attention, since smaller nuggets don't just scream at you like a larger one near the surface would. I really like both coils you're asking about, Coiltek 14-inch Mono Round and the Coiltek Mini UFO Elliptical Mono. I would give the senstivity edge to the Mini UFO due to the elliptical design and a slight depth advantage to the 14-inch Round. If you're interested in either coil I have them in stock and also including a FREE Kangaroo Nugget Pouch with any coil purchase over $220. P.S. If I had my old PC hooked up here I could go back 3-4 years and see what I was finding with the GP3000. I know I found hundreds of little ones with it though. Hope I was able to help a bit, Rob Allison

Hello Reg, The March 10th date wouldn't have worked for me, but the later date just might work. I would like to see the detector in action. Hopefully the Pulse Devil will work out well in the mineralized ground conditions. You are correct, Rich Hill isn't that bad, at least for the Pulse Induction Metal Detectors. Looking forward to seeing you. Also, good to hear Jim French is coming down. Haven't seen Jim in a couple of years, or since the release of the GS5. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Bob, That is always a good question. Anything I can pick up with a Minelab PI detector is a nugget to me. That is normally a few grains (480 grain to a Troy Ounce) and bigger. In the picture below I have some "Dink" Nuggets and some larger ones. The Minelab PI's will find small gold nuggets like the ones pictured below. I honestly don't want to find anything smaller than the nuggets pictured above the Quarter. I can drywash, dredge and pan for small pieces. All these nuggets were found with the Minelab GPX-4000 and Coiltek 14-inch Round Mono Searchcoil. Pretty much the best combination (detector/searchcoil) that I have found for where I like to hunt. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, When you're young you and risk your money and ride out the ups and downs of the stock market. However, if I was close to retirement I would have everything in guaranteed bonds to make sure I didn't loose my nest egg during the last years of retirement. I've heard some people gambling with the stock market all the way until they retire and have lost everything (hundreds of thousands of dollars). Go figure .... Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Last Sunday Leaverite, AZProspectorBilly and I got together for a hunt. Billy met up with us on this hunt and picked up his new Coiltek 14-inch Mono Searchcoil. We worked some different spots on the 24K claims and didn't have any luck so we decided to hit an old patch. This spot has been worked, worked and re-worked by every type of detector. Funny, even though the spot has been hammered, we all found at least one nugget in the patch. I ended up with two smaller nuggets, Billy found his first Rich Hill nugget and Leaverite scored one. All from the same patch area. Leaverite and I were using GPX-4000's and Billy was swinging the GP Extreme. We all were using the Coiltek 14-inch Mono Searchcoils. Picture 1 are some of the gold nuggets Leaverite has found recently at the hill. Picture 2 are the nuggets from Sunday. A patch is never worked out ... Rob Allison

Hello Doug, When the Minelab GP Extreme first came out it was on the brochures and in the magazines. The ad stated the Extreme was getting 55% better depth on smaller nuggets and 18% on larger nuggets at depth. I believe I still have a copy of the ad somewhere, might be on my old PC though. Hope this helps a bit, Rob Allison

Hello Grubstake, Yes, I got the PM and email, just been getting in late at night. A package left yesterday for your place. You should see it within a few days. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Iggy, Leaverite was out there and said only one nugget was found on push 1 during that Saturday. Push 3 still has been unproductive, but hopefully when it get a bit deeper it will produce more. Little Dave, assistant carekeeper for the LDMA Camp found 3 decent nuggets Sunday on push 1. We found four nuggets (Leaverite, BillyAZProspector and I), but in a different area. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Reg Sniff should know by now, if I egg him on enough about the PI's he will post very informative information about detectors. However, I have one question .... "If my Minelab PI would find a small nugget at 4 inches deep and a VLF could only hear the same nugget at 2 inches, wouldn't that be 2 times the depth? Minelab did make the claims that the PI's were getting 2-3 times the depth over conventional VLF detectors. They also stated the GP Extreme was getting 55% better depth on small nuggets and 18% better depth on larger nuggets over the SD series. I would agree in mineralized ground that the Minelab PI's are getting twice the depth. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello All, I knew if there was one way to get the forum rolling it would be a Minelab debate! First, I mentioned in the first sentence "best for me." This does not mean best for everyone. The Minelab PI's are the best for me at this time. I'm hoping, just like others that another manufacture will make something similar in performance to the Minelab PI's. Reno Chris - you wouldn't beat me cause I dig all targets. If that meant working that area for weeks I would do it. If I find a spot that seems to be productive I will dig all likely targets. Where you hunt in California might only represent 1% of the California nugget hunters. Most of all the nugget hunters that I know in California are using Minelab PI's (probably is also a low percentage of the total). I do agree, working very trashy areas can be a pain in the butt with Minelab PI's. The SD2000 and SD2100 don't even have a discriminator. Reg Sniff - You mention this, not sure who it's directed at - I've always been here to help anyone, regardless of what they swing. Why don't you ask Elly how many hours I've spent with club members when I could have been swinging my detector. Also, I've talked many poeple out of purchasing Minelab PI's and referred them to VLF's. I could have pushed a PI on them if I really wanted to. Do you think I have a problem finding small gold with the Minelab PI? You have seen the stuff I have found, many of them are small and at depth. In all honestly, I don't use a Minelab PI to find nuggets under a couple of grains. I would rather take the depth advantage and find larger nuggets at depth. One nice nugget at depth might equal several hundreds of those sub-grain or grain nuggets. I do agree that if a person don't have the time, a Minelab PI could be out of they league. However, I strongly believe if they learn the machine and spend enough hours with it, the expensive price will justify out. Lastly, I respect you very much Reg. You've taught me more about Pulse Induction Metal Detectors than I could ever imagine. I've truely enjoyed all the hunts in Arizona with you and your Father. Hope we are able to get together again. AZNuggetBob - We found 4 more small nuggets on a Weaver Patch. George - The first question I ask when a customer calls is, "How much time can you spent, how much experience do you have at this hobby, what are your interests (coin, relic or nuggets) and what are you able to afford?" These four questions allow me to help the customer get into the right detector (VLF or PI). I won't get too excited until I see the Pulse Devil in action. I think it will take one heck of a detector to convince me to lay down the Minelab GPX at this point. However, I'm always optimistic! wyndham - Some great questions you have there. In my opinion, the GP series and GPX-4000 perform better than a SD2100/2200 with the regulated battery system. The depth on both might be close, but the GP/GPX will find smaller gold and smaller gold at depth. The Coiltek Pocket Rocket Li-Ion System will add performance and stablity to the SD series. Most notice more depth and stability right away. The PI's don't do well on very porous type gold, dubbed the "Invisible Nuggets." However, Minelab PI's love the chunky, solid slug or flat gold. Talk with you all later, Rob Allison