nuggethunting

Hello Alan, The new Minelab X-Terra 70 is a hot seller right now. Just sold two more this week with my bundle package. The X-70 gets great depth on coins with the stock 9-inch concentric coil. The stock coil will find gold nuggets, but I highly recommend the 10-inch elliptical for gold nugget hunting. I have found nuggets down to 1-2 grains in size on the surface of the bedrock with the X-Terra 70 and 10-inch elliptical coil. The stock coil picks up a lot more ground noise and hot rocks in the gold prospecting mode. For the price, the X-Terra 70 is a great mid-lined coin/relic/treasure/gold nugget detector. Obviously, you can't get the best of both worlds with just one detector, or at least not yet. In my opinion the best coin/relic detector is the Minelab Explorer II if you can master it, and the Minelab GP3500 for gold nuggets. Sure would be nice to have both of these machines in one unit. Hope this helps a bit, Rob Allison

Hello All, Leaverite and I hit a new spot today that consisted of some hiking. However, we didn't realize the vegitation was going to be a like a jungle! After a couple hours of hunting with the Minelab GP3500/Coiltek Joey Mono I was able to find these (3) small nuggets and (3) small piece of copper. I guess a few small gold nuggets keep the old skunkaroo away! How does that Skunk smell Leaverite? Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Guys, Goldarnit - Most of them were close to the surface, no more than an inch or so at the most. The bigger piece was in an old screen pile and was down only a couple of inches. Most of the best nuggets will be lying on top of the old piles since it was pay material that came from the bottom of the hole normally. grubstake - Hope you and Shep do well at the patch. I'm just waiting to see a multi-ounce chuck pop up. Wirechief - You're welcome to come out, but with these Minelab's today we don't leave a whole lot behind. Normally after a couple of runs through the area most of the gold is long gone. kamikaze - Funny you noticed that. I forgot that I had a very small piece that I blew out of the cracks. Well looks like it's now in the carpet! djhanson - I believe when I tossed them all on the scale it was about 5.5 Dwt's, just a tad over 1/4 ounce. Most of them are small nuggets. shep - That Coiltek Wallaby DD Pro coil can be a killer. I've done very well with it and so have several close partners. The gold has to be there at depth to find it, but I know you know that Shep. I'm hoping you guys do well at the patch this weekend. wes - I agree with you. The Joey and Wallaby DD Pro are a great combination. Talk with you all later, Rob Allison

Hello All, Was out this last weekend, but got really busy and didn't have time to post. Leaverite and I hit a couple of new locations below Prescott that showed good potential. The weather is much cooler up there than the lower desert regions. Never spent much time up in the higher country, but after finding some new gold up there I just might now! Here are (14) nuggets I found with the Minelab GP3500 & Coiltek Joey Mono Searchcoil. Biggest nugget in the middle is 2.7 Dwt's, the others ones are "Dinks!" It's still out there ... Rob Allison

Hello Big Ed, Nothing wrong with a nugget that is almost 3 solid ounces. Just imagine how many pieces like that are lying on the bottom of those California Rivers? Thanks for sharing, Rob Allison

Hello Big Ed, I knew the stacking didn't look normal. I was figuring the old-timers might have worked the small creek in the past. Any decent color is that side feeder that you're dredging and stacked? How do you compare the Proline vs. Keene dredges? I know a lot of people talk highly about Proline and their sluice boxes. I've had good luck with Gold King and Keene over the years, but never personally used a Proline dredge. Talk with you soon, Rob Allison

Hello Frosty, Actually I found (14) nuggets in the last couple of trips, including this last weekend. However, was so busy the entire weekend didn't get time to post the picture. Coming down to working all day and then packing products/accessories all evening. Not complaining, but very little free time lately. Will post the picture of the nuggets tonight. I tried last night, but my FTP was down. Nothing to get real excited over, biggest piece was 2.7 Dwt's and about 5-6 Dwt's total for all the nuggets. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Grubstake, Sold a few more late last night. If you know anyone that is interested in one, I can get them out before the weekend. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Big Ed, Thanks for posting the pictures. Glad to hear you now have a better PC and web browser. In the last picture you can see a lot of hand-stacked rock on the right side bank. Was that originally done by the old-timers or you guys over the years? Looks like a very productive area. P.S. Received your phone message last night, but was away for a while. No worries, I will just hold the stuff until you say other wise. Hope everything gets better with your family. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello John, You're not stepping on anyone's toes my friend. I appreciate the information you posted. I'm just stating, that if you're going to purchase DetectorPro headphones over any other brand you should go with the Black Widow's. The retail price on the Gray Ghost Ultimates are $130, and the Gray Ghost "No Down Time" are $140. The Black Widow's also retail at $140, but are discounted down to $126. Spent 10 years trying to find out the right combination of headphones that would match the Minelab SD/GP series. Years ago I really liked the Koss TD80 & 81. The stock Koss UR-30's are even better than them. People assume the higher the ohm's, the better the headphones. Well in most cases that is correct, but many claim their low ohm headphones work better than some of the higher ohm's. I believe it comes down to individual hearing, as some even have to use amp's/boosters to make up for the hearing loss they might have. I've done enough side-by-side comparision to know what is the best for me and what is the best for people that have decent hearing still. People with severe hearing lose might have to experiment around with headphones and amps/boosters to find the best combination for them. Hope this helps a bit, Rob Allison

Hello Airboy, Not telling what you need to purchase, but I used all the Gray Ghost Headphones (Original all the way to Ultimates) and they don't match up to the Black Widow's. If you're looking for the best audio response, I would seriously consider the Black Widow's. However, the Gray Ghost Ultimate's are a close second, but the price is the same. Hope this helps, Rob Allison

Hello All, Just wanted to let you know I now have the new "Hipstick" bungee system now in stock. I already have about 4-5 pre-sold, so make sure you contact me right away to get one of the first ones available. I just received (25) to start with, so I'm sure all of them will be taken within a few days. This system works great with any heavy duty bungee and even Doc's Swingy Thingy! I actually will have all three available for anyone that is intested in the "Biggest, Baddest, Bungee System Available!" Contact me through email - auplacers@yahoo.com Phone - (623) 362-1459 [leave detailed message if you get answering machine] Or through this forum thread or Forum Private Message Your Hipstick Price - $42.00 Shipping and Tax not added P.S. All new Minelab Detector purchases after August 9th will also include one for FREE! Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Karl, I can see the BLM jumping the filing fees up since the price of gold is also up. I'm sure there are thousands of new claims due to price of gold, silver, copper & moly now vs. 3-4 years ago. P.S. Check your PM, have some news! Rob Allison

Hello Ken, Good going on the highbanking up at Moore Creek. Looks like you done well. Just imagine working that ground with equipment! Was anyone detecting that week? Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Airboy, I'm not sure what the impedence is on the headphone jack, never tried to test it. I'm sure it can be done though. Being a dealer Minelab don't really give us much technical information. However, it would be nice to have since many people/customers like to know more about the detector's specs. I can tell you that the DetectorPro Black Widow Headphones will work great for the GP3000. I believe they are 150-200 ohm headphones and everyone I sold a pair to loves them. These are probably the best headphones that I have found for the SD/GP series. I have tried everything from "El-cheapo's" to the most expensive. The stock Koss-UR30's are a good mid-line headphone, but there are much better out there. What's nice about the DetectorPro phones is you get a limited lifetime warranty. Not sure what limited means, but Gary Storm at DetectorPro has always backed his product 110%! Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Guys, Karl - Great talking with you again and thanks for another order. However, make sure we have about 3 hours to chat next time ... LOL Always great talking with you and looking forward to a hunt in the near future (anywhere but Rich Hill). Frosty & Kamakazi - I found 8-9 more gold nugget this weekend. Mostly dinks, but one "Clunker, Clinker .... Oh whatever they call them .... !" Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Bob, They offered it to me tomorrow, but even at $37.50/hour I turned it down! I would rather be prospecting. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, I just seen on another post where Kamakazi (Gaine) asked about a dink. I guess the questions is, "What is considered a small nugget?" I consider anything that I can find with the Minelab GP3500 a nugget. With the Coiltek 10x5 Joey Mono Searhcoil I can find them down to a grain and even slightly smaller if the shape is right. I know a "one grain" piece might not be considered a nugget, maybe more of a "Picker." A "Dink" to me is anything under about 6-8 grains. The word "Dink" is just an expression for small gold nugget. I will take all the dinks I can find even though it takes 50-100 of them to make one Troy Ounce. Small nuggets under a pennyweight (1/20th of an ounce) are 1000's to 1 vs. 1/4 ounce + nuggets. Obviously the larger the nugget the more scarce they are. I'm sure I will find a few more dinks this weekend. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Scotty, Hell, from what I can see your program is worth every penny of $30! I'm sure since you dropped the price down to $22 you're going to sell a bunch. Like I said, I used a Microsoft Spreadsheet for years, but it's nothing like your program. Yours even allows you to upload pictures to each entry. Pretty slick when you can go back and look at the picture and then say, "Yep, that was that piece I dug under that dead cactus, which weighed 8.2 Grams!" If I upload any more programs on my old PC it will explode! I think I'm still running on 384 Memory. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Sold a bunch of books last night per this post. Just wanted to let you know I still have several copies of each left in stock, but plan on most of the major copies to be gone before the weekend. If anyone is interested, get in touch with me right about please. Thanks for all the recent books orders. What would I do without you guys ... Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Chris, You're very welcome! I'm still getting some good feedback on them. Thanks for the email also, have fun on your trip. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Colorado Bob, If you're looking for the best responding headphones for any of the Minelab detectors, then I would recommend the Black Widow's. They are without a doubt the loudest headphones I have found and match great with the Minelab PI's. They have a volume control on both ears, ST/Mono Switch and a Clipper Switch. They also have a limited lifetime warranty. These are the headphones I recommend in the following order (from my experiences) - (1) Black Widow's ($126), Gray Ghost NDT, or Ultimates ($126/$117), NuggetBuster NDT ($126) & Koss UR-30's ($49.95). All four of the headphones above you don't have to use an amplifier with (unless your hearing is really bad). They all are very high quality headphones. I have all the headphones above in stock and have used them all personally for a long time. There is no doubt the Black Widow's are the best in my opinion. Hope this helps a bit, Rob Allison

Hello Shep, Funny you mention that, cause I do the same thing with the Minelab GP3500. Since the GP3500's On/Off switch is also the threshold control, I just leave it on at all times and turn the machine On/Off with the Coiltek Pocket Rocket. I'm not sure if it's a good thing to do or not, but I haven't had a problem and been doing it since the unit first came out. Pretty much all the people I hunt with do the same thing. Coiltek really made a great battery system with the Pocket Rocket. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Just received a huge load of books that I've been waiting for. I pretty much just ordered the "Top-Selling" books, so here are some of the top recommended reads - Geology Books: Field Geology Illustrated 2nd Edition - $35.00 Meteorite Books: Falling Stars, a Guide to Meteors and Meteorites - $14.95 Rocks From Space 2nd Edition (by the famous O. Norton Richard) - $32.00 Dredging Books: Advanced Dredging Techniques Part 2 (McCracken) - $9.95 Arizona Books: Placer Gold Deposits of Arizona (Considered the Bible for Arizona, includes a map) - $8.95 Arizona Gold Placers and Placering (Another Great Book) - $7.95 Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails - $24.95 Electronic Prospecting/Metal Detecting Books: Jim Straight's "Follow the Drywasher" 7th Edition (Awesome book) - $27.95 Jim Straight's "Advanced Prospecting & Detecting for Hardrock Gold" - $8.95 James McCulloch's "Advanced Nuggetshooting" - $9.95 Shipping and Arizona Tax (AZ residents only) is not added in above prices. Anyone interested in ordering a book(s) can contact me through email - auplacers@yahoo.com or phone (623) 362-1459 Take advantage of these great books. Rob Allison

Hello Chris, I was just razzing you a bit. I really enjoyed your company at Moore Creek this year. Not sure what is on the plate for next season, but I'm sure you're getting some of the emails about possible plans to Alaska again. Let me know if you're not. I'm seriously thinking about a trip up to Northern Nevada again, something different than Alaska. Talk with you soon, Rob Allison