Trav W Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 New guy here, with the gpx5000. I'm in California, and have a fair bit of mineralization, but not bad enough that u have to run iron discrimination. The problem I have, it's this area has lots of bullets. I know the area has gold, from a recent dry washing trip. So far, I'm about 300 pieces of lead and zero gold. I've been trying several settings with really the same results. Lots of lead and buckshot in the 6"and less range. Any suggestions on cutting down the lead hits? I'm running a 11"dd coil in dd mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Do some research to make sure that detectable sized gold has been found in the area. Some areas only contain fine gold. If your research finds larger gold, keep on digging those bullets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I've drywashed a couple of pickers very close to where I'm detecting. I'm new to the area, so I don't know what sizes this area regularly produces.Would a 15x12 or 18" mono, drop all the .22 casings that are <1"? I don't know what i can find in this spot, but hiding the surface would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benz Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Deep trash usually means deeper gold. Stick with the dd coil. Try looking for a area were the trash is shallow and there's clay/bedrock below the trash. Also untill you established that tthere's detectable gold try to ignore the common targets and dig stuff that sounds a little different. BUT its always best to dig everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Here are the results of day one. Most items were located at 10" depth or less. The stock DD coil seemed to locate most of the lead. When I switched locations, I also switched to the 11" mono coil. At that point, I started finding almost exclusively .22 casings. This spot is close to a target practice area, and apparently in the middle of some hunting. Almost every foot, I find more trash. If Lead ever reaches $1600/oz, I've got a heck of a location.I'm trying to get a good feel for the sounds, and modes. Get a feel for the detector. I'm focused more on learning the machine correctly, instead of just wanting gold. Don't get me wrong, I won't complain if a large nugget finds it's way to me.How much junk are you guys finding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dqsantos Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Trav, where in Northern California are you. Your collection looks about like mine so far. I have had my detector for about 3 weeks.I can't believe some of the places I have found junk.For me getting to know the right kind of places to hunt is the hard part.I live in the Chico area but have gone up to Trinity county (where I grew up) and NE of here.We have even spent a day in Nevada and are planning to run to Nevada again next week.Good luck.David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Trav, where in Northern California are you. Your collection looks about like mine so far. I have had my detector for about 3 weeks.I'm down in Twentynine Palms. 2hrs East of L.A.I've had a tiny bit of luck every time I've been out... Until today. The more money I spend on the hobby, the less gold I seem to find. I don't have my own claim, and there are no major club claims in the immediate area (GPAA, etc.) The local club has a total of 8 claims, and I'll be joining them on there next meeting. Right now, I only have a 2wd car, so I am limited on the locations I can drive to. I am also trying to find places that I can frequent. I get off of work at 4, so I'd like to drive to the local spot, and get a good 1.5 hours of detecting in on an almost daily basis. So, that stops me from going to the "good" spots, except on weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benz Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 It doesn't matter what coil you use they will all find the same targets. However a DD lets you filter out some of the iron. If your digging thst much trash in a old gun range you best bet is to find a less trashy area. However digging all targets and digging lots of of targets is the best way to learrn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Am I safe in assuming that because gold and lead are so close in many properties, they will also sound alike? I've never had a detector that rings out like this 5000. I use detectors at work, including other minelabs. This gpx can find 1/20th gram of lead at 10",and it sounds like I've found 2 pounds of gold sitting in the surface! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 The junk is the price you have to pay to get the gold...if you want to know for certain then you must dig every signal-that can be tiresome!It appears that you are working in the midst of the target ranges...work the back sides of the hills and other places that are less shot into...If you are driving toward the dale district or toward the Joshua Tree Mon...you can hike into rough areas and maybe find some new patches...and maybe a meteorite...You might also only dig the soft, faint signals and bypass the loud ones- unfortunately, that means leaving the big bits behind too...fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 The junk is the price you have to pay to get the gold...if you want to know for certain then you must dig every signal-that can be tiresome!It appears that you are working in the midst of the target ranges...work the back sides of the hills and other places that are less shot into...If you are driving toward the dale district or toward the Joshua Tree Mon...you can hike into rough areas and maybe find some new patches...and maybe a meteorite...You might also only dig the soft, faint signals and bypass the loud ones- unfortunately, that means leaving the big bits behind too...fredNot having much luck finding a place without a claim on it. Once I can join the local club, options will open up. Until then, I'm researching for a place to go. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reno Chris Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Until then, I'm researching for a place to go. Any suggestions?Look at spots farther from LA. - So. Cal has far more prospectors than spots with decent gold. Its also home to decades of target practice by hunters and local gun enthusiasts. It takes lots of skill to find gold with a detector in a place like So. Cal. that has been hit so hard over the years - remember there have been hundreds of guys looking here before you. The few guys I know who do well down there hike for miles to get to spots you just can't reach by car. Places with limited trash and decent gold are normally a long way from any road and difficult to access. If they were easy to drive to, gun folks would be doing target practice there and you will be finding lead and brass everywhere.Also, you don't want to try to set your detector to drop out 22 bullets and casings, as you will be pretty much dropping out all the gold too. Its like saying you only want to detect nuggets of a quarter ounce and larger, and there might not be any of those where you are looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Your picture looks like a lot of my days over the years. Comes with the territory. Keep on digging the gold will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 The picture was just to make sure I wasn't far off of target. Would make no sense to pull a rooking mistake day after day, and not learning from it.Hiking for miles is not a problem. I'm just new to the area and prospecting in general. Still a long way to go in learning how to find a spot that may have gold. Hopefully your book will help me out Chris. Just ordered it 2 days ago.The spot I was on, As soon as I would dig some trash, fill my hole. I would sweep left 1x, then right 1x, and I would have found another piece of trash. The string of over 100 holes, looked more like a zig zag trench, becuase they were almost all touching! In 5 hours, I did one path, approx 300ft long. That might have something to do with why it is unclaimed. When I moved for the afternoon, the new spot had much less trash, but every hit was trash. So, I'll find another spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 You can shoot and own guns in Kalifornia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathray Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Just rub it in Adam!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNuggetBob Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Trav W I agree with FredIf your finding gold it may be because its so trashed, but you may want to concentrate on the backside of the hills from the road in that area. that area is heavily traveled and obviously very shot up.good luck to ya. AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 The Gpaa may have claims out there, the Southwestern Prospectors and Miners assoc has claims in the dale, as does the The Prospectors Club of Southern Calif...the entry fee and dues are low...WSPA has claims but it is a limited membership club with a waiting list....fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Trav W I agree with FredIf your finding gold it may be because its so trashed, but you may want to concentrate on the backside of the hills from the road in that area. that area is heavily traveled and obviously very shot up.good luck to ya. AzNuggetBobThe other preferable areas are claimed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 The Gpaa may have claims out there, the Southwestern Prospectors and Miners assoc has claims in the dale, as does the The Prospectors Club of Southern Calif...the entry fee and dues are low...WSPA has claims but it is a limited membership club with a waiting list....fred This was helpful information, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
way2cool Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 There has been some really nice gold found out there recently. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudloggeral Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 I think you need better ground. Try the Coolgardie and Randsburg areas. Coolgardie is heavily mineralized but relatively free of junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Are there any open spots in Coolgardie, or do I need to be a club member? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1dredger Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 My suggestion is grid, mark say 2 to 3 different 20 by 50 spots. Different areas of course. Clean everything loud you here quickly, then go over it again. Listening for faint targets. I not sure how you detect but if your roaming you may never find gold. Lead sounds a lot like gold so if you hear lead you'll hear gold. The reason I do this is if I hit lots of loud trash in a small area my hearing doesn't adjust as well to faint deep targets. Good luck, keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav W Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 My suggestion is grid, mark say 2 to 3 different 20 by 50 spots. Different areas of course. Clean everything loud you here quickly, then go over it again. Listening for faint targets. I not sure how you detect but if your roaming you may never find gold. Lead sounds a lot like gold so if you hear lead you'll hear gold. The reason I do this is if I hit lots of loud trash in a small area my hearing doesn't adjust as well to faint deep targets. Good luck, keep us posted.That's my plan once I find an area with any amount of gold. I have found none with the detector as of yet. There are a few clubs with claims locally. I just have not been able to become a member yet. The spots in looking in, I have no proof of color so far. I'm checking through washes that contain mineralization differences. Drastic color differences / highly mineralized areas. I'm sure I'm doing many vital signs but it's a learning process. I'll go back out after lunch, and focus on a 20x20, and so it several times until I find nothing more, and switch to another spot of I have time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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