srferjo714 Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Second weekend out with my new SD2200 and just like last weekend all I got for 7 hours was brass and lead. Hunted a new place near Perris ca with lot of mines. I worked every trailing pile, wash and what ever else I could find. and then to top it all off it started to rain. Maybe someone could tell me what I am doing wrong? Thanks Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Ron. 2 whole weeks without a nugget? Gosh I went nearly a year when I first started with only bullets and nails to show for it. If it was easy nobody would punch a time clock, but just go out and play for a few hours a day with their detector. There are so many things to learn , you would be amazed. First of all there is lots of gold out there, but very little in nugget form. It takes a very special place where gold is large enough to detect , within range of the detector, not already been removed, not covered by trash, not covered by landslides, brush, boulders, private property, mining claims, pavement, water, several feet of pine needles etc. Now figure that it's been said that less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the earths surface produces gold. That means that 99.9% of the earths surface has no detectable gold. Now you live in one of the richest gold areas on earth so your odds improve quite a bit. Possibly 5 % of California has potential. It's obvious that you have to narrow this down a little. Buy every book you can get your hands on that describe how and where to try. Dig into the archives of the prospecting forums. And probably your fastest track is to find someone who has detected some nuggets to give you some pointers. Learn some basic geology. Then there is the new tool, the detector. It has a language you need to learn. It's not as simple as turning it on , waving it around and waiting for the unmistakable sound of a gold nugget. It will beep and you will dig a huge hole and find nothing there. It will make funny confusing sounds. it's telling you something but you have to decipher exactly what it's saying. You have to learn something from every hole you dig. If you persist and stick with it, the lightbulb will come on. After the first nugget you won't want to do anything else. You will forget the frustrations that come with the learning curve. You will wonder why it seemed so frustrating. The pressure will be off and you can relax and enjoy every outing and you'll be on your way. Cheer up !! It really is worth it. We've all been there.----Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 OMG dude, Its ok ! SLOOOW down .... It took me 13 months to find my first. Some get lucky , or have a friend that puts them on the gold the first time out, but if you are tackling this hobby on your own there is alot (ton) to learn. Most all of the learning curve comes with time in the field with your detector. Your 2200 can do things that you are not even aware of yet or have utilized to this day.Montana gave you some great advice...The only thing I would say is (as a beginer) that you shouldnt worry about hunting tailing piles & washes. Right now you should just stick to exposed bedrock in creeks throughout the areas that you should be studying up on. that should get you on the gold the quickest. Dig the faintest of targets (not just the loud boomers)...you`ll be fine if you stick with it...good luck out there.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srferjo714 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Trust me I dig the faintest of targets and I have found lead in deep holes. I will be going to see Rob in March for some instruction. But until then I am on my own. Guess I need a trip to Yucca Valley or Blythe and work some bedrock. Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 It took me 14 humbling months to find my first piece of gold. Like you, I thought I was going to go out there the first day and fill my pockets with gold then I could quit my job and never have a financial concern again in my life. Reality set in slowly and then determination took over. Patience and Persistance is what it takes to succeed. Like Montana said, "It is worth it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigDeep Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I am also here in So Cal, kinda near Perris. There is gold here in So Cal just take alot of time and patients. I think I filled two 5 gallon buckets with trash, along with bed frames and car frame pieces down 3-4 feet before I got my first nugget. Once you start finding nuggets they just seem to get easier and easier to find (well sometimes).Keep at it you'll get your share.DigDeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuggetslayer Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Research areas. Man I can't say that enough. I found a nugget the second time I went out with my Minelab. LuckyLundy and I spent hours on top of hours on the computer walking miles on top of miles in the hills. The best saying in the whole world is "Look for gold where gold has already been found". LuckyLundy has been a prospector for about as many years as I am old. He took me under his wing and we started out him teaching me how to pan. From there the sluice box and then the dredge. I got many of books that he gave me to read and study. I was out in the field with him most weekends during the summer but we always found gold and it always kept my intrest which is important. Then we started this new venture together nugget hunting with the minelab detectors. The point of my story is Lucky formed me into a prospector and taught me everything I know. It sure helps when someone else already made mistakes or found easier ways to do things so you don't have too. If your not having any luck try to hook up with somebody to show you how they are finding gold or just keep trying to find that first patch its out there. But I hope you find some good gold its not fun to get skunked don't get burned out and dig every target if your where they found gold there is more there nobody finds all of it. Good luck out there and may the gold gods bless you on your next trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 It took me seven years to find my first detected nugget--But I have to confess that I was dredging and crevass sniping and finding a few ounces a month, so I didn't pull out the detector very often over those seven years...That was in N. CA in the Klamath Mtns....Me and my mining buddies thought metal detectorists were pussies.... I didn't find my first detected nugget until we moved to wickenburg, AZ...Then it took me about a month of hunting and then things just sorta took off...My second day at LSD I found my first AZ nugget...Still have that bad boy: See Pic below...2.5 DWT....Keep the faith and have persistance...Cheers, Yer Unc in the Dubyah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Second weekend out with my new SD2200 and just like last weekend all I got for 7 hours was brass and lead. Hunted a new place near Perris ca with lot of mines. I worked every trailing pile, wash and what ever else I could find. and then to top it all off it started to rain. Maybe someone could tell me what I am doing wrong? Thanks RonHello; Srferjo714...You have to read what guys on the forum are saying. They know what there writing about. You are going to dig up a lot of trash and spend much more time out there before your first nugget comes threw...You have to pay your dues like everyone else. Some people are well off enough to buy a new GPX4500, but you cant just find your first nugget day one just because your swinging a Minelab around. You have a learning curve on your SD2200 machine to master, proper ground balancing, and a host of other technics to master as well. Also; you have to read the ground you are on and around you, if you have no one to help you in the field its' really going to be slow doing it solo! If a club or a friend is around hook up with them and learn the trade...I know of a fellow detectorists that took a year as well to find his first nugget. I was very lucky when I found mine in 45 days...but that is VERY RARE...it took a year after that to find another one so my experience was front end loaded. Your Gold nugget is waiting for you' but it wont tell you where he's at! I do guarantee you won't forget that day when it comes! My first gold nugget in the picture. Guido... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Holy Kamoly, Guido...That's one hell of a first or 2,001st nugget...What's it weigh and what's the story...Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotrock mike Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Jonathan Porter had a good article in january's mining journal titled Growing pains of the learning curve. He hits it on the head about the difficulty involved in the process at finding your first gold. Gold only comes to those who are patient and persistent and willing to put in the work for it and even when you get good at it it's hard work. Be sure you're willing to do the work before you find that first one though because then you'll be hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Holy Kamoly, Guido...That's one hell of a first or 2,001st nugget...What's it weigh and what's the story...Cheers, UncHey Uncle Ron...hows it going? Yes...it's true...NO BS...it's my first gold nugget. I found it near Constellation near Wickenburg. It was 1997 and I was brand new into prospecting stationed at Luke AFB AZ and bought a Tesoro Micro max Diablo II from Arizona Al's and after working a mining area and coming up with nothing I saw another mine in the distance and decided to follow this drywash to get to it. The wash had blacksand, copper ore, all kinds of colors. As I was detecting going down the wash and was finding the usual crap...there was more debris than normal since the wash I was at was coming from another mine upstream. Well the Tesoro started screaming at me; thinking to myself...now what! more can pieces....I started digging in the drywash sand and the bedrock was only 8" down. As I scooped up the sand and took it to the coil it finally went off. I pulled the object out and it was a little wet and the sand stuck to it. I was say to myself, S&^$ whats is this crap, Now I got to contend with this too! I rubbed it on my pant leg and it took me 10 to 15 seconds to figure out what I had in my hand then I raised my arms up in a Bear Claw salute (a popular aircraft fighter salute) and gave out a loud yell off the top of my lungs!!! It weighed out to 44 grams...Unfortunately gold was doing less than $200 dollars spot. But I will NEVER forget that day! I went back and worked that wash over for a year and could not come up with any more gold! I went back with a SD2000...nothing, I tried a SD2100, but only for a day and still nothing...there is so much trash in the wash it's was killing me. I do want to go back with the GP 3500/Goldstalker coil and give it another try one day. I found a drop off up stream from the spot where I found the nugget and bedrock was 3 to 4 feet down and I took off a layer at a time off and still nothing! Lone Wolf Nugget...that was the name I gave it. Still doesn't make any sense; their should be more out there, maybe one day you can help me out. Guido... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Ron. There you have it. Some of the best nugget hunters around went a year or more without a nugget. It isn't unusual. 2 weekends is nothing. After you get the hang of it you will look back and realize that most of the places you have tried had no chance of giving up a nugget. You have to learn where nuggets can concentrate within 3 feet of the surface. Some places have shallow nuggets on the hillsides, others in the creekbeds, and still others on flats. Each area is different.----Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whats4supper Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 skeptics---- usually the wife. mine told me that "some people are destined to find gold and treasure, while others are just destined to dig holes. Guess which one you are..." I have found a few teasers, bullets, hobnails, and even body parts, and threw away a lot of meteorites for not knowing better. One is you'll never know until you dig the target. two is that gold nuggets, other than weight, are the same color as any other dirty rock or clod, and some people actually discard the gold as being junk, because in its 'found' state, looks like any other junk that's been buried for eons. some people find a big clunker right off the bat, and then get discouraged when they cannot find more that size and have to 'work for a living' to find the next small dink.Detectorists, to be successfull, has to keep up the blind faith to keep going on, and checking out every target, because detectable gold is of a size that is not all that plentiful in nature, while small gold that is usually recovered in a sluice, dredge, and drywasher, while being more plentiful, is not usually of a size that would allow detector recovery. There is always the challenge of correct tuning, ground conditions and background mineral cancellation, hearing and tones from the detector (use quality headphones usually above and beyond stereo ranges; sometimes with an amplifier), as well as coil and detector depth horizons. regardless of what you dig up, take it all home, clean it up and look at what you have, and research some of it if possible- you may discover that you have treasure and didn't recognize it out in the field.then there is the detector quirk of not 'seeing' detectable objects when approached in certain directions. be sure to swing with overlaps, and if finding something of value, go back over the ground from a different direction to find other targets. this is true in nugget shooters and well as coin or cache shooters.have an array of coils. usually, larger coils penetrate deeper, but miss smaller/small targets, while smaller coils work better in trashy areas, and find relatively shallow objects. LF detectors like the gold bug allow versatile recovery, but are very sensitive to iron and alloys, while the more expensive PI has less 'wander' in high mineral ground, and are very sensitive to natural gold that the LF would miss.Detecting is a mind game, and requires physical and mental stamina, and usually quite a bit of sweat. which means, eat stuff that keeps the energy up, prayers that keep the spirit going, and get into a 'karma' that allows you to ramp up for the experience. for some, it may be a beer or two to get mellow, while others use the natural high from being in nature. and besides all that, make sure your digging equipment is right for the job.Luckily, you don't have my hit and miss charter to follow you around. No, we all have the likes of Montana, and Uncle Ron, Reno Chris, Rob, Chris Golson as our 'go devils'; those who have taken their expertise and prowess to the 'supreme commander' level. and they're all here offering a hand up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yo Guido...I don't know if you remember but you emailed me about finding that nugget probably 7 or 8 years ago...It put me on a search in that area for several weeks without any success, unless you call digging a quarter ton of rusty crap success....That area still looks like it has some potential...In one of those little tribs in the area there's an old drift that was the home to a mountain lion when I was beeping...Lots of cat tracks going in and out...Lots of old hand stacks and such, and rich red dirt on the hill side, but I couldn't concentrate 'cause the hairs on the back of my neck kept standing up...That is some seriously tough ground when you get out of the main wash....Thanks for reminding me about that place...WTG...Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srferjo714 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks guys for all the help I will take all the advice I can get. I had the same thing happen when I started fishing bass tournaments. I could not even get into the top fifty my first year. As I said I will be heading to Az in March for a day with Rob this should give me a kick start. I am looking forward to hunting from Blythe to Yuma this summer but I will pass on aug and sept, the humidity will kill you. Also making some new friends along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLundy Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Srferio,You put it in simple terms...bass fishing and nugget hunting. In my younger days you'd find me with a fishing rod and some sort of prospecting tool in hand. Bring your bass boat with you on your training trip to Arizona. One spot, I'd did both fish and prospect was Lake Alamo. Now this is going back a few years, but back then you'd catch a hundred bass a day. If you can imagine getting burned out of fishing like that. My fishing buddies would drop me off on likely looking washes I'd pick out or one of my favorite washes, and I'd prospect them till dark they'd pick me up and boat back to camp. They thought I was nuts giving up 100 bass days for a penny weight of course gold. Wish they had Minelabs back in those days. I'm sure someone can give you a fishing report and maybe a gold update on this area...Ted Williams River?LuckyLundy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srferjo714 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I never thought about hunting there. I fished more bass tournaments there then I could count. Guess I am heading back this time with my detector. I will need to make room in one of the boxes for the detector. Who needs a life vest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmaks Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Guess I have a lot to learn about detecting. As I start this spring, I did not realize I would so much paitients. I do like challenges so I am all for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whats4supper Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 To repeat myself from an ages old post, another option is to look at ponds and lakes, beaches, etc., where latinos wade in (no offense). if you notice, or take time to, a lot of latinos aren't particularly great swimmers, but they do wear a lot of gold chains, medallas, jewelry, and alot of them wading in come out wet and somewhat lighter from gold that slides off in the water. check out the areas at low water, or set up a rig to go in and scoop up sounding sites. hey, not all gold is the nugget kind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Bass fishing is like detecting. If you have the patience to learn what turns a bass on no matter what the weather, you have the patience to learn detecting and it may take just as long.---Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srferjo714 Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I spent 35 years learning about bass from my dad and the old timers of the sport. Now I am looking forward to the same thing with nugget hunting. And I know that this is the right forum to learn. Thanks to all you guys for your help and have some patience with me as I learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Horse Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hey there, I have a question for Ron. It may seem silly... but if you have on a full head of gear and you looking down or digging, how do you avoid the critters? Especially the ones with large paws and big teeth. It has always been in the back of my mind.Thanks Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srferjo714 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Only wear the head gear if it is windy out. I run a gold screamer with an ext speaker and the pocket rocket system. But after years of hunting birds you get a feeling when you are being watched by things with teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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