glabelle Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 I know nothing about prospecting. Just joined a local club which has a few claims. A friend of mine owns a cabin on Coffee Creek, Trinity County, California. I have a couple of pans and metal detectors. Finding metal, I know a little about. I have a Whites V3i and a TDI pulse machine. We'd like to take them out, detect and pan in the creek. But we don't know what the laws are about this kind of prospecting. What land, if any, is available to the public to pan or detect? Or, must one go to some government office and check for claims or lack of claims, ownership or public land before one can hunt anywhere? Or, must you always have a claim to do any hunting?Thanks,GeorgeAloha, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Soloman Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 I know nothing about prospecting. Just joined a local club which has a few claims. A friend of mine owns a cabin on Coffee Creek, Trinity County, California. I have a couple of pans and metal detectors. Finding metal, I know a little about. I have a Whites V3i and a TDI pulse machine. We'd like to take them out, detect and pan in the creek. But we don't know what the laws are about this kind of prospecting. What land, if any, is available to the public to pan or detect? Or, must one go to some government office and check for claims or lack of claims, ownership or public land before one can hunt anywhere? Or, must you always have a claim to do any hunting?Thanks,GeorgeAloha, OregonHi George, and welcome to gold prospecting! In your first line you said you had joined a local club - Bravo! This is one of the BEST ways to learn the answers to most of your "Greenhorn" questions. While there are usually "public" prospecting areas in many states, most do not allow motorized or electronic (metal detector) equipment - just hand tools and pans. Research your local area. Spend some time running down where gold has been found in your state with your local club members. Partner up on some digs or hunts with them and ease into this. You will find that as friendly and as helpful as gold prospectors are, they tend to be VERY protective of their "Honey Holes." I know there are quite a few folks here from your neck of the woods, and I am confident you'll get a lot of your questions answered right here as well but, get active with that local club! Can't wait to see the photos of your first finds! - Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notoriouskelly Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Hi George,Good to see you're looking to be productive Basics: You can use metal detectors on BLM and Forest Service land with the exception of Monuments, National Parks, Wilderness areas etc."Metal detecting is a recreational activity that people do to find coins, jewelry, and precious metals. Metal detecting is allowed on BLM lands as long as no artifacts are removed." http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/iac/metal_detecting.html"Metal detecting on the National Forests is recognized as a legitimate prospecting methodunder the General Mining Laws and also as a recreational activity for the casualcollection of rocks and minerals."PDF documentIf you're interested in artifacts, you can volunteer with the Forest Service :"Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service (FS). PIT volunteers work with professional FS archaeologists and historians on national forests throughout the U.S. on such diverse activities as archaeological survey and excavation, rock art restoration, survey, archival research, historic structure restoration, oral history gathering, and analysis and curation of artifacts. The FS professional staff of archaeologists and historians will be your hosts, guides, and co-workers."http://www.passportintime.com/I figure any regular BLM or Forest is okay, but anything special probably isn't.Best bet is to check in with the local office. I walked in to BLM/Forest Service office this morning here in Idaho Falls and paid $4 for a map of local area I want to detect.I told the lady why I was buying it and she asked about what interesting items I'd found.You can search GPAA forum for more info on determining claims:GPAA siteHave fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glabelle Posted May 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2011 Terrific and useful answer "Notorious". I did receive a club packet listing claims that I can now search on. I will still find out where/if there are claims in the other areas I'd like to go.Great to know the government hasn't taken away all our rights to use the "public" land as we prefer.GeorgeAloha, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldies1955 Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 George: Go for the inside bends of a creek. Try to find areas of exposed bedrock. Use the metal detector on them. Follow the cracks SLOWELY....Get to know your detector by practicing on test nuggets or lead. If your really ambitious....shovel the gravel (overburden) off of areas that are at the bottom of a shoot....long narrow area. Then detect it. Make a gas powered vacuum.IE: Weed blower inverted into a can. Get some screw drivers, heat them up on the end and bend them to a hook. Grind them down to a semi point. Dig, scratch, break apart, destroy, the cracks in bedrock and suck them out with the vacuum. Pry bars are a good thing. Pan that stuff out later at your leisure.Just be persistant.Keep at it...it takes time. Kind of like fishing.Good luck and enjoy the HOBBY! Gum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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