The Grizzly Sluice III vs The Bazooka Gold Trap

H&F909ORO

Sr. Member
Dec 26, 2013
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California East Bay
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Any word from KevinInColorado you should take as gold advice. I'm guessing he would say the bazooka gold trap. But I will wait to hear what he has to say. He knows best when in comes to bazookas.
 

KevinInColorado

Gold Member
Jan 9, 2012
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Summit County, Colorado
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Any word from KevinInColorado you should take as gold advice. I'm guessing he would say the bazooka gold trap. But I will wait to hear what he has to say. He knows best when in comes to bazookas.
thanks for the kudos Oro!

My wife looked over my shoulder as I refreshed my memory watching the video on the sluice...she said "you gotta be kidding me!" As she saw the guy bailing water into the sluice. What a waste of time and energy! That thing is just not up to snuff in so many ways I don't know where to start. Bailing water? Surges of water thru the lower box (gonna blow out fine gold for sure)? Tiny pice of crappy carpet? Rapidly growing tailings pile which will quickly overwhelm the sluice? Heavy? OMG, stop me now and just go get a Bazooka...or a drop riffle or even an old school Hungarian riffle style for that matter would be better than this!

Sorry I'm usually a positive guy and a good sport but this is just something that looks fancy to trick people out of their money.
 

rodoconnor

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Mar 4, 2012
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Anytime that you are having to bail water into equipment or feed it with a spoon ,you just do not have any sort of production. You've got to move material.
 

Notsuredomus

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Aug 12, 2012
107
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Classic Hill Mine, Siskiyou County
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I have used the Bazooka sluice since last year and ran a lot of material with it. I panned the tailing constantly when I first started to use it. I even set up another sluice just down stream from it once to try to fault it but never found any missed specks of gold. I have never used the Grizzly Sluice III so I can not attest to its performance. I know the Bazooka requires a good volume and velocity of water to work properly. So I plan to fill the gap in my gear with a LeTrap. I used one of them and they catch the small gold and require very little water to work.
 

Notsuredomus

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Aug 12, 2012
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Classic Hill Mine, Siskiyou County
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lol Kevin. Sometimes telling the truth requires us to be negative.
 

Lanny in AB

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Apr 2, 2003
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Tunnel Rat;

I watched the Youtube video and the Grizzly III will work, as it's working in some ways like a rocker box used to work, but without the rocking action. In fact, the whole design reminded me of the similar design of an old school rocker, but with modern construction for lightness to facilitate transportation, with diamond expanded screen to create multiple small vortices, and with a grizzly that's hinged for dumping. Furthermore, the collection tray with the hinged snaps is an advantage of modern fabrication as well, as is the screen under the grizzly.

I'm a little confused that they didn't show the operator, after he'd removed the carpet, running water over the bottom tray to wash out every bit of material that usually gets trapped under the carpet, tight against the tray. In my situation, whether using a stream sluice, high-banker, or a surface suction sluice (Triple-S mining, formerly known as dredging), I've often recovered gold from under the carpet, gold left on the tray. Perhaps though, with the small amount of water (and force of water) used to process the limited material during the day, there's not enough dirt moved to allow any buildup under the carpet, but there's usually some gold right where the top of the mat rests, if not lodged slightly under that lip.

But, for those of you that high-bank, Triple-S mine, or use in-stream sluices, I'd always rinse that tray spotlessly clean after I'd pulled the carpet or miner's moss. As an added visual bonus on the specific gravity of gold, any gold on that tray will move very slowly as you rinse water through the tray. The process lets you see just how lazy gold is as it resists the water's force and moves sluggishly down the tray from top to bottom.

Back to the original topic, dipping all of that water is definitely a time consuming process, and it would take much longer to process significant amounts of material on any given day. However, just like using a rocker, you'd be able to process far more in a day than you'd be able to do with a pan.

For people that only want to move a smaller amount of material in the day, I think it's a perfect fit.

Having said that, I can see how the Grizzly III, coupled with a gentle side to side action while using the dipped water, would catch the fine gold well.

So, your decision is whether to go slow and catch fine gold, or to work faster, processing more material, knowing you'll lose some flour gold with an in-stream sluice.

All the best,

Lanny

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/69-bedrock-gold-mysteries.html
 

N-Lionberger

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Dec 1, 2013
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Arcata, California
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If you have nothing but a puddle to work with a rocker box can be quite handy.
 

Skiddum

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Jan 29, 2015
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Utah
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I got mine just recently. and after a few tricks from the owner of bear bottom mining. using a syphon off the river I love this sluice. it captured things that are just bearly able to see with my loop. I need a better 1. I've got a 40 but I wanna get the 60×120. but anyway I just was playing in the yard. I live on the flats in utah. the land where the big lake used to be. it comes down off the mountain and is flat for awhile then drops off big time. but anyway. I was just playing around digging in my yard tell I hit. Hard Pan it's not bed rock but the rocks and the dirt that the minerals have packed so hard you need a jackhammer to get through it. but I tried for a few minutes got a tiny little hole through it and I actually found some running the Grizzly. I was just Dinkin around honestly. but I used the hose off the house and yeah it worked out great. very easy to clean to. cause the corrugated steel is welded in so you lift it up slide out the mat, wash it then wash the metal. very happy I got this guy. I can't wait to take it up. already talked to the rangers they say its fine to so yay.
 

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Skiddum

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Jan 29, 2015
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also the way it's set up it doesn't work like a normal rocker box. you'll flood the grizzly screen before you flood the riffles. I tried. everything from the hose to 3 buckets dumping them on it. and the water flow stayed steady down the tray but flooded the heck out of the grizzly. it's nicely set up the Hydraulics of it are great. but still going to use the bazooka where I can :)
 

Apr 27, 2015
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Bazooka For The Win!

Going for very fine gold, which of the two sluices would you prefer and why? I'm a nubie and like both of these but for different reasons. I need some input in picking the best one. Which do you think will gather the most flour gold?

The Bazooka hands down!
I got the Miner 36" and it is Amazing!
Just dump your pay dirt into the Bazooka and the water does the rest!
No more classifying be hand!
It increases overall production which in turn means more gold at the end of the day!

P.S. If you find a one foot dam, and cut out for the height of the sluice(Bazooka) for the water pressure.
Get it angled between 8, and 12 degrees, and the sluice will run flawlessly.
I kid you not, I got it kicking out medium boulders half the width of the sluice.
Remember, make sure the water height is a maximum of 2/3rds up from the slick plate, Make sure your water pressure goes past the grizzly bars(this will help you determine your pitch "sweet spot"), and last but not least, if small rounded rocks get caught on the grizzly bars, investigate it! The smaller the rounded stone the more likely it is ore of some kind(Gold maybe?). Good luck! Happy Hunting!
 

jcazgoldchaser

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May 8, 2012
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Going for very fine gold, which of the two sluices would you prefer and why? I'm a nubie and like both of these but for different reasons. I need some input in picking the best one. Which do you think will gather the most flour gold?
You're asking about 2 different things. One needs moving water, a lot. The other not so much.

If you have moving water, you need to move material... a sluice. Bazooka, pricey cry once sort of thing lets you shovel, shovel, shovel. Drop ripple like Angus Mackirk or LeTrap in combination with a homemade grizzly gets you moving for less.

If you don't have moving water, I still wouldn't go with the GSIII. You could make bucket grizzlys and classify to pan way faster than that.


If you're looking rocker, compare that GSIII to
 

kayakpat

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Mar 31, 2013
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I think I would prefer the bazooka, easier to use, and to carry ,it is lighter, I am kinda sorry I got a regular sluice first.
 

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