How to snip for gold

Slingshot

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Apr 3, 2004
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Very instructional, thanks for sharing!
 

delnorter

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Oct 28, 2008
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Great video post of sniping Gary. Do you have any wisdom to share on wet-suites and snorkels for sniping?

Thanks,
Mike
 

Timberdoodle

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Oct 17, 2012
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Great job on both the sniping and the crevicing video's Gary. They are some of the best instructional video's on prospecting I have ever seen and I highly recommend them.
 

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paydirt1850

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Jun 6, 2015
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delnorter

I have always used a 3mm farmer john wet suit, unless the water is real cold. With the farmer john you get 2 layers over your body that will keep you warm. With only 3 mils on your arms and legs you can mover around with ease. If it gets to warm you can wear just the top or bottom. In the real cold water I use a 6.5 mil farmer john with a attached hood. The problem I have with the thick suit is it tires me out after a while to just move around. Getting in and out of it is a job, as soon as I can I change over to the thinner suit. I'm going to be little help with the snorkel, I wore out my old one this year and can not find a good snorkel with no purge and a flexible mouth piece.

I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback!
 

joncutt87

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Nov 2, 2014
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I would like to see a video on how to "read" a river. I think that it would help out a lot of us new guys. Maybe starting with a map, zeroing in on an area; and then looking at the same spot on the actual river identifying possible traps.
 

SchoolOfHardRocks

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Apr 30, 2014
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Great video man! I just started sniping on the north fork American this year and love it. It has been the easiest, most profitable, interesting, and fun form of prospecting that I have tried. I love it. Thanks for sharing the informative video.Usually I don't like when people speak in there videos but you seem to know what you are talking about and your results confirm that.
 

delnorter

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Oct 28, 2008
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It's funny you posted this the day after we went panning Jeff. I just recently received my Tribord Easybreathe Mask from abroad. Haven't tried it yet but hope to before the water cools down too much. It seems to fit real well and a great viewing area. No mouth piece, you can breathe easily through mouth and or nose.

I'll post about it again after using it.

Mike
 

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paydirt1850

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Jun 6, 2015
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joncutt87;

I like the idea of a video on how to read the river. I have been at the coast fishing for the last month. Will be going home next weekend. If the weather hold I might be able to do one. It will take a fair amount of time to do it. There is a lot to cover on that subject. Thanks for the suggestion.
 

richter

Greenie
Apr 16, 2013
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Nice but I think Tom Massey did this already in the same spot......
 

northern_sierras

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May 28, 2013
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DSCF4443.JPG

From my experience this summer with the rivers and streams so low its been more productive to work the land crevices just because you can clear them out faster and easier than in the water. I know sniping is good for some situations, but working dry crevices in remote areas with a lot of exposed bedrock tends to be more productive. I got this last week from a single crack in a remote area of plumas county.
 

timberjack

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Sep 29, 2013
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New Hampshire
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Thanks for taking the time to put out these films. They are a huge help to poeple like me that learn better by seeing than by reading. Thats some spectacular country your working in. I have to say i love the vid with the big winch lifting the boulders out of the river with the pole derick. If you have a minute could you elaborate on how you anchored the winch and give a little back story of that opperation. Seems like getting the winch in there, setting it up along with the deric must have been a monumental undertaking. What was gold paying an ounce at the time? And did that opp. Pay off? I am truely saddened at the legal mess we find ourselves in the mining community in. How many jobs and how much wealth were created by that one opp? As a logger im awaware of the trickel down jobs i create, gold mining in the day must have been somewhat simmilar. Thank you!
 

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paydirt1850

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Jun 6, 2015
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timberjack;

Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm at the coast fishing right now ( been here for 5 wonderful weeks). When I get home I will post a short history of that summer's mining. I think it was in the late 90's. I have a bad habit of keeping good notes on everything. I will include how we moved the equipment in and out. Setup wasn't bad I think we had every thing going in 2 days. I will have to check my notes on how much gold we found. I will be heading home Sunday. I will let you know when I post it.
 

NeoTokyo

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Aug 27, 2012
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Thanks for sharing your video's, I subscribed to you on my YT Channel so I know when you get new video's out. :)

Bring me along with you next year and I will give ya a couple of my sniping bottles. :D
 

Anduril

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Aug 31, 2015
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Looks good.
The only thing I would add is maybe a small First Aid kit.
Not having done this activity (yet), I can see where one wrong mis-step could cause an ugly situation...

Also, a wetsuit floats (a few pounds positive).
For scuba, one would counteract this with a weight belt, but I guess that's a non-starter if you have to hike in with one.
Rather than constantly fight the current (which weights probably wouldn't help all that much?), I might try to rig up a lightweight positioning belt of some sort. Tie off to some nearby rocks. (With a safety quick-release, of course.) Just a thought.
 

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