Suggestions in essential equipment

[StevenHavillJr]

I am looking for a list of equipment that is good/essential to have for most of California's terrain.

What I own is the simple stuff
Gold pans by Garret
plenty of buckets
Snuffer bottles
few classifiers
rock hammer/pick
some crevicing tools
Keene sluice

I am looking for advice on how I could progress in upping my arsenal, not restricting to just California either.

 

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[Goldwasher]

You have all you need. Maybe an upgrade to a Bazooka instead of a keene. A good pack to carry stuff.You should focus on your book work learning about geology and how do discern land status.That will be helpful if your going to venture past the ldma/gpaa claims

 

[StevenHavillJr]

You have all you need. Maybe an upgrade to a Bazooka instead of a keene. A good pack to carry stuff.You should focus on your book work learning about geology and how do discern land status.That will be helpful if your going to venture past the ldma/gpaa claims

I was sort of picturing getting a dry washer, folks were thinking of going to Arizona sometime, not sure where and what I am doing by then, but gold mining is something that sure strikes me, however the price of a dry washer is a tad expensive and isn't used everywhere, so I was thinking a high banker with recirculating water.

 

[MadMarshall]

Edited because GW said pretty much the same thing....

Ill just add let the gold dictate the tools..

 

[Terry Soloman]

Stay with what you have for a while. Join a club and get a claim under you that actually has some gold on it. Good Luck!

 

[StevenHavillJr]

Edited because GW said pretty much the same thing....

Ill just add let the gold dictate the tools..

Sure, but it would be nice to have it before hand wouldn't it?

Stay with what you have for a while. Join a club and get a claim under you that actually has some gold on it. Good Luck!

Yeah I am trying to figure out where a good claim is atm.

 

[Goldwasher]

You need to find it before you move volume. You have everything you need to find it

 

[Peyton Manning]

cooler full of iced beer

 

[rodoconnor]

Tylenol

 

[Hamfist]

A decent, lightweight monocular.

 

[goldenIrishman]

You've got the basics already in hand. Your next step should be to join a club to learn how to get the best use out of it. This will give you access to claims as well as people with much more experience to learn from. While you're learning from the other club members, start to study up on your own as well. Things like determining land status, map reading, geology, etc will never go to waste when it come to mining.

For learning land status, you can go to MyLandMatters which is linked in my signature below. Learning to use the maps there isn't hard to do at all and there are a LOT of different maps available for free.

For map reading and land navigation they also have a PDF version of the Army training manual you can download. Go to the library section and search for FM 21-26 This is THE book on land nav in my opinion and when combined with a good compass and a couple of maps can teach you all you'll ever need to know. After all, if you can't get to the area you can't find the gold. GPS is fine but if you ever plan on getting a claim of your own, you'll need to know map reading as well as the Public Land Survey System. (PLSS) The PLSS is actually very easy to learn and Clay has some training aids to help you on the land Matters site. If you need any help in learning the site and how to use it to your advantage in prospecting and mining, feel free to contact me any time.

There are also several sites on the web that you can learn the basics of geology from. I've got a bunch of them bookmarked but they're on another computer.

Remember to ask questions even if they seem dumb. The only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask. The folks here are usually ready and willing to help out.

 

[ratled]

The 2001 FM for land nav on Free PDF
http://www.mapywig.org/m_documents/EN/FM_3-25x26_MAP_READING_AND_LAND_NAVIGATION_2001.pdf

ratled

 

[et1955]

Forgot on thing a #2 shovel

 

[goldenIrishman]

The 2001 FM for land nav on Free PDF
http://www.mapywig.org/m_documents/EN/FM_3-25x26_MAP_READING_AND_LAND_NAVIGATION_2001.pdf

ratled

Looks like they didn't do much more than change the cover.... Again.

 

[Helipilot]

What is so different about the Bazooks vs the Keene? Educate me please

 

[StevenHavillJr]

What is so different about the Bazooks vs the Keene? Educate me please

It's because the bazooka is a 'trap' system.. supposedly it holds more gold while being smaller/lighter than a traditional sluice. To be honest both methods to me are the same, though a sluice can be used in multiple platforms, like dredging or floating dredge. The bazooka is a nice idea, however there isn't really anything that sells me on it rather than I already havea sluice no need for another currently when the one I have seems to work fine.

 

[Jimmydolittle]

With the Bazooka, you don't need to classify, that's an item not needed when packing in, unlike a Keene. https://youtu.be/eSPokjH8Sj4

 

[goldenIrishman]

I was sort of picturing getting a dry washer, folks were thinking of going to Arizona sometime, not sure where and what I am doing by then, but gold mining is something that sure strikes me, however the price of a dry washer is a tad expensive and isn't used everywhere, so I was thinking a high banker with recirculating water.

Actually Steve, a drywasher can be used anywhere that the ground is good and dry. I've seen them used from Washington state south. A recirc system in the desert is not an easy way to go. You have to haul the water to use with it into the site and that's not always an easy thing to do. You'll need barrels to haul the water in with and those suckers get HEAVY!!!! I used to do it that way but now I detect and drywash BEFORE I consider bringing in the recirc system.

One thing I haven't noticed in/on your list is a good first-aid kit as well as at least basic survival gear. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!

 

[KevinInColorado]

But don't go buy a drywasher now. Get experience using them via fellow club members to see if you enjoy dry washing (some don't). Also learn more about the various types and sizes, lots of choices!

 

[Goldwasher]

What is so different about the Bazooks vs the Keene? Educate me please

No classifying. Catches finer gold...runs more material.