Colorado Gold Fever

[jangles]

Hi all!
I'm a total newbie here and have been reading ya'lls posts for the last few days.
I've been beeping for a few years off and on with my classic IDX pro
I havn't found much, (to be honest I got bored picking up, pennies and long for the beach) my oldest coin was a 1900 indian head. I'm thinking about getting a gold detector (GMT maybe) and going up to the rivers in the mountains, what else do I need, like a pick ax or something? I have a probe and a digger tool and small army shovel. Are the rivers the best place to start? Also around the mines there are piles of talice (chipped rock) I'm not sure thats what it's called but are those good places to start
Also I keep reading about claims, what's the deal with nugget hunting, any problems as long as I'm not on private prop. or national park land? OK thanks for all the advice!
John
Ft Collins, CO

[Nitro 54]

You can't go wrong with the GMT. You will need a gold pan to help find them small signals easier. Tailing piles are a good way to find gold that got threw the mill. If you buy a GMT I recommend the video to go with it. You will learn more about the GMT in 1 hour watching the video than a dozen trips to the Field. Its a great prospecting tool with a short learning curve. Take a look at some of Ole Grubstakes finds with his GMT. The only draw back is you have to be in a area that has gold to start with.

[bakergeol]

Yes John I also own a GMT and highly recommend it. I also own a X-5 and GS5 for gold hunting. A big issue in Colorado is just the amount of private land out there. There are some local gold detecting clubs as well as the GPAA. Need to be detecting on some private land on the Leadville dumps. Wire and crystalline gold there is outstanding.


George

[jangles]

Thanks Nitro and George,
George you mention pvt land, what do you think about the rivers running along all the roads in the mountains like the poudre or coal creek for detecting w/o having to drive to Leadville? BTW what's wire and crystaline gold? I have an ATV and frequently find myself above treeline, think there's good hunting up high? Nitro why do I need a gold pan to find the small stuff, isn't that what the GMT does well? Hey, told you I was a newbie!
Thanks...John

[bakergeol]

Thanks Nitro and George,
George you mention pvt land, what do you think about the rivers running along all the roads in the mountains like the poudre or coal creek for detecting w/o having to drive to Leadville? BTW what's wire and crystaline gold? I have an ATV and frequently find myself above treeline, think there's good hunting up high? Nitro why do I need a gold pan to find the small stuff, isn't that what the GMT does well? Hey, told you I was a newbie!
Thanks...John

John
I am not going to tell you where not to go as newbies in the past have found excellent gold which old hands have overlooked. I would stick to areas which had produced gold. Use the winter to do research on gold producing areas you could visit in the spring. Also invest in a land ownership map of the area you are searching as you need to know where the private land is. BLM has these maps-even some ownership atlases can be found in bookstores. The USGS Rocky Mt map center at the Federal Center(off of Kipling) has these maps also. Here is some wire and crystalline gold from Leadville. Read his description as it contains good information.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gold-wire-leaf-c...QQcmdZViewItem


Good Luck
George