Gold Bug Pro Effective Depth ???

[socalal99]

Does anyone know how deep a GBPro can detect small gold nuggets?

 

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[trinityau]

Hello socalal99, if you check out many of my previous posts and replies some might answer your questions on the GB Pro based on my experiences. I have found sub-grainers sometimes at two to three inches in moderate to hot ground. I have found five and six grainers a bit deeper in the same ground. On the other end of the spectrum I have found three and four pennyweight pieces at almost a foot, a few deeper. Hope this helps, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[Hoser John]

Like every detector ever made the coil configuration and size determines what it can, or cannot do. As a general rule of thumb the bigger coils and DD go deeper but have less sensitivity usually. Smallest coils fantastic on tiny gold but you give up some depth then. Apples/oranges-John

 

[AzViper]

Ray when using the GBP at the beginning you were mainly against stepping up to the 5x10 elliptical coil. Now that your using the elliptical coil as your first choice what percentage of time do you go back to the 5 inch coil and why? I have read that you have mentioned the tip is very sensitive. I am looking at purchasing the elliptical coil.

 

[trinityau]

Hello AzViper, I have gone to using the ten inch eliptical coil all the time now. I have even talked to a few people at Fisher about making it the stock coil. I only use the five inch if something is wrong with the ten inch. Many more people would probably purchase the GB Pro with the ten than with the five. By the way, my statements above are for the five inch coil. The ten is a far better coil. I have two good friends that started out detecting for gold, I got them started with the GB Pro. Both have had some fantastic finds in the last year. They wish not to put their gold out for others to see and I respect that. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[Maxlfty]

Ray I have a question. You suggest in some earlier posts that switching coils would be like having to re learn a new machine. Do you suggest I stay with the little coil? Or is the dd elliptical coil worth the learning curve?

 

[trinityau]

Hello Maxlfty, I would get the ten inch right off the bat and start learning it's characteristics. It is a great coil and I think I mentioned somewhere that I feel this should be the stock coil. I actually go along with Fred Mason, in that when a person buys a gold detector they should be able to buy it with the coil of choice, makes sense to me. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[Goldwasher]

Yea, its a bummer that the only way to get the 10" is as an accessory coil. That's the set up I want.

 

[IMPDLN]

I myself wish they made a small elliptical like the small GB2 coil. I think the GBP would really shine for the small crumbs then. Maybe even better than a GB2. Dennis

 

[GreyGhost]

I recently got the new 10" DD coil for my GBP. It was on sale at Kellyco. Still getting used to using it. I haven't used an elliptical coil in awhile so I've gotta relearn it's characteristics. Been digging .22 slugs and iron trash a little deeper than I did with the 5" round coil (no gold yet tho).

 

[AzViper]

My son owed me some $$$ and he had the funds in his PayPal account. I have a Fisher 5"x10" coil on the way from KellyCo. So I will be ready the next time my friend Clay Diggins invites me up to play in the Stanton, Arizona area. Would have love to go to Big Bubba's dig this weekend but will be in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

 

[kengold]

I have just joined the forum and am enjoying reading all the excellent advice especially about goldbugs. One thing I do not understand fully is the advice given to run the Goldbug pro with the gain at 11 o'clock position. I experimented with a tiny gold flake using the gain at full setting-ie about 6.30pm but the threshold just sounding and the flake came through much louder at full gain. What is the advantage of running at 11 o'clock position Which the owners manual also advises to start off with)?

 

[Goldwasher]

air test means nothing....when you are on the ground its a whole different matter.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

I have just joined the forum and am enjoying reading all the excellent advice especially about goldbugs. One thing I do not understand fully is the advice given to run the Goldbug pro with the gain at 11 o'clock position. I experimented with a tiny gold flake using the gain at full setting-ie about 6.30pm but the threshold just sounding and the flake came through much louder at full gain. What is the advantage of running at 11 o'clock position Which the owners manual also advises to start off with)?

In areas with no electrical interference and low mineralization you can use full gain for best depth. If you have electrical interference reducing gain can reduce the interference. High mineral ground will be very noisy at high gain settings, and new users are advised to use "safer" lower gain settings. As your expertise increases and you are able to discern ground noise from actual target sounds you can use higher gain levels effectively.

Suffice it to say that in all but rare cases you will dig nuggets at depths measured in inches (less than a foot) with a Gold Bug Pro. Nuggets would generally have to be over 1/4 oz in weight to be hit at depths exceeding a foot, and even then the ground conditions would need to be favorable.

I totally agree with Ray about the 10" x 5" coil being the coil that should be sold as standard with the Gold Bug Pro and the one that should stay on the detector most of the time. You can buy a dual coil (5" and the 10") package for $749 but I highly suggest that anyone considering the dual coil package also look at the new F19 which for $799 does come stock with the 10" elliptical DD. The F19 is basically a Gold Bug Pro that has had many discrimination features added. Most are a benefit more for coin, jewelry, and relic hunting but could find use for hunting around old trashy campsites for nuggets. The extra features certainly do not hurt, could help, and you also get a backlight for low light conditions.

 

[IDdesertman]

I have met 2 very successful prospectors now who always run their GBPros at full gain, even in some pretty nasty ground. I honestly have no idea how they do it; my brain turns to MUSH listening to that much chatter and erratic threshold... but they can do it and are successful so you certainly can't say that it's wrong. And yes, with the gain up all the way they can hear those tiny bits even better. I just can't handle the wild threshold personally.

I think most people, myself included, are generally running around the 10-11 o'clock position.

 

[NeoTokyo]

A note for large iron object, I dug a 3' deep hole searching for what sounded off as a super strong signal.
It turned out being some huge chunk of machinery, I didn't even bother trying to dig it out because it was so huge.
I buried it back again and put the chunk of grass back in place that was over the hole.

Anyways, 3' on a large iron object with the stock 5" coil if you are hunting things like that.

Ray was the one that taught me how to use this detector better too, you couldn't ask for a better person to ask about this machine.

 

[Hoser John]

Any/all machines only as good as the man running them in direct correlation to how many 100s a hours spent learning them.John