Makro Gold Racer first picker

minerjosh

Full Member
Apr 5, 2017
188
626
California
Detector(s) used
GPX4500/Nox800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yesterday I went to a spot that I haven't tried yet but I've heard people have been finding nuggets there for a long time. I didn't think I would find anything...I figured since it's been hit so hard in recent years it would be picked pretty clean. But I wanted to practice with my gold racer I recently got. I have only taken it out a few times with no luck...I'm learning the machine. I was surprised to find about 40 pieces of lead in such an obvious spot. IMG_20170505_151940489.jpg IMG_20170505_151940489.jpg I figured the lead would be pretty cleaned out of the area too, but no it was as if it hadn't been detected before which kinda baffles me. I was detecting obvious old diggins on bedrock right off the main trail. Lead was everywhere. I did experience some chatter with my gold racer here, but I was able to smooth it out enough to hear the signals. Maybe the ground was so mineralized other detectorists passed on it? IMG_20170505_151940489.jpg
 

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dsrtdwg1

Full Member
Sep 3, 2015
182
300
Brawley
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, Gold Monster 1000, Keene 212v Puffer Dry Washer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Congrats on the find, I am sure there will many more.
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,421
30,104
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Great shooting! Sweet gold - Congratulations! :occasion14:
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,654
6,350
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Nicely done!

All the best,

Lanny
 

Hoser John

Gold Member
Mar 22, 2003
5,854
6,721
Redding,Calif.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The pathway has been set and now many more to come. Look at California Gold posts and you'll see what's possible with more experience :icon_thumright: John
 

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OP
minerjosh

minerjosh

Full Member
Apr 5, 2017
188
626
California
Detector(s) used
GPX4500/Nox800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank you all. I'm realizing the title of my post was misleading on accident. It was my first picker with the gold racer, I have found some nuggets with my tesoro lobo, and plenty of au panning and sluicing. Looking at California gold posts is why I bought a gold racer....well that's part of the reason. My friends 10 year old son has been bugging and bugging me to help him find a gold detector for a long time. He can't afford a good detector at 10 so when he found out how much they cost he said...why don't you buy a new one and sell me your old one cheap? I sorta chuckled and by the next day it set in...I was at miners cache buying a new gold racer! So I left the tesoro with him and he said how much? I told him I'm not taking your money

Sent from my XT1635-01 using TreasureNet.com mobile app
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,654
6,350
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Thank you all. I'm realizing the title of my post was misleading on accident. It was my first picker with the gold racer, I have found some nuggets with my tesoro lobo, and plenty of au panning and sluicing. Looking at California gold posts is why I bought a gold racer....well that's part of the reason. My friends 10 year old son has been bugging and bugging me to help him find a gold detector for a long time. He can't afford a good detector at 10 so when he found out how much they cost he said...why don't you buy a new one and sell me your old one cheap? I sorta chuckled and by the next day it set in...I was at miners cache buying a new gold racer! So I left the tesoro with him and he said how much? I told him I'm not taking your money

Sent from my XT1635-01 using TreasureNet.com mobile app

What a great way to get a younger gold-seeker invested!

All the best,

Lanny
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Couple Gold Racer Tips

Thank you all. I'm realizing the title of my post was misleading on accident. It was my first picker with the gold racer, I have found some nuggets with my tesoro lobo, and plenty of au panning and sluicing. Looking at California gold posts is why I bought a gold racer....well that's part of the reason. My friends 10 year old son has been bugging and bugging me to help him find a gold detector for a long time. He can't afford a good detector at 10 so when he found out how much they cost he said...why don't you buy a new one and sell me your old one cheap? I sorta chuckled and by the next day it set in...I was at miners cache buying a new gold racer! So I left the tesoro with him and he said how much? I told him I'm not taking your money

Sent from my XT1635-01 using TreasureNet.com mobile app

Here are a couple things that might help you (might not).

When looking for the small gold, I like to set the detector to high frequency tone. Pull Trigger + Down Arrow?
It seems to sing out better, or at least I can hear it better.

Once I find a promising area, I will quickly scan the area for easy pickings, then turn on audio boost. Double Click Left Arrow.
It really helps when trying to pick up the gold like you found. I turn it off when I'm not focused in on a particular area.

I also use the 5" round coil until the area is "worked out", then I switch to a larger coil.

On the Target ID....
Shallow targets
This detector pretty much locks on at either 19 or 20 for most nails no matter which direction you swing.
If it's shallow - I usually pretty much ignore these targets most of the time (unless it's where water had been washing or around sluice boxes, then I'll remove nails and check for gold).

Larger shallow gold will usually consistently be around 49-50.
Lead seems to be 48-49, but of course I dig it all.

Smaller shallow gold may not even return a target ID # - dig every signal once you know your onto some small gold.

It's REALLY good at identifying hot rocks.


Deeper targets (proportional to target size)

This is where you need to be very very careful about relying on the target ID.
Some targets will give off a decent signal and have a target ID of 04 to 05, which most of the time is ground mineralization.
However, I am finding that if I scrape off a couple inches, the target either goes away, or slowly develops to a higher target ID number the deeper I dig.

Deeper gold, can have a low Target ID, then slowly increase as you dig.
My rule is to investigate EVERY deeper signal until it becomes a shallow target.
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Another thing you have to watch out for...if your your in DISC mode and you have just the edge of the coil over a target...it will many times give a higher false target ID #.
Sounds great swinging one direction...then you change directions and it goes away or moves.

I always check two directions or switch to all metal to make sure I'm centered before relying on the DISC mode to tell me dig/no dig.
 

OP
OP
minerjosh

minerjosh

Full Member
Apr 5, 2017
188
626
California
Detector(s) used
GPX4500/Nox800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks a lot, I still have a lot to learn about this machine. That is very helpful input. I was a little confused about the audio boost and high frequency tone, I haven't even tried these modes yet. Definitely going to try it out next time I'm in the field. At first I was ignoring the 04-05 readings and faint signals with no reading. I need to go back and investigate some of those targets I ignored. This is very helpful! Thank you again!

Sent from my XT1635-01 using TreasureNet.com mobile app
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks a lot, I still have a lot to learn about this machine. That is very helpful input. I was a little confused about the audio boost and high frequency tone, I haven't even tried these modes yet. Definitely going to try it out next time I'm in the field. At first I was ignoring the 04-05 readings and faint signals with no reading. I need to go back and investigate some of those targets I ignored. This is very helpful! Thank you again!

Sent from my XT1635-01 using TreasureNet.com mobile app

High tone vs. low tone - it's just user preference. I'm used to the GB2 so maybe that's why I like the high tone.

If your cherry picking or just being lazy...maybe just scouting for new ground, you can ignore the really low and really high target ID's. Most every time they are spot on.
That's how I learned the machine...now I'm trying to figure out how to identify deep targets that are just within reach.

You definitely need to kick some dirt off those faint, broad signals that don't even register on the target ID. They should be repeatable any direction you swing the coil.
Those are the signals that other people might have missed and any gold will usually be decent size. It doesn't take much to verify that it's an actual target vs ground noise.

On open ground I'm usually running my detector at a sensitivity of 70-80. When you get those deep sounding signals...don't be afraid to crank up the sensitivity (especially in DISC2 mode).

It helps to be detecting in an area known for larger gold. It's all about managing your available time as you can only dig so many targets each time you go out.
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,654
6,350
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Here are a couple things that might help you (might not).

When looking for the small gold, I like to set the detector to high frequency tone. Pull Trigger + Down Arrow?
It seems to sing out better, or at least I can hear it better.

Once I find a promising area, I will quickly scan the area for easy pickings, then turn on audio boost. Double Click Left Arrow.
It really helps when trying to pick up the gold like you found. I turn it off when I'm not focused in on a particular area.

I also use the 5" round coil until the area is "worked out", then I switch to a larger coil.

On the Target ID....
Shallow targets
This detector pretty much locks on at either 19 or 20 for most nails no matter which direction you swing.
If it's shallow - I usually pretty much ignore these targets most of the time (unless it's where water had been washing or around sluice boxes, then I'll remove nails and check for gold).

Larger shallow gold will usually consistently be around 49-50.
Lead seems to be 48-49, but of course I dig it all.

Smaller shallow gold may not even return a target ID # - dig every signal once you know your onto some small gold.

It's REALLY good at identifying hot rocks.


Deeper targets (proportional to target size)

This is where you need to be very very careful about relying on the target ID.
Some targets will give off a decent signal and have a target ID of 04 to 05, which most of the time is ground mineralization.
However, I am finding that if I scrape off a couple inches, the target either goes away, or slowly develops to a higher target ID number the deeper I dig.

Deeper gold, can have a low Target ID, then slowly increase as you dig.
My rule is to investigate EVERY deeper signal until it becomes a shallow target.

Love the tips! Thanks for taking the time to post them as I'm getting close to heading out for my first rodeo with the Gold Racer.

If you have any more, keep them coming . . .

All the best,

Lanny
 

bigsoldier

Jr. Member
May 14, 2017
48
42
Detector(s) used
minelab gpx5000
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
makro is a turkish made am i right ?
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yes turkish made.

Lanny - I would suggest each time you encounter some mineralization or hot rocks, rather than passing by, play with some settings and throw down a piece of small gold to see how it affects the hot rock vs the small gold signal.

Like all detectors, it starts acting a little funny towards the end of the battery life. I start to notice it at 1 to 2 bars on the battery meter.
I would spend some time to secure the coil cable at both ends - it will help minimize false signals.

Feel free to bounce some questions off me if you have any. I'm no expert, but I do have some hours on it and am finding gold with it.
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,654
6,350
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Yes turkish made.

Lanny - I would suggest each time you encounter some mineralization or hot rocks, rather than passing by, play with some settings and throw down a piece of small gold to see how it affects the hot rock vs the small gold signal.

Like all detectors, it starts acting a little funny towards the end of the battery life. I start to notice it at 1 to 2 bars on the battery meter.
I would spend some time to secure the coil cable at both ends - it will help minimize false signals.

Feel free to bounce some questions off me if you have any. I'm no expert, but I do have some hours on it and am finding gold with it.

Heading off to hunt gold for a few days, and thanks for the tips! There's a lot to learn when it comes to nugget shooting with the Racer, so I really appreciate the input.

All the best, and I'm not trying to hijack this thread, just saying thanks for the tips,

Lanny
 

californiagold

Sr. Member
Aug 7, 2014
314
761
California goldfields
Detector(s) used
Makro Gold Racer, Nokta Fors gold plus, Makro racer2, Nokta fors gold, minelab gpx5000, fisher gold bug pro and many many others
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Congrads on your gold find with the gold racer. Hope you find more in the future. good luck
 

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