Do Bazookas really catch fine gold?

[utah mason]

dont get me wrong ..I do catch the fine stuff as a majority of the gold in my neck of the woods is 20 mesh and under .. its how you set the zook that makes the difference. Most times I set up the zook is on the same plane as the water its sitting in just as long the water is going OVER the grizz your'e gonna catch gold

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If set up properly with the correct angle and flow it catches the fines really well. I'm sure it loses some. All sluices do.
Look at the fines on right, so small it's like powder.

 

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[utah mason]

I patiently waited a whole three days for my new 36-inch Sniper to arrive on the porch! That has to be a USPS record for a Bazooka!

This maybe a greenhorn (which I am) response to all of the above, but wouldn't it be appropriate to have a tailing bucket or additional sluice to catch the fines and flour if someone was worried about catching all the gold? I was considering running my A52F behind the Bazooka this Thursday simply because of the area I intend to prospect (Bear R in CA). However, I am not too concerned about catching everything. That being said, working too hard does concern me!

This will be the initial trial run, but I have a ton of confidence I this new piece of equipment; which, is probably the most important factor this early in the learning phase IMO.

I am planning on a cleanout every hour and bringing the cons home to run in the G/Cube at a later time.

I ran my A-51 behind my bgt last time out. I was running my bgt pretty steep and not washing the rocks as well as I normally do. I was just dumping them and letting them flow on down. Definitely some fines in there. I just posted a video on my prospecting journal yesterday. Here's a picture of clean out a-51 on left

 

[KevinInColorado]

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead lol

Spent the day on Clear Creek yesterday. I have a Keene 2.5" dredge and sluice with Gold Hog matting. I long tommed my Angus Alaskan Flare, because I just changed out my GH matting run to try and get better recovery with my dredge (previous run of GH matting was set up for highbanking in an area with clay). My buddy, who likes to do things more deliberately, was classifying and scoop feeding his Angus mini long tom. At the end of the day I'm pretty sure he got more out of the 6 buckets he ran than I did in 4-5 hours of dredging. My cons had considerably less black sands (we were in an area with a LOT of black sand) and micron. His Angus was LOADED with micron gold. He didn't clean it out all day.

View attachment 1371559

I've spent quite a few trips on CC (last winter I was there a couple times a week, working through the ice) trying to get my dredge/GH matting tuned and am at the point of not bringing it to CC and going back to shoveling, but my back can't handle a day spent bent over a classifier! I've had casual conversations with a few prospectors with Bazookas, and some Googling led me to this thread. Glad to see a few Colorado folks weighing in here, since we all know how small the gold here can be.

Thanks for all the inputs here; I think I'm ready to jump on the Bazooka bandwagon. Now to figure out which one lol

Size choice depends somewhat on where you'll be digging. A 30 or 36 inch Prospector will be great on Clear creek most of the year. However, when the water levels are really low, you may find a 30 inch Sniper is a better choice.

I'd avoid anything bigger than a 36" Prospector.

I have:
36" Prospector and use it frequently
30" Sniper, used frequently to deal with low water and in small creeks
30" SuperMini rarely used. Good for backpacking and sampling. Slips into a carry on bag so easy to fly with.

 

[crusty]

Size choice depends somewhat on where you'll be digging. A 30 or 36 inch Prospector will be great on Clear creek most of the year. However, when the water levels are really low, you may find a 30 inch Sniper is a better choice.

I'd avoid anything bigger than a 36" Prospector.

I have:
36" Prospector and use it frequently
30" Sniper, used frequently to deal with low water and in small creeks
30" SuperMini rarely used. Good for backpacking and sampling. Slips into a carry on bag so easy to fly with.

Great advice, thanks! I've got my Angus Recon, so I've got the small end covered.

I am going to check out the Sidewinder shop in Florence, just to see what the deal with it is too. I know someone who has one and plan on getting out in the field with him to see how it does too.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Sidewinder:
+ Colorado made
- heavy, too heavy
? Gold recovery

 

[Reed Lukens]

Great advice, thanks! I've got my Angus Recon, so I've got the small end covered.

I am going to check out the Sidewinder shop in Florence, just to see what the deal with it is too. I know someone who has one and plan on getting out in the field with him to see how it does too.

Stay away from that Sidewinder garbage. It weighs a ton and its just designed to mine money from newer miners... Stick with your Angus, I have one as well and then if you have the water flow for a larger sluice go to at least the Bazooka 30" Sniper or Prospector - Prospector - Bazooka Gold Company

 

[crusty]

Stay away from that Sidewinder garbage. It weighs a ton and its just designed to mine money from newer miners... Stick with your Angus, I have one as well and then if you have the water flow for a larger sluice go to at least the Bazooka 30" Sniper or Prospector - Prospector - Bazooka Gold Company

Definitely checking out Sidewinder with a degree of skepticism; guessing the fact they've been around for all these years and haven't taken off makes me wonder why. But I'll at least see how it operates in the field and see. Weight isn't a huge deal, as I'm already hauling a pump for my dredge, so I'm not packing it far anyway. Linked up with the guy who has it and gonna check it out on Monday.

Biggest selling point on the Bazooka for me is not needing to classify. While I'd love to be able to stick with a dredge, I'm not seeing anything that can hold the amount of micron we've got here. ANother friend got the Angus dredge and I am not impressed. Angle of the crash box makes no sense and it loses a lot of gold with the tailings.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Gold fever is an amazing thing for sure.
It really doesn't take much to set off an obsession, but it varies from area to area.

 

[Dain8404]

Definitely checking out Sidewinder with a degree of skepticism; guessing the fact they've been around for all these years and haven't taken off makes me wonder why. But I'll at least see how it operates in the field and see. Weight isn't a huge deal, as I'm already hauling a pump for my dredge, so I'm not packing it far anyway. Linked up with the guy who has it and gonna check it out on Monday.

Biggest selling point on the Bazooka for me is not needing to classify. While I'd love to be able to stick with a dredge, I'm not seeing anything that can hold the amount of micron we've got here. ANother friend got the Angus dredge and I am not impressed. Angle of the crash box makes no sense and it loses a lot of gold with the tailings.

Crusty, check out the dahlke micro dredge. There is a few videos on it. If I had the time and money these days, it's what I'd get. Seems like a good little package.

 

[425jesse]

Dahlke - micro awesome.

Super compact, not too bad to haul
Around, has air and removable heat. The little 4 inches pounds the riverbed!!

 

[Reed Lukens]

Dahlke - micro awesome.
View attachment 1373869
Super compact, not too bad to haul
Around, has air and removable heat. The little 4 inches pounds the riverbed!!

The Dahlke web page is gone... The older original like yours with the flared box was a much better design then the newer straight box design with the dovetail riffles The newer dahlke's wouldn't keep upright in deep water, always wanted to roll upside down...

 

[425jesse]

I dont know if anyone else noticed, but on Bering sea gold this season the reaper had a Dahlke branded straight sluice on their shack. Too bad it never works out for them. Maybe someday I guess. lol.

 

[crusty]

Size choice depends somewhat on where you'll be digging. A 30 or 36 inch Prospector will be great on Clear creek most of the year. However, when the water levels are really low, you may find a 30 inch Sniper is a better choice.

I'd avoid anything bigger than a 36" Prospector.

I have:
36" Prospector and use it frequently
30" Sniper, used frequently to deal with low water and in small creeks
30" SuperMini rarely used. Good for backpacking and sampling. Slips into a carry on bag so easy to fly with.

Why the 36 over the 48? Weight difference is only 6 pounds, which isn't a big deal if I'm coming from a Highbanker where I have to carry a pump? If I needed to carry my gear too far, I'd opt for my lighter Angus, but most of the time, I'm a short walk from the truck, so weight isn't a huge issue.

 

[triple d]

48 " is overkill unless you have several people feeding. And will need a lot of water flow. And would be much harder to set up.

 

[KevinInColorado]

48 " is overkill unless you have several people feeding. And will need a lot of water flow. And would be much harder to set up.

Exactly.

 

[crusty]

All right, pulled the trigger; 36" Prospector! Thanks for all the inputs!

 

[nuggetshooter323]

48 " is overkill unless you have several people feeding. And will need a lot of water flow. And would be much harder to set up.

If water flow isn't a problem them the extra stratification time of the 48" over the 36" is worth it, in my opinion. I've had a 36" Prospector since 2012, and I've always felt fine gold retention would be better with the 48". That's why this year I bought the Super Mini and the 48" Miner, but I really can't compare the results of my Miner and Prospector since they are so different in size. I guess the only way to know for sure is to have both sized Prospectors and feed them the same for a whole outing and compare the results. If any of the other Colorado Springs/Denver/Pueblo prospector's want to try this experiment let me know and we can plan an outing.

 

[Aufisher]

48 is great!

 

[crusty]

If water flow isn't a problem them the extra stratification time of the 48" over the 36" is worth it, in my opinion. I've had a 36" Prospector since 2012, and I've always felt fine gold retention would be better with the 48". That's why this year I bought the Super Mini and the 48" Miner, but I really can't compare the results of my Miner and Prospector since they are so different in size. I guess the only way to know for sure is to have both sized Prospectors and feed them the same for a whole outing and compare the results. If any of the other Colorado Springs/Denver/Pueblo prospector's want to try this experiment let me know and we can plan an outing.

Finally picked up a 36" prospector; I'm down for a shovel to shovel comparison! lol

 

[N-Lionberger]

I have a 48" and a 36" bazooka prospector and the 36 needs more water flow than the 48", it is the same size trap just with more scoop and slickplate. I run my 48" in creeks where my 36" cant get enough water. I also like having more time for material to stratify before it hits the grizzlies. I'm thinking about selling my 36" as i never use it.