actual skilled prospectors opinions on angus mckirk or Le Trap style sluices

vaquero44

Bronze Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,264
329
Maine
Detector(s) used
Deep Tech Vista RG 1000, Deep Tech Vista Gold, Deep Tech RELIC, Garrett prop pointer.....bazooka gold 36" gold trap, Angus MacKirk Grubstake sluice, my version of mikes trommel, echo crevice vac, Gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

wingmaster

Bronze Member
Aug 10, 2009
2,344
934
Detector(s) used
White's MXT all pro, MXT300 D2, 950, 4X6 DD, detech ultimate 13" DD coils
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I own a couple AM sluices and they still work good with slow water flow you just have to feed a lot slower and they catch the fine flour glacial gold really good. Never tried any other drop riffle sluice but they should be about the same and function better when you have slower flow water, of course they clear better and can feed them faster with the proper flow but they are more forgiving.
 

Hoser John

Gold Member
Mar 22, 2003
5,854
6,721
Redding,Calif.
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Le Trap are righteous,used for over 25 years and thieves love them. ANY sluice with any riffle is a fluid bed by hydrology standards-John
 

KevinInColorado

Gold Member
Jan 9, 2012
7,037
11,369
Summit County, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Grizzly Goldtrap Explorer & Motherlode, Gold Cube with trommel or Banker on top, Angus Mackirk Expedition, Gold-n-Sand Xtream Hand pump
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I've used both and both catch fine gold just great. The LeTrap is too flimsy for my taste unless you put it in a frame so I'd buy the AM if you want a drop riffle. The smaller AM models need such small amounts of water to run, it's amazing. This makes them great for sampling in small creeks or for a little kid to have their own sluice in the shallows.

However both designs have the same drawbacks as other riffle based sluices: water surges will blow your gold out of the sluice AND you really have to classify your material and then feed it slowly into the sluice. Get or make a fluid bed sluice like the Bazooka Goldtraps and avoid those problems...you'll get 2-3x the gold for your effort!

PS of course HoserJohn is right: ideally there is a fluid bed behind each riffle (although that's often not the case due to larger rocks in the riffles or poor sluice setup). When we say a fluid bed sluice we really mean a water injection, riffle-less fluid bed trap. What a mouthful!
 

Prospector70

Hero Member
Nov 6, 2013
832
1,256
Detector(s) used
Bazooka Gold Trap 48", Keene A51 sluices and a
Number 2 Shovel baby!
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Do you mean Angus and le trap vs Bazooka Gold Trap fluid bed sluice?
if so go with the Bazooka :)
Best wishes for lots of gold!
P70
 

Eastforklocal

Jr. Member
Sep 25, 2014
72
105
Primary Interest:
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Bazooka all day ! I've used everything from keene to mad mining and everything I between ... Bazooka is the way to go !
 

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vaquero44

Bronze Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,264
329
Maine
Detector(s) used
Deep Tech Vista RG 1000, Deep Tech Vista Gold, Deep Tech RELIC, Garrett prop pointer.....bazooka gold 36" gold trap, Angus MacKirk Grubstake sluice, my version of mikes trommel, echo crevice vac, Gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well here's the deal I'd never considered a drop riffle design before but I'm looking for something that you could do on slow water flow and easier to see whats going on also plus my 9 year old ruined my 30" sniper I had (poured 10/30w motor oil through it) so was going to buy a 36" sniper but was curious on the drop riffle design stuff too was thinking might be a little easier but we'll see if I get another bazooka I might try a 1/4" punch plate over the grizzlys to see if that would help the rock clearing problem............right now I'm getting ready to build a cracvac and using all the parts that are used on the viper vac except the side pvc stuff just trying to locate the rubber seal that goes on the unit to the lid to make the seal and thank you for the users getting back to this thread
 

Prospector70

Hero Member
Nov 6, 2013
832
1,256
Detector(s) used
Bazooka Gold Trap 48", Keene A51 sluices and a
Number 2 Shovel baby!
Primary Interest:
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Well here's the deal I'd never considered a drop riffle design before but I'm looking for something that you could do on slow water flow and easier to see whats going on also plus my 9 year old ruined my 30" sniper I had (poured 10/30w motor oil through it) so was going to buy a 36" sniper but was curious on the drop riffle design stuff too was thinking might be a little easier but we'll see if I get another bazooka I might try a 1/4" punch plate over the grizzlys to see if that would help the rock clearing problem............right now I'm getting ready to build a cracvac and using all the parts that are used on the viper vac except the side pvc stuff just trying to locate the rubber seal that goes on the unit to the lid to make the seal and thank you for the users getting back to this thread

you can soak it in gasoline. it won't hurt the bazooka and will definitely get the oil out, you may have to bottle brush the tubes in the gas to dislodge the oil in there

Hope this helps!
P70
 

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vaquero44

Bronze Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,264
329
Maine
Detector(s) used
Deep Tech Vista RG 1000, Deep Tech Vista Gold, Deep Tech RELIC, Garrett prop pointer.....bazooka gold 36" gold trap, Angus MacKirk Grubstake sluice, my version of mikes trommel, echo crevice vac, Gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey prospector its too late now I had thought of that too but I was afraid it was going to turn to jelly so I didn't dare and threw it out and well my son lost his bike for the summer oh I tell you when I found it like it was boy was I furious he also spent half the day sweeping my 150' paved driveway by hand too another reason I didn't dare I was thinking it might kept a aerodescence coming out from the sluice too and didn't want to hurt any fish or other aquatic life so i'll just get a little bigger one this time and store it in a locked vault some where LOL!
 

Rdg Sluicer

Sr. Member
Dec 11, 2012
345
367
Redding, Ca
Detector(s) used
BGT Prospector

BGT Super Mini

Angus MacKirk Explorer

South Yuba Mining Highbanker
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Different tools for different jobs. When I don't have enough flow for one of my Bazookas I breakout the AM explorer.
 

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vaquero44

Bronze Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,264
329
Maine
Detector(s) used
Deep Tech Vista RG 1000, Deep Tech Vista Gold, Deep Tech RELIC, Garrett prop pointer.....bazooka gold 36" gold trap, Angus MacKirk Grubstake sluice, my version of mikes trommel, echo crevice vac, Gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
very good to know and thanks!
 

DiveDeep808

Greenie
Apr 6, 2014
13
18
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I own the AM recon II I consider myself and intermediate prospector but I mine with some really experienced guys. We ran a test with the AM followed by an A52 we ran a bunch of buckets and found very little gold in the A52 so the AM has a pretty high recovery %. With that being said just like any other sluice you need to make sure its set up correctly flow, angle, level. You also have to feed it properly to ensure maximum recovery. It takes time and a few screw ups to learn the ins and outs of setting up any sluice to achieve its full potential. Happy Hunting.
 

boogeyman

Gold Member
Jun 6, 2006
5,016
4,397
Out in the hills near wherendaheckarwe
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WHITES, MINELAB, Garrett
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Well here's the deal I'd never considered a drop riffle design before but I'm looking for something that you could do on slow water flow and easier to see whats going on also plus my 9 year old ruined my 30" sniper I had (poured 10/30w motor oil through it) so was going to buy a 36" sniper but was curious on the drop riffle design stuff too was thinking might be a little easier but we'll see if I get another bazooka I might try a 1/4" punch plate over the grizzlys to see if that would help the rock clearing problem............right now I'm getting ready to build a cracvac and using all the parts that are used on the viper vac except the side pvc stuff just trying to locate the rubber seal that goes on the unit to the lid to make the seal and thank you for the users getting back to this thread
Give some commercial grill cleaner a try. Out here I buy it at Smart & Final. It cleans very good, even engine grease & grime. Won't eat paint unless you leave it soaking for days. Best of all it's food grade so you don't have to worry about kids & pooches getting in it. Any restaurant supply should have it or similar. Hope that saves you some effort & headaches!
 

Duckwalk

Hero Member
Mar 21, 2014
966
1,312
Lincolnton North Carolina
Detector(s) used
30" Bazooka Sniper, Drop Riffle sluice box.
Various Gold Pans
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
i bought the smallest of the AM sluices available to run in a very shallow and low flow creek. honestly, im thinking about selling it as i can pan faster than i can feed it. its an extremely slow feed rate.

I also own a 50" no name drop riffle that REALLY hold onto the fine stuff and the big stuff as well. it was given to me by goldwasher who im sure pulled plenty of gold out of the rivers with it also.
 

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vaquero44

Bronze Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,264
329
Maine
Detector(s) used
Deep Tech Vista RG 1000, Deep Tech Vista Gold, Deep Tech RELIC, Garrett prop pointer.....bazooka gold 36" gold trap, Angus MacKirk Grubstake sluice, my version of mikes trommel, echo crevice vac, Gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
well I'm looking at the AM explorer or a grub steak for low water conditions so we'll see?
 

GoldpannerDave

Bronze Member
Apr 17, 2014
1,076
1,279
Colorado Springs, CO
Detector(s) used
Bazooka 48" Miner and 30" Sniper, Le Trap, Wolf Trap, A52, 2" dredge, Miller tables, Blue Bowl, wheel, Falcon MD20, old White's detector
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I have a Bazooka and a Le Trap (in addition to a Wolf Trap, A52, and other various sluices, but not any AMs). The Le Trap is very light, my Bazooka (a big one) is very heavy. The Wolf Trap needs lots of water, so does the Bazooka. So I use the Le Trap for conditions that are not suitable for the other two. The A52 is pretty much retired to a recirculating sluice to process cons before they hit my Miller table. I like the Le Trap a lot and it does work in slow water, but slowly.

If I can use the Bazooka, I do.
 

rodoconnor

Bronze Member
Mar 4, 2012
1,419
1,638
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Dave , I have an old Wolf Trap also . It's a well thought out sluice. And you're right it likes a high volume of water
 

Seden

Sr. Member
Jan 28, 2008
281
321
I'm with Hoser. I love my LeTrap and it drops right into this nice frame I bought for it. Those Canadians know how to catch all the gold eh.
 

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MrWareWolf

Jr. Member
Aug 22, 2014
43
8
N. Utah, USA
Detector(s) used
Generic 30" keene/jobe/royal-style sluice with flare, riffles, expanded metal, moss matt under riffles..
California Bucket Sluice concentrator
want: falcon pinpoint detector
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Really like the looks of the "ultimate river sluice" with the punch-plate grate .. would love to put that in a river nearby for a few hours.. Takes LOADS of material with ease.

In fact, you need to be sure the tailings don't pile up, that's a problem I wanna deal with.. 8)

No, I'm by no means 'experienced' but that is one sexxy sluice, I say.

Here is a vid of it:

This one looks neat too..

 

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KevinInColorado

Gold Member
Jan 9, 2012
7,037
11,369
Summit County, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Grizzly Goldtrap Explorer & Motherlode, Gold Cube with trommel or Banker on top, Angus Mackirk Expedition, Gold-n-Sand Xtream Hand pump
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Always a new product to separate the miner from his hard earned $$$!
 

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