Do Bazookas really catch fine gold?

GoldpannerDave

Bronze Member
Apr 17, 2014
1,076
1,279
Colorado Springs, CO
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Bazooka 48" Miner and 30" Sniper, Le Trap, Wolf Trap, A52, 2" dredge, Miller tables, Blue Bowl, wheel, Falcon MD20, old White's detector
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ChrisinCO

Full Member
Aug 19, 2014
121
105
Colorado Springs, CO
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Angus MacKirk, 48" BGT Prospector, and a pan.
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Fountain creek be the place. May actually go down there and try to find some color. Will probably get skunked if I am really looking...:laughing7:
 

ChrisinCO

Full Member
Aug 19, 2014
121
105
Colorado Springs, CO
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After you mentioned the Golden Cycle mill I started doing some research and WOW!!! The Gold Hill Mesa area is actually a huge tailings pile! May have to do some recon in the creek at the base of it. Hopefully it is legal. Will look into it further. Thank you for the info GPDave.
 

TheGoldProspector

Hero Member
Apr 14, 2014
853
733
Gold Country - California
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-Keene A52 - Fab2.5 Highbanker - GoldNSand Hand Dredge

Garrett AT Pro - Bazooka Gold Trap 30" Prospector - Garrett Ace 250 - Blue Bowl Concentrator
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After you mentioned the Golden Cycle mill I started doing some research and WOW!!! The Gold Hill Mesa area is actually a huge tailings pile! May have to do some recon in the creek at the base of it. Hopefully it is legal. Will look into it further. Thank you for the info GPDave.

Glad you fueled your fire a bit. Heavy Pans!
 

GoldpannerDave

Bronze Member
Apr 17, 2014
1,076
1,279
Colorado Springs, CO
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Bazooka 48" Miner and 30" Sniper, Le Trap, Wolf Trap, A52, 2" dredge, Miller tables, Blue Bowl, wheel, Falcon MD20, old White's detector
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After you mentioned the Golden Cycle mill I started doing some research and WOW!!! The Gold Hill Mesa area is actually a huge tailings pile! May have to do some recon in the creek at the base of it. Hopefully it is legal. Will look into it further. Thank you for the info GPDave.

Glad to help. Anything there would be very small. However, go work the creek under I-25 and US 24 and bridges surrounding there. I would think it is legal under the bridges (noisy though). :)
 

Prospector70

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Nov 6, 2013
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Glad to help. Anything there would be very small. However, go work the creek under I-25 and US 24 and bridges surrounding there. I would think it is legal under the bridges (noisy though). :)

Might find some other stuff too, be on the lookout for rings n things by a bridge... Most likely that was where the old bridge was, and the bridge before that. :)
 

b.jmining530

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Mar 15, 2014
185
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Oroville Ca
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ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1435726038.413891.jpg
Some nice gold
 

goldog

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Sep 25, 2012
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ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1436841231.468097.jpg
Here is my take from Sat. Looks like it's catching the small stuff.
 

Duckwalk

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Mar 21, 2014
966
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Lincolnton North Carolina
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30" Bazooka Sniper, Drop Riffle sluice box.
Various Gold Pans
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185.JPG

If there is gold in your shovel, the bazooka will hold it for you. Think of it like a 2 hour savings account!
 

KevinInColorado

Gold Member
Jan 9, 2012
7,037
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Summit County, Colorado
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Nope it doesn't catch gold at all..
ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1437091578.393369.jpg ...1/3 gram from last Thursday after work :)

PS Gold shown slightly enlarged, that's a piece of birdshot that was hiding with the gold in the creekbed.
 

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425jesse

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Feb 10, 2013
588
817
Mountlake Terrace
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Kevin, the gold king.
 

The Gilded Lens

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Oct 13, 2014
476
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The Sierra Nevadas
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From last weekend. Same gold, two different images. Some really small stuff in there and we even ran some clay through it. I love my bazooka! It catches any gold you run through it. Big or small.

ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1441004704.390577.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1441004759.705189.jpg
 

bobw53

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Oct 23, 2014
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Hatch, New Mexico
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From last weekend. Same gold, two different images. Some really small stuff in there and we even ran some clay through it. I love my bazooka! It catches any gold you run through it. Big or small.

But what if its too big to fit through the grizzly bars? Because I know big giant gold is a problem we all have. :rolleyes:

Wish we had water here, I really want to try the Bazooka...
 

GoldpannerDave

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Apr 17, 2014
1,076
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Colorado Springs, CO
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Bazooka 48" Miner and 30" Sniper, Le Trap, Wolf Trap, A52, 2" dredge, Miller tables, Blue Bowl, wheel, Falcon MD20, old White's detector
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From last weekend. Same gold, two different images. Some really small stuff in there and we even ran some clay through it. I love my bazooka! It catches any gold you run through it. Big or small.

View attachment 1205982 View attachment 1205983

Beautiful gold!! Nice picker and lots of tiny little pieces, too. I guess the Bazooka DOES catch small (as in tiny) gold. Thanks for sharing.

And for those saying, but you lost some--when we go through our tailings, we don't find any more gold. So we have stopped wasting time going through out tailings. :)
 

GoldpannerDave

Bronze Member
Apr 17, 2014
1,076
1,279
Colorado Springs, CO
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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:
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But what if its too big to fit through the grizzly bars? Because I know big giant gold is a problem we all have. :rolleyes:

Wish we had water here, I really want to try the Bazooka...

While we wish we had the problem, this shows the largest gold Kevin or I have ever found in the Denver metro area. Hence, no worries about losing the big one. There just does not seem to be any gold bigger than 3 mm here (almost 1/8 inch) so with the grizzly about 3/8 inch we are not going to miss anything here.http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/sluicing/472027-aurora-mining-products-fluid-bed-sluice-test-5.html

(You might have to scroll down to the picture in one of my posts in that thread; at least I think the right page came up).
 

KevinInColorado

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Jan 9, 2012
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Summit County, Colorado
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I'm pretty new at this, but that's what you consider flour gold? It looks rather large.

Well, it's magnified as you can tell by the size of the bird shot. The smallest pieces are small enough to fall thru a 100 holes per inch screen...aka 100 mesh or -100. Careful testing has shown the Bazooka Prospector to hold everything bigger than 100 mesh and some of the below 100 mesh sized but not all. Every sluice has a lower limit on the size it will catch of course.
 

triple d

Sr. Member
Nov 17, 2013
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Central N.H
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I catch gold so fine. I would call it the size of house dust. I don"t know if it could be seen in a gold pan. Maybe with really good light. But the fine stuff will hide in the black sand also. I use a blue bowl and run it 2 or 3 time. Removing the black sands on the 2nd run. It acts like its magnetized. And its mostly what I find in N.H. I just Love My 2 B.G.T. S. Since I have been Using A Bazooka. I find Gold most every time I prospect.
 

AMP_kbell

Jr. Member
Aug 5, 2015
47
38
Galt, CA
Primary Interest:
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bakergeol -

You and KevinInC are both right - Yes you are going to lose a certain percentage of fine gold based on the water speed and size of classification (which also includes just shoveling in). Faster water or steeper angle will suspend finer gold particles and will not allow some of them to drop into the capture device regardless of type (riffle, drop, fluid bed, etc). KInC's theory of the small mesh gold you are losing will easily be outweighed by the total amount of gold you are getting because you are processing more material more quickly is also valid.

It depends on if your goal is: maximum extraction of all gold sizes or just processing more material. As stated in other threads I am a proponent of matching classification and water speed to the material because I am trying to maximize the percentage of recovery. KInC is more material, more gold guy. Neither is right or wrong. Bottom line: do whatever floats your boat. Choose what is important to you, buy the machine that can do the job and tailor your techniques to make it happen.
 

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