How often do you give up on all-metal and go to disc mode?

[bcfromfl]

I just returned a few days ago from a rugged, three-week trip to northern California searching for gold, using mostly my Gold Bug Pro. (Was doing some sampling, too.) Required months of planning, supplying, etc. I checked out several mining claims, some of them known for rewarding electronic prospectors with nuggets, and probably covered 50-60 miles on foot. Some bedrock/riverbank, some old diggings, some bucketline dredge tailings, some hydraulic mining areas. I’m very experienced with detectors, but not gold machines. Before I left, I did a considerable amount of training in my backyard, using various targets, and tiny pieces of lead. Since I was expecting to use all-metal, that’s what I familiarized myself using.

However, when I got there and turned the machine on, I discovered that it was basically futile to use all-metal. I worked banks along a major river known for its gold, but the serpentine bedrock was surprisingly mineralized…with hot rocks galore. No matter how I tuned the ground balance (usually somewhere between 81 and 87), I would get multiple “targets” on each sweep, where there were no cracks or other indications that gold might be present and/or hiding. I had to switch to discrimination, which was a huge disappointment because I knew how much I was reducing sensitivity and depth. Unnerving to search silently, too.

I did locate some tiny bits of metal trash (along with the usual nails, cans, wire, foil, etc.), so I know the machine was still doing its job even with the limitations. I had it set at “38” and was watching for repeatable targets between about 40 and 60.

Because of the distance involved (I live in the Florida panhandle), this was basically the “trip of a lifetime” for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to do this again, because of the expense. (I lived in the back of a U-Haul cargo van to save a few dollars.) As you might imagine, since I turned up a big goose-egg, I’m completely demoralized. I know nuggets are hard to come by, but I was very thorough in my research, and was working areas where large gold had been recovered previously.

Just to ease my mind a little, and for the sake of conversation, for those of you who use VLFs: how many times do you have to throw up your hands and go to disc mode?

Thanks for your input!

-Bruce

 

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[masterjedi]

I have been digging since 1977 and never run wide open. I just use enough discrimination to not hear small rusty nails, etc. I run sensitivity wide open at all times though.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Nuggetshooting is the most difficult type of metal detecting there is. Hunting in All Metal, all the time, is not for old, or out of shape people. I know many nugget hunters that have yet to find their first, now YEARS into it. When you hunt areas that thousands of guys and gals have already pounded that cuts your already slim odds even more. I'm sorry you were skunked, but you now understand just how tough nuggetshooting is, and why a nugget is far more rare than a diamond.

When I'm nugget hunting I am ALWAYS in All Metal. Most newbies use too much sensitivity, which masks deeper targets and makes hot rocks sing. Nuggetshooting is an art, and it takes much more time to learn than beach or dirt hunting. Next time, look into finding a guide that can get you on a claim or into an area that still has nuggets to find.

 

[Hoser John]

In some areas of degraded tin/square nails where iron bits abound by the millions I simply shut off the GB2 and fire up the Tesoro Lobo ST with a tiny touch a disc and away I go. In extreme areas of super heavy black sands concentrations the larger coils will work much better than my smaller coils that I run almost all the time to get in around rocks boulders to GET AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the ground for increased depth and sensitivity. tons a au 2 u 2-John

 

[bcfromfl]

Thanks all for your suggestions and experience! I carried my sample targets with me, and every once in a while would throw one down on the ground just to make sure all was working right. Surprisingly, I didn't come across any large concentrations of black sand, but lots of red dirt everywhere. Mostly I was concentrating on bedrock areas, but like you mentioned, Terry, I knew that some of the spots had already been gone over by other detectors. Not even any crumbs left for me!

One spot had me really scratching my head: a nice, repeatable target inside a large piece of serpentine bedrock. I was being mindful of the possibility of a crack that had closed up after depositing a nugget, but after chipping away with my rock hammer, nothing like that was apparent. I swung my detector nearby, and found another target in an adjacent piece of bedrock, the same situation. It was then I realized that there is some type of mineral in that region formed along with the serpentine that was triggering the detector. After that discovery, I found those targets more and more, along with just wonky, non-repeat signals, too, that forced me to go disc.

I was using the 5x10 elliptical.

 

[meMiner]

I sometimes use the GB Pro in discriminate when I am "scouting" an area. Once I find a good target in a new spot, I go all metal. On my machine, I know that I will pass over some small good targets (or they will not be repeatable both directions of the sweep) and therefore will completely miss them with discrimination. As such, I use it to zero in on micro locations. The only other time I sometimes switch to discriminate is over bare bedrock, because I am not so worried about depth and probably don't want to start "hard rock mining". Finding junk can also be deemed a good sign, because others have passed over that spot. If it is an area where you have confidence, my suggestion is remove the junk and hit the newly cleaned area hard. Covering lots of ground is one strategy of course. Finding the micro spot to hunt hard is another. I like a bit of a combo.

 

[Lanny in AB]

I'm glad you got to go on your trip, but I'm sad you got blanked! That's not much fun at all, but it sounds like you learned a few things, and I hope you get another chance to go nugget hunting another day.

Your signals from within the solid bedrock could possibly be heavy concentrations of iron. I ran into a similar situation this summer, strong signals emanating right from the solid bedrock, but I had hefty hammers and chisels, so I broke the signals out and there was so much iron present, they jumped to the supermagnet on the end of my wand; that answered that question! I tried it again a few more times just to be sure and got the same result: heavily concentrated iron samples. After that, I started watching the meter carefully and noticed that it would bounce around in the right range, but never "pin" on the appropriate number like the meter does when it's close to an actual gold nugget.

As for hunting nuggets, I almost always hunt in all metal, but there have been a few times when I've hunted in discrimination. One example is when I'm shooting for nuggets on machine-worked bedrock (kind of like Placergold has mentioned) where there's hundreds of tiny pieces of blade or track in a small area. That many signals in a small area will drive you nuts, and I have found nuggets that way before, but they were all close to the surface, nothing deep. Once you leave all metal, you were right to be cautious about losing depth, at least all of the manuals I've read say the same thing when you're working in mineralized soil.

I've said this before, but right smack dab in the hot center of gold country where lots of nuggets (big and small) had been found, I dug buckets of trash before hitting my first nugget, so your experience is not unusual. Don't be too hard on yourself or worry that you won't find a nugget on another trip as I think it's rather hard to plan one trip only and bank on getting lucky enough to find nuggets the first time out. Finding nuggets is kind of like fishing: you can be in the right spot at the right time, with all of the right equipment doing all of the right things and still get skunked, seriously; it's happened to me many times (with the fishing [especially fishing for big ocean fish], and with gold when chasing the nuggets).

All the best,

Lanny

 

[bcfromfl]

Thanks for your thoughts, Lanny. Before I left, I spent quite a bit of time reading and re-reading your posts on your bedrock thread, so I'd be "up-to-speed" on what to look for, and listen for. I also have a couple of great books, along with Ray Mills' book...so I guess I was well-prepared on that side of things. Just wasn't getting the coil over the gold!

A couple of the places I went to I knew had been hit hard, and I saw a number of "Minelab holes" that careless folks hadn't filled in...some of the holes near two feet deep. One location I was hopeful, because a forest fire two years ago had cleared away a lot of brush that had previously kept searchers at bay. But nuggets aren't a renewable resource, and all it takes are a couple of energetic folks with detectors to clear them away, I guess.

I just live in the wrong place in the country to be able to do this hobby! I wish I had a claim somewhere where I could go a couple times a year, swing the coil, and come out with a couple nuggets. I'm grateful, however, that you have shared so much about your adventures, so at least I can live through your experiences vicariously! It must be a thrilling experience to uncover a beautiful piece of gold...

-Bruce

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hi Bruce,

When it comes to nugget hunting, as any nugget hunter will tell you, it's that first nugget, that first golden hit after countless trash and false targets that seems to break the ice, seems to set everything in motion thereafter. I have no access to stats, but I believe most people that buy detectors with the intent to hunt nuggets simply give up too early in the game. It's a hard game without a doubt, but it's a game that can be won by being outfitted with the proper equipment (lots of good machines out there now, and I know you have a good machine that I've found lots of nuggets with), being in the right place at the right time, and being in the frame of mind with the necessary drive to stick with it until you finally succeed.

I understand from your post that you sacrificed a lot to make your initial trip, so you've got the drive and the dedication, and if it's in the realm of possibility that you get to make another trip, see if you can't get together with some of the locals that know the area or join a local club with access to good ground as that can make all of the difference when it comes to finding that first one. I did not have access to any of the previous, but I did get lucky enough to get myself into some good ground where very few people with detectors had ever gone before: the place was simply too remote. Now, I'm in an area where there's lots of guys pounding the ground, but I've learned so much more about finding nuggets I've got that working for me, whereas before, I was a green rookie with largely book learning, so I can hold my own now.

All the best, and if it's possible, plan another trip with the previous advice in this post, and all the best,

Lanny

 

[bcfromfl]

Thanks, Lanny, very much. Your thoughts mean a lot...

-Bruce

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks, Lanny, very much. Your thoughts mean a lot...

-Bruce

In the meantime, get that Bug Pro out and detect everything you can with it in your area. Get to know every little nuance, every sound variation, every subtle difference while hunting in all metal or while hunting in discrimination. The coin circuit on it will let you find coins, and for a dual-purpose machine, it's not too bad!

Get in as many hours on your machine as you can. Look up youtube videos to see if you can garner any tips (whether for coins in discrimination or small targets in all metal), read and reread your manual, search the web for tips from other Bug Pro users, etc., etc.

That's some real-time training you can do while you prepare for your next nugget-shooting trip. Plus, if you're in an older area of Florida, you may get lucky and find some cool old Spanish coins or other interesting worthy items.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Hoser John]

It's not the machines usually, it's the drive behind the man that makes it all come together. A dusty closet queen is never understood as sage advice above from Lanny-practice practice and then some more. Sure it's coins etc BUT the gold/silver jewelry is there also which helps prepare you for the prospecting end of the hobby when in the correct geological areas. In the mean time have a ball as swung detectors since 61 and sooooooooooooooooo many years of fun-John

 

[adamBomb]

It depends on the conditions and the machine. I am mostly using my CTX right now and there is no such thing as all metal on it. I can run it wide open but its not true all metal. So I am really always running disc on it. In general, all metal is great when it goes deeper or has a wider area of coverage but this is machine dependent. In a really trashy area with mostly recent drops disc would be better.

 

[Hard Prospector]

In hammered areas, bring in a 6' steel digging bar to roll those boulders to one side exposing fresh bed rock.........it works

 

[Goodyguy]

I always hunt in all metal mode and dig more trash than treasure in order to get more treasure in the long run.

It's easy to get discouraged digging trash all day but every now and then you get rewarded.



Follow the formula.....s plus e times p equals t
(strategy + effort x persistence = treasure)


Go for the Gold,
GG~

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

"Give up on all-metal" gives the impression of frustration, which is guaranteed to limit your success.

Most all of the really successful nugget hunters spend a lot of time in the back country detecting (more time than you had available).
They are either retired / semi-retired or live near old gold diggings.

The incentive or reward isn't always finding a nugget.
It might be seeing an animal, exploring new country, enjoying a sunset, finding an old relic, having time for your own thoughts, ect....then all of a sudden here comes a nugget or two or dozen.

The other thing to remember, while there IS a lot of gold laying around within a couple inches of the surface, there is far far better gold buried deeper.
It can pay to do some digging and moving of material - Something that takes time.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

When this storm settles, there is going to be pirate treasure exposed along the coast.

In the mean time - stay safe.

 

[Goodyguy]

When this storm settles, there is going to be pirate treasure exposed along the coast.

In the mean time - stay safe.

I would be there ASAP! Low tide this evening would not be too soon for me.

 

[russau]

I have friends that live on the Gulf Coast and that's what they do. One friend has a boat that he can live in and tows a 4 inch dredge behind it and has various metal detectors and is keeping his mouth shut for obvious reasons.

 

[Relichunter1]

I have not figured out an easy way to find nuggets. Metal detecting by far is the most difficult way of prospecting, if you have symptoms of ADHD...would not recommend it. Pick up a shovel and sluice and get to work....for those with patience, perseverance...and willing to go for months without finding a nugget, by all means invest in a detector, do your research but keep in mind....its not going to happen overnight. Join a club, network, go on group outings and cut your detecting learning curve. Learn your machine....and dig targets. Get used to a lot of iron trash and yes those pesky lead bullets, and non ferrous items. If you do all these things...you will find gold. If you live in gold country...your chances are much better. The facts are...after the early miners...the 30's depression snipers, and years of prospecting, most of the easy stuff has been found.