BAZOOKA GOLD TRAP VERSE CALSLUICE #2B

[Skiddum]

So I Figured I'd Go Ahead And start this thread.
I'm buying a Calsluice #2b for the wife and I.
then in getting a Bazooka prospector and run them side by side. I think that would be an awesome run. as there the only 2 sluices of there kind that could be run together in this manner.
I found a great couple videos that show how the bazooka works and explains it in really good detail. you just have to watch it all the way through


Watch "Looking for Gold - Episode 6 - Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice - Part 1" on YouTube
Looking for Gold - Episode 6 - Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice - Part 1: https://youtu.be/IlKmPslbKe4
Matthew Child



Watch "Looking for Gold - Episode 6 - Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice - Part 2" on YouTube
Looking for Gold - Episode 6 - Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice - Part 2: https://youtu.be/l5qdo5S9YWM

I'd love to hear what yall think. someone else said one of 5 here friends did this and now runs the bazooka. if you have I'd love your input. and any other questions or comments I'd love to hear it.
So we have a little bit I have to save up to get both of them. but once I do you can bet all the pictures and videos will be posted. Right here on this page. as well as in my Journal for everyone to see and what they think. also this isn't really what one works better cause in the field there's really no this works better or this caught more. unless 1completely dominates the other. if you have any doubts about the bazooka please watch those videos. there enlightening

 

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[The Gilded Lens]

I tried, I tried... but I couldn't get past the opening music and bad lighting. I have failed you. Although, I think I've watched literally every other youtube video on the Bazookas.

Here's one were they compare a traditional sluice to the bazooka.
https://youtu.be/aZ1xk4Td_bc

 

[Skiddum]

yeah I seen that 1. it didn't look the guy had the bazooka running with enough water for sure

 

[2cmorau]

that is a good video
miners choice
nothing is a 100%
not even high dollar matting if you don't know how to use it

I tried, I tried... but I couldn't get past the opening music and bad lighting. I have failed you. Although, I think I've watched literally every other youtube video on the Bazookas.

Here's one were they compare a traditional sluice to the bazooka.
https://youtu.be/aZ1xk4Td_bc

 

[Skiddum]

Yep yep. I can't wait to see how each 1 works out. My biggest thing is how easy and efficient they are to set up. bazooka ha. everyone says learning curve. what learning curve. I haven't had 1 problem with it working. especially after talking with Kevin and everyone here who's given me tons of advice. Build a little dam around it and run it steep doesn't need to be super steep but steeper than a normal sluice for sure. but yeah and the calsluice #2b I've heard people says it's hard to set up. I've herd others say it's easy just build a small dam.and make sure the water is fast enough to.move the rocks off. same principle as the bazooka. so I don't think it'll be to difficult.

 

[goldenmojo]

I am one that has a friend that tested both together over a multiple week period. The cal sluice is a very good machine and you can see your catch but in the long run the Bazooka Prospector caught more gold. I have shoveled into both of them at the same time also. The cal sluice works well in slow water. If I could not get a Bazooka I would run cal sluice but I have two bazookas and they take care of all situations I run across. Good Luck and Happy Testing

 

[Skiddum]

Thanks for the help man.

 

[yotaboy86]

Im surprised it took this long for someone to start a thread on this...having said that i am a solid BGT fan but if i couldnt get a bazooka my next choice would definatley be the cal sluice 2b

 

[Skiddum]

I know right. the bazooka is a Beast I think is why. there really is no sluice that can run side by side it, other than the calsluice.
So I think this is gonna be a great thread.

 

[Skiddum]

THE BATTLE OF THE PRODUCTION TITANS.

 

[Skiddum]

So I've come across multiple people. some say the zook beats the Calsluice. others say the calsluice beats the Zook.
So it looks like it comes down to personal preference. So anyways will see. I've talked to Criss from bazooka. he said the 30 inch prospector can handle 1 person dropping a shovel full in at a time. the 36 can handle 2 at a time. the calsluice is more like the 30 inch bazooka. cause you have to wait for the first shovel full the clear before dropping the second shovel in

 

[Skiddum]

I want to hear from everyone here who loves there bazooka and those who love the calsluice. what are the strengths of each. my biggest concern with the Calsluice is that it doesn't look like the water would let the really fine gold settle. it looks like it would get blown out before it even touched the matt area. where the bazooka uses the dirt as a catch when the new dirt is put into it what's in the trap lifts up and catches it like a mit and allows it to settle to the bottom. I could be way off base. cause from what it looks like is the screen cause the water to slow enough to causes the gold to hit the slower water flow and then the mat.

 

[fowledup]

I love my Bazooka, hard to beat the size, weight, catch rate and stream conditions it can be ran in. I will also say I beat the crap out of it and I've had to repair it. I still want more of them, I want a super mini, and I want a miner. That being said there are still two reasons I want a 2b as well, which are; 1) easier to make a highbanker out of the 2b. 2) Easier to adapt a 2b to a dredge.

 

[Skiddum]

I've seen people make the bazooka a highbanker rather easily. but the 2b does look interesting. I'm going to be placing a safety pan under each 1. and once I get enough gold in all the mesh sizes. fine all the way up to 8 mesh. I'll be running each 1 separately to exact specifications. probably out of a home build stream. using 2 hoses from my house and the neighbors. then run each 1 and see witch 1 collects the most of each size. And I'll video it and all the videos will be posted right here for everyone to see.

 

[fowledup]

You could do it by flattening out and appropriately sizing/calssifying some lead. Also matching the fluidbed pressures to the hose volume on top might be tricky. Best to take to the river and do. Post a vid would be cool to see. One other thought, you might want to Call Todd or Chris and ask them what size Bazooka matches the 2B, make sure your comparing apples to apples.

 

[Skiddum]

30 or 36 prospector. both will take a shovel rather quickly. the sniper I have will eat a Bucket in about 2 minutes flat easily. Honestly the bazooka is an amazing piece of equipment. if you put a steady stream of material say dumping a bucket of material through the bazooka sniper it'll handle it quite well. the bigger the trap the faster feed.
I like that idea. and small 100 mesh lead might be around the weight of 150 mesh in gold. weight wise. If I've done my math correct. I think lead is 9 times heavie than water. I think don't quote me on that one. I think it'd be more Around 60 or 70 mesh lead would be around the same weight as 150 mesh gold. and if there flattened out right to aproximate flour gold. definitely be a great way to test them both. would also make the test easier. lot less preparing the stream so I wouldn't have to worry about Loosing gold.
I'm finnacky like that I guess. I spent all that time digging it out of the river I don't want to give it back lol.
And Kevin and these guys have helped me out a bit with the bazooka. I always ask them if I have a question about the bazooka. if there not sure witch is very rare then I ask Todd and Criss

 

[NeoTokyo]

Firstly, I have owned the Miner and currently own the Prospector. I love it, it is a damn fine sluice box and so easy to set up and work for hours without a problem.
It is lightweight, you can stash smaller tools in it to help pack things in and it grabs larger chunks of gold.
I have ran a Keene A52 behind my Miner before and did not lose a single spec of gold out of the bazooka, the Keene was void of gold.

Now I have a feeling that if you ran a Keene A52 behind the Calsuice, I think that it would lose some gold and be caught by the Keene.

The Calsluice looks like a fine sluice but it really seems like it is better for fine gold and it seems like too much flow would allow the gold to work its way out of the V matting and eventually out of the box.
It just seems like it should be a good 12" longer and have a wider flare but the wider flare would mean more flow and possibly loss of gold. I dunno, I need hands on time with this sluice to be able to form an accurate opinion.

I have not used one yet and havnt seen it in person yet either so I am just going off of what I have seen on YouTube and picture.



If I was going into this without ever seeing the two I would also be very confused.

I do like the design of the Calsluice and I think that it is very versatile as well.

The only real test that I can think of would be a side by side test, ran the same day with a Keene A52 (Or some other stream sluice) behind them to see what is lost (If anything.)
You can run buckets or count shovels, but at the end of the day they should be very close.

That would be an in-the-wild test and naturally both would not get the same amount of gold.
This test would be to see which one lost anything to the sluice behind it.

A controlled test would be running material that you knew had little to no gold content but still made up of the same stuff in streams.
Run 20 buckets and ad 1/10th of a gram of gold to each bucket as you fill the bucket so that it is randomly mixed it.

Whoever ends up with the closest to 2 grams at the end would be the winner.


So my final say on this?
If you have the money, buy both.

 

[Skiddum]

the way I plan on doing it is cutting lead up and sizing each to 20 50 80 100 and 150 mesh. each mesh size will have 1 gram of lead totall. 5 bucket each mixed with all the different sizes to make it more realistic. just cause dumping 1 bucket of 20 mesh 1 of 50 all the way up wouldn't be like The real deal. 3 test total. I'll see what each 1 caught in each mesh size in weight. versus what was lost. after each test is ran I'll find the average caught and 5 he average lost

 

[KevinInColorado]

Key difference between them for catching fine gold: on the cal sluice the gold has to drop to be caught, on the Bazooka it goes into the grizzly horizontally and is forced downward. This may mean better -50 retention. Looking forward to the testing!!!

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Key difference between them for catching fine gold: on the cal sluice the gold has to drop to be caught, on the Bazooka it goes into the grizzly horizontally and is forced downward. This may mean better -50 retention. Looking forward to the testing!!!

Very true. I will be very interested in your results, especially of the smallest stuff.