Best sluice for the money

[okie jack]

We are fixin to head to wyoming on a family vacation and was wanting to do some prospecting . I was wanting to buy a smaller scuice something you can pack up easy but there is so many to choose from. I want to try and keep it under 100 bucks . So what is th best sluice for the money? Thanks in advance. Oh yea any help on finding a spot would be great to i have been doing some research but with no luck yet . We will be headed to yellowstone from oklahoma and are not afraid to jump off the path.

 

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[hunter_46356]

I'm no expert by any means but have learned a lot form these guys and think the experts would tell ya Gotta know what kinda gold you expect to find and use a sluice that fits the gold and location. Lots to think about river,streams or creeks. flour or fine gold vs anything bigger. I live in a state with very fine gold (flour and small flakes). These Tnet guys turned me on to Angus Mackirk sluices and they were spot on for what I needed. Small stream, slow water, fine gold and a Mackirk Recon. Under $100.00, lite strong one piece construction, no riffles, no carpet or moss, easy clean up and very packable. Best of all it works great for my situation. Angus Mackirk gold prospecting & mining equipment If I would buy again I would purchase the "Foreman" instead of the Recon. It's a little bigger which give you more production for right at $100 + shipping. Good Luck! Hunter

 

[okie jack]

Yea flour to fine and some pickers I think comes out of the hills up their.

 

[dpdkld]

go to prospectors plus .com in your google search. check out their online store and look at the sluices. They flare out towards the end and helps the fine gold fall out into your box. It works excellent. I would go with the 34". I have the 24" which came out before the 34 and have used it extensively here in missouri and catches loads of fine gold plus pickers and can handle a surprising amount of material. Pat

 

[Hoser John]

Le Trap by far---lightweight--no carpet hastles--fantastic recovery---ez to pack in/out. I don't retail anymore so not trying to sell ya a bill of goods....tons a au 2 u 2 -John

 

[okie jack]

I thought about getting a le-trap before i posted . Does the le trap and Angus Mackirk sluices look pretty close to anyone else ? Thanks pep's

 

[TerryC]

Many sluices, lots of different grades, and prices. I won't go through the choices but would make one suggestion. Buy a set of those screw-on "feet" for it. That way you can put the sluice in about 14 inches of water without having to anchor it on the rocks or build a dam. Just adjust the legs for the depth and put one or two rocks on it to hold it to the bottom. Works for me. ( I own a Keene A52 and A51... A52 is $120 from Keene but maybe a little less at places ) TTC

 

[TerryC]

Le Trap by far---lightweight--no carpet hastles--fantastic recovery---ez to pack in/out. I don't retail anymore so not trying to sell ya a bill of goods....tons a au 2 u 2 -John

Hoser, I replaced my Jobe highbanker carpet with Miner's Moss. I'm sure you've heard of it. MUCH less hastle than carpet. TTC

 

[vtgoldprospector]

I have had good luck with a regular Keene A52 fitted with gold hog scrubber mat, UR mat and a short section of riffles and the carpet that comes with the sluice. 4 different surfaces in total capable of nuggets, flakes and flour. The only difficulty is making sure there is enough water flow and pitch.

 

[Doug Watson]

Prospectors Plus also has a new plastic sluice that works great and is thick enough to not flex. Doug.

 

[lost]

The La Trap is the only sluice you'll ever need once you use one. Light, easy to set up and cleans out in seconds. No messy carpet to fool with. And, in my opinion, it catches everything from powder to nuggets. I say nuggets because the only real nugget I've found with it weighed in at 3/8th oz. Caught it in the third ripple. Pickers, catches them all, again IMO. I use a rubber mat attached to the upper end to check on my progress. Another feature I never saw discussed, every now and again use your sucker bottle to suck the first riffle clean and do a quick pan out. Saves time. La Trap is a real winner.

 

[Barndawg]

Here's my version of the fluid bed sluice box with the latest mods. I have a removable trap and have added a single piece of Gold Hog scrubber mat in front of the trap for inspection purposes. This allows frequent clean ups without removing the entire sluice from the water to clean up. Just un-clip the trap, dump it out, remove the mat and dump it, replace both and continue sluicing. Saves lots of time having to re-set the box/flow/pitch every clean up. I haven't sold any, but would be willing to make more if there was interest. Good luck on your trip.

 

[Doug Watson]

The LeTrap is good but too light of material for me. Thats why I like the new Prospectors Plus sluice. Doug.

 

[chimmy]

try an ez sluice for about 50 bucks it a good starter

 

[ohiochris]

There really is no best sluice for every situation. Some do better in high flow areas and some do better in low flow areas. Some are easier in larger rivers while others excell in small streams. Some are better for nuggets and pickers with very little or no classification and others are designed more for running concentrates classified down pretty small and catching fine gold.

I have serious concerns about the molded all one piece or drop riffle sluices and fine gold , I know they will catch "some" of it , but the reason for expanded metal , ribbed matting , and carpet , was to catch the tiny fine gold that the others didnt and I dont think anything has changed. You should do better catching super small gold in a sluice designed for it , like one with matting and carpet. Raised riffles create a larger low pressure zone which is also better for fine gold. If I had to pick a sluice that comes the closest to being a multi purpose , useful in the most situations I would say something like the Keene A52 or even A51 , or anything similar. If you will encounter low water flow you would do better with a 6 or 7 inch wide version since they take less water flow to use. One company that designs and makes most of their sluices speciffically for small gold is Buckabilly sluice , they make a good product. There is a lot of choices out there and sometimes its just so darn confusing which choice to make.

 

[nuggetshooter323]

If your going to be traveling and slucing is going to be a side activity, then you might want to think about getting one of the self classifing sluices. This means you won't have to bring any classifing screens and your equipment won't take up a lot of room. The Bazooka Gold Trap Company has a small size for about $115. It's similar to the one Barndawg has, but it's small and will fit in a school backpack. Also the Wolf Trap Sluice is a good sluice. It has riffles that you can switch, one side for fast water, and the other side for slow water.