"CTX 3030 is NOT a nugget shooter"

locater · Aug 20, 2014

Hey Treasure Hunter and Terry,
When we were posting on Bigscoop's "Versatile Use Detectors " thread, I referred to Ron (CA) and his BANNER 1oz. nugget find in January, after the title statement to this thread was made. GUESS WHAT?? Unknown to me at the time, HE DID IT AGAIN!!!! While looking at the Todays Finds forum this evening, now he finds a 2 1/2 oz. nugget with a CTX!!!! That makes 3 1/2 oz's of gold nuggets with his CTX 3030!! Someone better send him a personal message and let him know that a "CTX 3030 is NOT a nugget shooter"

Sorry, I couldn't help it. I realize that the CTX is not designed as a sub gram or grain sized gold detector, it does seem to muddle through with the nugget sized gold. CONGRATS TO Ron (CA)!!

lookindown · Aug 20, 2014

I think a $30 Radio Shack kids detector would have rang solid on that nugget. :laughing7:

....I saw the video and that was an awesome find.

locater · Aug 20, 2014

lookindown said:
I think a $30 Radio Shack kids detector would have rang solid on that nugget. ....I saw the video and that was an awesome find.

Ain't that the truth Lookindown! To find a 1oz. nugget would be the find of a lifetime for most folks. To find a 2 1/2 oz. one, 7 months later is unimaginable.

Tom_in_CA · Aug 20, 2014

Yes , Ron is becoming something of a legend, eh?? The guy goes out with a coin/relic machine . And wasn't even necessarily looking for nuggets . He was in relicky mindset at an old miners camp or homestead or something . But lo & behold the lucky bum gets a 2.5 oz. nugget !

Most nuggets found in nature are rarely bigger than a grain of rice . Neck, ... most hardcore nugget guys never even get one that big !! Absolutely amazing .

Msbeepbeep · Aug 21, 2014

Maybe that's what you have to do, sneak up on 'em with something they're not expecting! Lol!

Treasure_Hunter · Aug 21, 2014

Any detector will find a 2.5 ounce nugget or 1 oz nugget, if it wouldn't I would sell it asap. When I said not a nugget hunter I'm talking small nuggets less than a .5 gram not nuggets over ounces....

locater · Aug 21, 2014

Treasure_Hunter said:
Any detector will find a 2.5 ounce nugget or 1 oz nugget, if it wouldn't I would sell it asap. When I said not a nugget hunter I'm talking small nuggets less than a .5 gram not nuggets over ounces....[/

Thank you for making my point Treasure Hunter!! The fact is ANY decent Metal detector is capable of finding a gold nugget! A nugget is defined as a "LUMP" of gold. A sub gram sized flake, or grain of gold is not a "lump". The detector doesn't have to be called Gold Gitter, or Nugget Nabber in it's name or promotional release to be able to find a "lump" of gold. It is only limited by the same things someone scanning a park for a silver coin or gold ring is. Size, depth, type of metal, interference, and most of all these days, THE ABILITY TO FIND A PLACE THAT STILL HAS DETECTABLE NUGGETS (or coins) that hasn't been picked over a thousand times! Ron (CA) seems to have that one down in spades! Folks have been finding nuggets with their normal detectors for decades. The well is drying up. Just as easily finding silver is a thing of the past.
Now sub gram, grain size surface gold is pretty much all that is left, except for the rare discoveries such as Ron's. When you and Terry refer to "nugget shooters" in finding tiny gold flakes, you are really talking about the specialty gold machines. The pulse induction machines designed to find tiny gold or very deep gold. The GPX, ATX, etc., the ones that will find those tiny pieces.

Any decent metal detector WILL find a true gold (lump) nugget if you put a coil over it and it's not too deep, or masked by hot rocks or heavy ground mineralization. Some VLF detectors that are more tuned to gold, just do it better. They simply have higher frequencies that are more adept at finding small gold. The AT gold I believe is an 18khz machine. The standard At I think is around 13. The Xterra standard coil is 7.5khz, the gold coil 18.75. Minelab Eureka gold transmits a high of 60khz. The Fisher Gold Bug II I think is 71khz. Those are all detectors that specifically target gold. To imply that the CTX which transmits from 1.5 to 100khz is not a capable nugget finder is in my opinion, a little off base. Yes, the ones Ron found, he could have tripped over in the dark:-),
but I'm sure the CtX or any other decent detector could find one a wee bit smaller, even if they are not marketed as a gold machine. So ends my rant. PEACE

Treasure_Hunter · Aug 21, 2014

Locator big difference between 2.5 ounce nugget and the normal gold nuggets found....

If I am gold hunting I want a detector that will find the normal small gold nuggets, any detector will find the rare large nuggets.

Terry Soloman · Aug 21, 2014

Once again, the CTX 3030 is NOT a nugget shooter, any more than an Ace 250.

locater · Aug 21, 2014

Treasure_Hunter said:
Locator big difference between 2.5 ounce nugget and the normal gold nuggets found....

If I am gold hunting I want a detector that will find the normal small gold nuggets, any detector will find the rare large nuggets.

Agreed Treasure Hunter. In todays world those nuggets Ron found are like bowling balls. I still contend that a decent avg. metal detector will find small nuggets at reasonable depths. I read about them and see the pictures often on manufacturers sites in the finds forums. Standard detectors working placer tailings and such. Pretty small pieces! Heck, I can recall a couple years ago, chasing a clear signal in the woods with my BH Platinum. I was down around 3 inches and couldn't find it. Finally when sifting through the dirt there it is, a little staple! At around 3 inches in all metal mode. I have also found broken earing posts, just the post mind you, do you know how small those things are? :-) Finding a small piece of gold under similar conditions is easily possible if not too deep. Obviously the pi machines WILL do much better.