Searching large mountainous area

Jimmyrig

Greenie
Mar 21, 2020
14
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello all,

I have narrowed a search down to the side of a mountain. About 1/4 square mile. There are no modern items that I'm aware of so it will be an all metal search. The first item would be steel about the size of a wrench around 12-18", the second item would be steel/tin and gold about the size of a baseball at around 4-6 feet.

Now finding this second item might be a stretch but what would be the best machine for searching a square .25-.50 mile on mountainous rocky terrain for a 8 inch steel item at 12-18"? I have a Garrett AT and an Equinox 800. I prefer the nox but I'm open to purchasing a larger range machine as well. Any ideas? It's also 3 miles up rough terrain so can't be anything too heavy.
 

Last edited:

cyzak

Bronze Member
Jul 14, 2018
2,339
3,798
Mountains of Western Colorado
Detector(s) used
Garrett, General Mathematics, Geometry,Pentax,,Do the math it's there.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello all,

I have narrowed a search down to the side of a mountain. About 1/4 square mile. There are no modern items that I'm aware of so it will be an all metal search. The first item would be steel about the size of a wrench around 12-18", the second item would be steel/tin and gold about the size of a baseball at around 4-6 feet.

Now finding this second item might be a stretch but what would be the best machine for searching a square .25-.50 mile on mountainous rocky terrain for a 8 inch steel item at 12-18"? I have a Garrett AT and an Equinox 800. I prefer the nox but I'm open to purchasing a larger range machine as well. Any ideas? It's also 3 miles up rough terrain so can't be anything too heavy.
What type of ground mineralization will you be dealing with.
 

OP
OP
J

Jimmyrig

Greenie
Mar 21, 2020
14
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
A lot of quartz and granite. Moderate iron.
 

OP
OP
J

Jimmyrig

Greenie
Mar 21, 2020
14
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I would go with the Garrett ATX its compact and easy to pack.
I've been eyeing the ATX deep seeker for a long time. I am considering it. I'm also looking at a hexacopter drone with a magnetometer to plot possible targets.
 

cyzak

Bronze Member
Jul 14, 2018
2,339
3,798
Mountains of Western Colorado
Detector(s) used
Garrett, General Mathematics, Geometry,Pentax,,Do the math it's there.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That's a lot of money for that type of drone.
 

cyzak

Bronze Member
Jul 14, 2018
2,339
3,798
Mountains of Western Colorado
Detector(s) used
Garrett, General Mathematics, Geometry,Pentax,,Do the math it's there.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Good luck in your search of the site please let us know if you turned anything up if possible.
 

OP
OP
J

Jimmyrig

Greenie
Mar 21, 2020
14
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Good luck in your search of the site please let us know if you turned anything up if possible.
Will do. I'm not far from you. Near foothills of Denver here.
 

cyzak

Bronze Member
Jul 14, 2018
2,339
3,798
Mountains of Western Colorado
Detector(s) used
Garrett, General Mathematics, Geometry,Pentax,,Do the math it's there.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Then you know there is a company close by that will do this for you for a certain amount.
 

OP
OP
J

Jimmyrig

Greenie
Mar 21, 2020
14
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Then you know there is a company close by that will do this for you for a certain amount.
Ya but you know treasure hunters. Secrets and all ;) What are thoughts on a double box detector like a Garrett GTI Eagle Eye? Not exactly light but I could get one up there. Or is it even worth it? Would the ATX cover the same ground and time?
 

OP
OP
J

Jimmyrig

Greenie
Mar 21, 2020
14
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Check this video for reference by Jeff using the ATX with Deep seeker coil.

He's pretty funny, I've watched several of his videos. I may grab the ATX and take a trip up this summer. Thanks!
 

cyzak

Bronze Member
Jul 14, 2018
2,339
3,798
Mountains of Western Colorado
Detector(s) used
Garrett, General Mathematics, Geometry,Pentax,,Do the math it's there.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ya but you know treasure hunters. Secrets and all ;) What are thoughts on a double box detector like a Garrett GTI Eagle Eye? Not exactly light but I could get one up there. Or is it even worth it? Would the ATX cover the same ground and time?
I had an acquaintance who was using one in a mountain setting not much on depth and mineralized soil really made unreliable on detecting anything. The Pulse Induction is the way to go now they are getting it figured out.
 

99thpercentile

Full Member
Nov 2, 2006
139
99
Evergreen, CO
Detector(s) used
Geonics EM61-MK2, Geophex GEM-3, GapEOD UltraTEM III, Minelabs F3, Foerster MINEX 2FD 4.500
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I fly magnetometers on drones all of the time. I use either a Geometrics MagArrow (~$38K) or QuSpin Total Field Magnetometers (QTFMv2). I fly either a DJI M210RTK or M300, or my custom build ArduCopter quad copter. My main application is abandoned well heads or pipelines. I have done terrain following surveys in mountainous areas, but they can be tricky and time consuming. I also put four magnetometers (QTFMv2) on an aluminum carry frame with an RTK GNSS receiver and survey larger areas on foot. I have surveyed an entire island (Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean) with a UTV towed GapEOD UltraTEMIII metal detector array. There are solutions to every problem, unfortunately there are often no cheap solutions to a problem.
 

oldkoot

Hero Member
Jan 18, 2017
922
1,340
in the Tucson AZ area now
Detector(s) used
Garrett Axiom
Garrett GM 24K
2-Nokta/Macro Legend Pro Pack
Simplex Plus
Xterra 705
x2 quest X Pointer Max - my favorite
Fisher F Pulse
Nokta Pulse Dive 2in1 kit
Garrett AT Pro (not Used)
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I've been eyeing the ATX deep seeker for a long time. I am considering it. I'm also looking at a hexacopter drone with a magnetometer to plot possible targets.
The ATX is built like a tank and feels almost as heavy if you want something lighter I would look for a good used Whites TDI the TDI is no longer being made because of Whites going out of business but I see them come up for sale occasionally, I picked mine up for $500 and I use it quite a bit and it is a very light machine compared to the ATX that would be my suggestions if you are going to be hiking up steep terrain you want to stay as light as possible mine lab makes a PI detector that folds up really compact also a SDC 2300 mine lab, it was made for back packers
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top