in the end, it really doesn't matter which one you choose, they will all catch gold. but the bazooka gold trap and the other plastic sluices will weigh less is that is an issue.
I think the setup and cleanout of the plastic models is faster and the gold trap doesn't require classifying which in it self is a time saver. you may find the gold trap needs a good fast water flow to wash the heavies off the end which could cause some work building a wing wall. Most of the other sluices will require building some sort of a wing wall too. despite the hype you read, all of these sluices will catch gold, I have built several sluices over the years and even my first really crude one caught gold. so your choice should be, portability ( weight, length, wide, deep), do you want or need to carry classifiers and extra buckets? are you easy on your gear, or do you need rugged metal construction to keep yours safe? In the end, as long as you keep oil out of them, they will all catch gold. In the olden days, they would take a lams wool ( fleece) and lay it on the river bottom and catch gold as the water washed the sand over it, no riffles, no grizzle bars, no muss, no fuss. gold gets caught because it is heavy and because it is heavy it stays in your sluice. The only way you might have trouble is if your water flow is far too great and that not easy to do without a pump system. so choose the right one for you or build your own, but have a blast................
John
Just after getting down the 3000' drop into "MY" canyon. The A52, because the output end is so wide, does not fit the standard 5 gallon bucket well, it jam fits about 3/4's the way into the bucket so if not used carefully it will break the sides of the bucket. The blue rectangular 'recycle' bucket is just over 5 gallon capacity and the A52 easily goes right to the bottom of the bucket, but no handles on the blue bucket. Purchased in California at Home Depot.
A52 goes easily and readily to the very bottom. Note: have the bucket about 2/3 rd's full of water before placing the sluice into it or the whole thing will tip over.
Way too much water going through the sluice! Notice the "classifier" modification to a standard wastebasket. The wastebasket drops right into a 'standard' 5 gallon bucket. I suggest not putting more than a third of a bucket full of sample into the classifier. With water in the bucket and 1/3 of a bucket of raw sample in the classifier pump the classifier up and down and around a couple times and all the fines will be washed out and the rocks and pebbles should be mighty clean. This is a lot of work and the larger the raw sample the worse the shoulder and back damage can get.
