What you can find with a metal detector in the goldfields

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Reno Chris

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2011
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274
Just for fun I thought I'd post a few of the nuggets I've collected from my favorite spot in California. The buffalo nickel is the exact same size as a more modern Jefferson nickel, 21mm in diameter. The total weight of the gold is about 3.5 ounces.

Finding gold with a metal detector is difficult, every bit as difficult as recovering it from scrap.

But in the same way, when you make a nice score, it really is a great feeling.

Chris
 

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That was all recovered with a Minelab GP Extreme.

Here is what the area looks like and shows me using my GP Extreme.

Chris
 

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SWEET!
Was wondering, how many trips to aquire such a stash. Did it all come from your "favorite place", or is this from here there and wherever?
Looking almost good enough to eat.
Rick
 
Did it all come from your "favorite place", or is this from here there and wherever?

All from one area - three spots all within about 300 yards of each other produced all of these nuggets. The best spot produced about 2/3 of the total, other two spots produced the last third.

I've also produced nuggets from many other areas, but these are a collection of ones all from a single area.

Chris
 
Hey there Reno Chris have you ever used your metal detector in the streams or the rivers in the California mountains I have been doing a little prospecting around Jamestown Senora Columbia and was just curious on how the metal detecting be in streams rivers around I personally have never used a metal detector of any sort but I'm very short distance away from the beach I thought it would be kind of interesting to try one there and then on my weekends when I go to the mountain do you have any suggestions
 
Hey there Reno Chris have you ever used your metal detector in the streams or the rivers in the California mountains?

I have but nearly all of my prospecting in the Sierra range has been on the northern end. James town is in the southern half of the range. All I can say is get out and explore. Lots of guys have their detectors in their closets all year long, and the only thing a detector in a closet will collect is dust. :lol: .
 
...but what inquiring mynds want to know - by what margin does a top end detector put a whooping the rest of the manufacturers line ups?

Back around Y2K we all chipped in on a $500 Garrett for my parents (therefore us kids) but I was always curious about the supremo models.

Also - I know when I spent time in Alaska a few times I got the feeling I might lose my boots, belt and jacket to a huey & louie pair with nothing better to do.
How do you keep a thing of beauty like a GP Extreme off the radar of the the 'whats yours is mine' types?

Thanks for sharing!
 
do you have any experience prospecting around the malakoff diggings
Malakoff is a state park and if you get caught detecting in their you'll get a big fine and maybe even jail time (in California they let off murders after 30 days, but if you go mining in a state park, you will probably get a life sentence). I have detected and found gold in other hydraulic diggings in the Malakoff area but not on state park land.

How do you keep a thing of beauty like a GP Extreme off the radar of the the 'whats yours is mine' types?

I stay away from them! Pick your friends carefully.
 
For sure not in the park! But there are the old areas they used to blast with monitors out along the Yuba. My friend has property that backs to one of the cliffs. I'm curious if metal detecting there is worth while or if it was mostly just small mesh gold. I don't own a metal detector so I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to purchase one. Did you have success in the tailings or on the hills?
 
On the bedrock within the old hydraulic mines. The old timers tried to get everything but the always left behind some stuff. Its on and in cracks in the bedrock in those old mines.
 
dannlee said:
...but what inquiring mynds want to know - by what margin does a top end detector put a whooping the rest of the manufacturers line ups?

Back around Y2K we all chipped in on a $500 Garrett for my parents (therefore us kids) but I was always curious about the supremo models.

Also - I know when I spent time in Alaska a few times I got the feeling I might lose my boots, belt and jacket to a huey & louie pair with nothing better to do.
How do you keep a thing of beauty like a GP Extreme off the radar of the the 'whats yours is mine' types?

Thanks for sharing!

I've heard that putting some duct tape on the metal detector to make it look like you are trying to hold it together can make your metal detector look less valuable and less inviting to thieves. I have a cheap Whites detector that's all taped together and have an old rechargeable battery from a cordless drill taped on to power it but I was actually trying to hold it together and I'm too cheap to buy batteries for it. I've never found anything real valuable with it but got lots of use out of that detector. I had a better Garrett detector and also a detector made specifically for finding gold (never found any) but sold both of them and kept the cheap one. Maybe just what I was used to but when that cheap detector says something is "right here", it is exactly "right there'. I never got the Garrett to pinpoint right and had dug holes only to find the target just off to one side.

I'd say get out that old Garrett and go searching wherever you are allowed. The more you use it, the better you will get. I would get some rechargeable batteries if it doesn't already have them. It's no fun to spend more on batteries than you find.

I'm not sure of the laws where you live but, when I lived in Arizona (Tucson), you could get a metal detecting permit to hunt in some parks and I think it was free. They just wanted to know who was out there. Probably to discourage you from leaving big holes and tearing up the grass.

Oh yea, don't forget to use headphones. Not only will you be able to hear fainter signals, but you won't draw as much attention. You might know that all those beeps don't mean something good is there but others around might get the idea that you are finding lots of rings and other valuable stuff. I'm not saying you won't find good stuff but most of what I found was garbage (pull tabs, nails, etc.) I took everything I found just so I wouldn't have to dig for it again although some of it got tossed in the closed garbage can.
 
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