Gold Bug 2 & The Beach

Well, I pulled the trigger. My Gold Bug 2 is on its way via UPS.

I am not going to use it for gold prospecting (I live in Florida), rather, I'm taking it to the beach.

I expect to dig plenty of trash (but iron should be discriminated effectively). I have also retro-fitted one of my long handled sand scoops with some sifting wire (held in place with the prodigious use of small tie wraps) in the hope of catching most of what I find in the scoop.

I will let you know how it goes. Wish me luck. It will be interesting to see what happens.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2012 07:05PM by smudge.

Smudge----That is something I have always wanted to try/do but never got around to it.-----Keep us posted how your micro jewelry hunting endeavor works out.----------Del

Just did that w my GB II last month.
Yes lots of foil be patient, not trying to be negative but your scoop is not going to work w the Gold Bug.
You will need one of Toms sifters he sells.

Keep us posted

Where do you live ? I live in tamarac. I use a Goldmaster 4B for micro hunting. It seem to do the job. It is something I do when it is to rough to get in and cooler out. just be ready to dig alot. I use the 8 x 14 to cut out some very micro foil . Let us know how it works. Good hunting,Joe

Smudge...what size coil did you get on the GB2 ?

If your hunting in the sand w the GBII you have to have a plastic sifter. A lot of the stuff the powerful GBII finds is so small you sometimes will not be able to even see, and it can be right there under your nose! Remember too that you cannot hold the sand in your hand and wave it over the coil as the 71khz GBII will pick up your hand as a signal also! That's why you need the plastic sifter with REAL SMALL HOLES. I can't emphasize this enough, if you try anything other than this your going to get frustrated real quick and quit!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 04:19AM by Aaron.

found many many small items and many studs, almost 200 in 2010 - 5 or were gold with baby diamonds....5 out of 200.
2011 i gave up on this plan since i can find just one gold ring and it amounts to more than all the gold studs i found.
i wasted VERY valuable time and time is one thing we never get back.
beaches are loaded with all sorts of great sounding LITTLE targets - so i wish you all the luck possible in your quest, i doubt you will be dissappointed, but i would re-think this plan over.
have fun
two pics - 1 is finds for one day and 1 is for finds for 1 week - f y i only
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I made a living for over a year beach hunting. Forget the studs. Go for the pulltabs and foil.

When it is rough and can not get into the water or high tide and wet sand is no good gold is gold. Also silver has value now. I get about 44 dollar a pennywieght for 14 k. Earings are small but when you find a chain nobody can get it makes up for the difference.Down here in Fort Luaderdale we do not have much wet sand on high tide and low tide is about 20 to 30 feet. Just my thoughts on this,Joe

Thank you all very much for all the feedback so far.

To answer one question, I got the 10" elliptical coil to go with it. All indications are it the best for this kind of hunting.

It is a pity to hear my retrofitted sand scoop will not work. Can someone help me out and advise where I can pick up a sifter like you are describing? I am hoping for a hand held model and not a classic box sifter.

I am going this route because the Florida beaches are hit extremely hard, but I also know that most of detectors being used, VLF and PI alike, cannot hit on the micro jewlery the way the GB 2 can.

I also have no illusions about the work level involved. Heck, I used to run a PI detector in the dry sand. In summer.

This is might be a great untapped resource or it might turn out to be a huge mistake. I'll keep you posted.

I believe the scoop max has pictured is made by Sunspot in warren michigan, they call it the sugar sand scoop runs $225. I have their bigger scoop w the bigger holes so those small targets fall right thru but it sifts lots faster.
You still need the plastic scoop for the dry sand though w the gold bug

Aaron,

Can you be more specific? Which plastic sand scoop are you referring to? Who makes it?

I am also going to post some photos of my retro-fitted sand scoop tonight and see what you folks think.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 02:05PM by smudge.

As I stated earlier, Tom has a plastic scoop that is perfect for dry sand micro gold hunting. It's basically a bowl w tiny chamfered holes used to strain pasta or vegetables. If you can find anything else like that it ((might)) work. Keep in mind,, the holes NEED to be TINY!
Toms is HIGHLY suggested.....

Ok, I can't see it posted for sale here anywhere, so I will send him a PM.

If I recall, it's the sifter you get with the pack of sand toys for kids. Comes with the plastic shovel, molds for castels etc.

That's not it ozzie...I have one, it's exactly as I described.
It works perfect.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 04:35PM by Aaron.

Can you post a picture?

Tom ordered a bunch in bulk as they can be tricky to find. The bowl is 9" diameter 3.5" deep and looks similar to a pasta strainer. The main difference is that most plastic pasta type strainers are chamfered on the outside or not at all. This bowl is chamfered on the inside. The holes are the same size as the ones on some of the sand toy sifters only there are more holes on the sides as well as bottom to sift more material faster. The bowl I got from tom feels more durable and isn't flimsy like the toy sifter I bought. The toy sifter works too, but the capacity is smaller. It is only about 7 inches diameter and 1 inch depth.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 07:13PM by kai_gold.

Smudge,
I just shot a quick video of the sifters I have and will upload it to youtube as soon as it is done rendering. The challenge of buying the right sifter is that I haven't seen them in stores and internet pictures and descriptions can be vague. That's why I bought mine from Tom. He may still have some, just pm him for details.

Thanks. I did PM Tom. i'm just waiting to hear back from him.

gravediggermax Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> found many many small items and many studs, almost
> 200 in 2010 - 5 or were gold with baby
> diamonds....5 out of 200.
> 2011 i gave up on this plan since i can find just
> one gold ring and it amounts to more than all the
> gold studs i found.
> i wasted VERY valuable time and time is one thing
> we never get back.
> beaches are loaded with all sorts of great
> sounding LITTLE targets - so i wish you all the
> luck possible in your quest, i doubt you will be
> dissappointed, but i would re-think this plan
> over.
> have fun


No worries. I am a master at wasting time!

But I hear you. I'm excited by the challenge of it. Time will tell if I end reaching the same conclusion you did.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 08:03PM by smudge.

Here is the video link: [www.youtube.com]

I have the photos of my scoop retrofit, but I have no idea how to post an image here.

Any advice?

Looks like there isn't a way to upload pics here. Looks like the other pictures on this thread are hosted at photobucket and then the link is added here.

smudge Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have the photos of my scoop retrofit, but I have
> no idea how to post an image here.
>
> Any advice?

Smude...if you establish a Photobucket account (free), you can then upload pictures into your library. Then all you have to is mouse over the pic and there will be several options available, one being the IMG code option. Once clicked, that info is copied and then you paste that into your post. Kinda tedious but it works.

Example below of the IMG code option for my 8 Reale picture