Totally Different Subject - Going Nugget Detecting

I am gearing up for some serious nugget detecting in Alaska this summer. I have limited space and am hitting a wide variety of locations. So what to pack?

The first choice is obvious - a Minelab GPX 5000. The deep machine. I will have a selection of coils from 8" to 18" for it.

However, the GPX fails for sniping tiny gold, and so a Gold Bug 2 with 6" coil goes along for cleaning up gold the GPX will miss.

Finally, I need a unit for tailing piles. This is the stuff already worked by miners that has gold they lost, and tons of ferrous junk. The GPX can wear you out fast digging super deep junk. The Gold Bug 2 gets very poor depth on larger targets. So a good VLF is the way to go. Something light for 12 hours swinging in very uneven ground. My choice these days is the F75 SE in all metal boost, using the meter to sort out the trash. I will be running the Ultimate 13 except when side-hilling where I will revert to the stock coil.

If I had to narrow it to two detectors I would probably just grab the Gold Bug Pro and leave the GB2 and F75SE behind. As it is I think I will take the GB Pro for backup and to use as a loaner as I expect friends to drop in.

My go to unit for tailing piles for many years was the MXT. Sadly, I was forced to put it aside in favor of the F75 because of the extra pound. Much as I like the White's detectors at some point they need to get with the 21st century and get the weight down. For park detecting I still love my DFX but 12 hour days in the rough calls for lighter weight detectors.

I will be detecting most of the summer so will be putting a huge amount of time on these units. Should have at least a few nuggets to show for it all this fall.

Steve Herschbach
DetectorProspector.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2013 01:44PM by Steve Herschbach.

Hi Steve...WoW that's quite the arsenal you have there....You obviously have all of your pistons firing in the right firing order....It takes persistence and a well thought out plan to succeed in your endeavor....I always thought about Alaska and it's gold resources but the short seasons and it's weather conditions was a big turn off for me....I wish you the best of luck, keep us posted on any or all of your finds....JJ

Steve --

Can't wait to see you posting some of the "fruits of your labor!" You really have a unique situation up there that most of us can only dream of!

Steve

Sounds like you will have a GREAT summer Steve!

I can see where the challenge/lure of Nugget hunting could become quite obesesive ....

Listening for just the faintest of hit's in the threshold!

I myself have only nugget hunted a handful of times in my life and it was mostly in my teen years in the mid 80's....did find some small one's in Dahlonega...and one out of Villa Rica here next to the house...

I have often felt the lure of the gold here in N.Ga over the years but most of my time being consumed in relic's I can't squeeze it in...yet it is a great quest to be on..If history had of been different in my area I could see the gold quest as my main pursuit...But that was not the case..

Whats weird if I was In Alaska nugget hunting I still would want to hunt the old miners camp's for their artifact's!!!

I hope you get a nice big un this season Steve!

Glad you have that 5000 too!

Keith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2013 04:33AM by Keith Southern.

Its gonna be a good year Steve! I'm going to give my new to me TDI a workout this coming week. Good luck!! Ray

Steve... sounds like you will be changing locations over the course of the summer. What are your arrangements for accommodations... for example do you intend to be camping for the duration? Will you "rough it" similar to the Australian trip, or will you have a little more comfortable sleeping arrangements this time around?

Jim.

Steve, you're doing what many of us dream of. Before I was settled down and married, many moons ago, a buddy and I were this close to selling everything and heading to gold country....that would have been an adventure of a lifetime. I don't regret not doing it, but it's fun to think about. Have a prosperous and safe trip....keep us posted.

Thanks for the positive thoughts!

Just living in a tent Jim, though one I can stand up in and a cot. The little pup tent I lived in while in Australia was fine due to nice weather, but in Alaska I have to assume it will rain every day AND that the mosquitoes will be horrible. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I am going to keep a daily journal, shoot lots of photos, and for the first time ever make an effort to get some nuggets found on video.

Steve Herschbach

Looking forward to following your adventures Steve! I wish I could do that.

Got the tools out finally starting to round things up for summer, though still a few weeks away.



1. Gold Bug 2 with 6.5" coil. This will be for scraping/detecting bedrock cleaning up the tiny bits.
2. Gold Bug Pro with 10" x 5" DD coil and 11" x 8" DD coils. General purpose tailings detecting.
3. F75 Special Edition with 13" DD coil and 11" DD coil. General purpose tailings detecting.
4. Minelab GPX 5000 with 8", 11", 16" and 18" mono coils. The "big gun"! For use anywhere there is not too much junk.

The Gold Bug Pro and F75 are redundant. For most people the Gold Bug Pro is the way to go. But I get a tiny edge with the F75 on larger gold in tailing piles and I like the large target id that pops up on the screen while in all metal mode compared to the tiny indicator on the Gold Bug Pro. The Pro is a tad hotter on small gold than the F75. The bottom line is I could narrow it down to three machines by leaving the F75 behind but can't quite bring myself to do that. The machine has been too good to me so it goes along and I will be using it for much of my detecting.

Now if summer would just arrive in Alaska. Been a cold late spring so far.

Steve Herschbach

Don't forget to file the front sight off of your 44 magnum.
Good luck and have a blast.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2013 06:50PM by ozzie.

You need good headphones in Alaska. Hard to hear the faint signals with all the racket the bears are making.

Ha! I see that one didn't get by you Mr. Herschbach.

Glad I only have to worry bout rattlers, tweakers and growers. Good luck to ya Steve

Did ya throw away the GMT?

I thought a lot about leaving all three Fishers behind and taking a GMT instead. It would pretty much do what those three do - hit the small gold on bedrock and give me good discrimination capability in the tailing piles. And honestly it still rolls around in my head, but at the end of the day I have to pack up and go, and having just the GMT would leave me feeling a bit constrained versus the other three units. If the GMT weighed a pound less it would be a different story perhaps. I am going to be putting in a lot of hours and the Gold Bug Pro at 2.5 lbs appeals a lot versus the GMT at 3.9 lbs. Tough call though. If I was getting in a Super Cub it would probably be GPX 5000 and GMT.

Steve Herschbach
DetectorProspector.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2013 04:55PM by Steve Herschbach.

I'm sure you have your venues all laid out but here's a suggestion ---a place I'd try if it was me is the stretch of the Yukon that runs along the Canadian border in the vicinity of Eagle. Two years ago the ice dam that formed and flooded the town scoured the banks for 150 yards above the high water mark for miles. My friend who had ice the size of school buses right outside his front door says it took out trees a foot and a half in diameter and exposed bedrock for miles ---just a FYI

Steve a dream for sure and one I still have . . . best of luck.
Seeing raw GOLD come directly from the earth does someting to me . . . always has

P.S. Seriously SKIP THE COT it will cause you to freeze your butt off.
You will not get any sleep if you increase the cold air around you . . . by allowing it beneath you.

Create some kind of solid warm base.

Been there done that . . . believe me.

Hi mcgov51,

You must be thinking winter. Been camping in Alaska all my life, never had a problem with cots. You do need the right pad in winter.

Thanks for the reminder about the flood shoveler. I will be up in the area but do not think I will quite make the river. But you never know.

Already tinkering with the coil mix, etc. weeding stuff down.

Steve Herschbach

Steve . . . that was relavent to my camping days in Northern Colorado' Poudre Canyon.
It was 10.000+ feet in elevation there and cold as you know what at night even in the
middle of the summer.

Alaska . . . all your life . . . you have had a rich life . . . and have seen some wonderful sights.

BRING BACK SOME PICS !!!

Be Safe and HH.