Alex,

Seriously?? Better than the Minelab? Are they made for gold finding as well. I know Germany makes very high quality products but never thought they would produce metal detectors. Do they have gold in Germany?

Which claim were you on down by Arivaca- Las Guijas Mts?

I'm in Tucson, also.  Where do you like to go? I have a high banker & a Gold Bug Pro.

Bob,

How do you like the Gold Bug Pro? Mine seems to be noisy when lifting or touching the coil to the ground, after its been balanced. What sensitivity level do you mostly work within? That is probably my issue.....but I was always thinking that cutting back on the sensitivity would affect the depth, but now I know that is not quite true. I had been using it up in the 60-70 range. The ground that you run yours in is probably much more mineralized than what I see up in Nevada. But I am interested on what you see performance wise with yours.

 Yes we have very hot rocks & ground. I try to keep mine set at a low hum so that even a small piece of gold will set it off, but so does every thing else. I try to hear the right sound. Disc mode cuts too much of the sensitivity, in my opinion. I play test with some small pieces of gold so I will know how to set it & what listen for. I still haven't figured what the numbers represent!?

I've played with the sensitivity & found that its best around the 12:00 (or halfway). If I turn it up all the way it drains the battery quicker.  The numbers on the screen which represent the ground or what ever you run the coil over. Most of the time it stays around 78 + or -.

The all metal knob I turn up as high as I can before it starts buzzing constantly. I figure that will give me the most sensitivity. I seems to work when I test it with some grains of gold. Hope all that makes sense. Am I doing it right?

Yea, I think if I had Minelab I wouldn't use the GB pro. Maybe some day. My latest project is building a rock crusher. I have some hot rocks that I want to see whats in them. Maybe some gold, who knows. I picked them up by Campo Bonito where a lot of gold has been mined. All in a days work.

Campo Bonito  has been good to me, but it is a desert diggers claim ,not GPAA.

Bill Southern, the R double j claim is a good area in Add to dictionary, stay on the bedrock, if you do not mind hiking you will end up along the old Pennsylvania  placers where hydraulic mining was done, pipes still lying on the ground.(not a GPAA claim - open) you can also find sucker gulch, Boston gulch and several other areas that were mined 150 years ago.

 ‎

Hey Bob thanks for the map & info. I have a friend who has claims down there. It seemed to be pretty well picked over where I went. I never saw this map in the guide? Is there somewhere on this site to download missing pages (maps, etc.)

Just to add that what joining a club does for us is this..... EDUCATION..... Right, I mean no one is gonna get rich finding gold perhaps on club claims, but the knowledge about the area and comradery is the big score. You have access to gold bearing areas and most any GPAA claim I have been to I find gold. Why? I have used this great organization to further my learning as well as several other clubs. I use available books and re-prints of bureau of mines info, Geologic maps, and any other info I can find. So say you are on a claim in the San Domingo Placer district of Maricopa CO, Arizona you found in your claims guide. You also come with literature mentioned to tell you about local deposits, how much gold was found, size of average gold nuggets and particles, distribution, and more. Suddenly you can look around and understand why the old timers worked here and how and much more.....

You are informed.....

Keeps ya from getting out of your vehicle and asking yourself "Now What"

This is the magic.....

I mark everything in Google Earth, best spots stay on the GPS

Where is Greaterville?

Posted By Bob Clark on 31 Jan 2017 03:53 PM

 

I mark everything in Google Earth, best spots stay on the GPS

Alex,

On the West side of the Double J claims over East of Prescott last winter and so far this winter there have been over 50 nuggets found (nothing real big).  Only a couple inches deep.  Stay out of the dry wash bottoms and work the sides of the slopes.  Heavy brush makes for a lot of work though.  

Posted By Scott Brooks on 05 Feb 2017 06:57 PM

Posted By Bob Clark on 31 Jan 2017 03:53 PM

 

I mark everything in Google Earth, best spots stay on the GPS

Since you mentioned it what gps are you using? why?  Is there a thread out there already?

I use a Garmin Oregon 600. My memory sucks, every spot looks like the last spot, If I find an area I like I weather it is drywashing or metal detecting, I mark it with the GPS. I mark all claims that I have or will visit in google earth, pinpoint locations I like ,transfer the locations to the GPS so they are easier to find. Otherwise it is a needle in a haystack.

With most claims 40 - 360 acres try to find a 10 x 10 foot patch you were at a year  ago.

Hello Dennis, 

 I was curious, you mentioned 50 nuggets found on the Double J claims,---Have you actually found some of these???, or are you going by "hearsay" from others??   I have hunted that area in the past a couple of times without good results due to the heavy brush, and have sort of avoided it since.   Gary

Gary,

I have found part of them and was present when several others were found.  You mentioned the heavy brush, that is where the nuggets are.  It takes a lot of work but you can remove some of the dead brush and search.  The area most of them came from has pretty much been cleaned out but I'm confident that there are other areas out there that will produce nuggets.  Just have to spend the time to find the spots.  We have also had great luck dry washing for flakes throughout all the claims in that area.  If I was staying in that area again this year, I would be in there detecting and dry washing (moisture permitting) every day.  I'm camping down by Quartzsite this winter and am struggling to find a good place to prospect and detect in this area.

Thanks Dennis,  I might venture out that way before the summer heat hits us and see if I can find a spot or two.  Are they mostly along the banks of the wash, or higher up on the ridges??  Normally I am a bottom (wash bed) detectorist, so working under the scrub brush will be new to me.  When you where finding the nuggets, did you ever find a pattern or line of nuggets to follow to try to find their source?  I do that often in washes and many times track down the source of where they are actually coming from (which in some cases leads to a patch or pocket). 

As for Quartzsite, I haven't ever detected there, but you might try contacting Chris Gholson at the Arizona Outback Gold Forum, and / or Bill Southern at the Nugget Finder Gold Forum.  These are their own forums, and I think that both have hunted the Quartzsite area many times and would know where to suggest you try.  I know Chris definitely has.  Thanks Again.  Gary 

hey alex - newbie here, itching to get out to aravca area - pretty close by to me.  great question, been thinking along the same line as you and many responses to  you. Hoping to get more involved with local chapter - perhaps we will meet soon. 

Hey Dennis,

I went out to the area on the Double J yesterday for a couple of hours for a look-see.  Man, that area is Thick in buck brush and manzanita.  You talk about an area difficult (if not impossible) to walk thru without a struggle, this is it!!!  The wash has really been hammered to death by past diggers in search of the yellow.  I attempted to detect up on the sides  of the slopping hillsides without luck.  Question for you:  When you (and others) where finding the nuggets where they found in the lower-bank along the wash (as there where many areas dug out along the bank), or up higher on the hillsides, or tops of the hills???  I found a couple of areas along the upper hillsides where there had been small areas opened up (cleared of brush) in amongst the thick brush, sort of like paths made to get to the tops.  I also couldn't do any detecting while I was right under the overhead power lines do the EMI.  Gary  

Gary,

If you are still up tonight, give me a call at 7193201877 if you would like. Do you live locally here? What type of detector are you using?  Sounds like you were in the correct area. This year, we have found a couple nuggets in the dry wash, but previously we found them up higher. If you found the areas where the old dead brush was moved out of the way, you were in the right areas.  I forgot to tell you about the EMI with the power lines above.

Hey Gary, we live nearby and are thinking about going to Double J or Soldier Boy this coming Saturday. How is the road in? Any muddy spots or big puddles?  -----------------Chris                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Dennis,

Yes, I live in the Prescott Valley area and have for many years, as I was born and raised in Prescott (one of the few natives still here).  I run a Minelab GP-3000, and in that thick pain-in-the-butt buck brush I use a Coilteck Joey (very hot) Elliptical coil.  Due to the last couple of days of rain we had over here the washes are no longer dry.  This wash running thru the Double J is very wet, muddy, and the dug-out parts of the wash are full of water that pooled in them.  The wash that merges with the Double J wash (south of it) is actually running with a steady flow of water.  As for dead brush, I really couldn't tell if the brush had been removed (I couldn't find any dead brush just laying around the area), or if someone had just cleared a walking trail up the side of the little hillside to get to the top??  I was upstream of the power lines due to the excessive EMI when I found these semi-cleared-out brush areas.

Christine Gold, 

I was only on the Double J claim the other day, so I don't know what kind of road conditions you would be facing going into the other claim.  And I went in thru the Green gate just off of Hwy 69, then cut up thru the old railroad cut, and then right onto a dirt road on up over the hill, and then left at the power line down to the Double J where the two washes merge.  This dirt road is pretty much all exposed bedrock, so no muddy patches, nor issues.  ...Gary

Posted By Bob Simons on 15 Jan 2017 09:50 PM

 

Which claim were you on down by Arivaca- Las Guijas Mts?

Posted By Frank Durham on 13 Dec 2016 08:22 AM
I'm currently in East Tucson , Very new to all of this.. But ready to learn and go out and have fun..

anyone in the area looking to teach someone a few things on finding gold .. I"m available

Hit me up .. if you'd like to go out and do some prospecting.. travel via UTV .. makes for a fun day

Posted By Bob Simons on 15 Jan 2017 09:54 PM

 

I'm in Tucson, also.  Where do you like to go? I have a high banker & a Gold Bug Pro.

Posted By ROBERT WITKOWSKI on 17 Feb 2017 04:19 PM

hey alex - newbie here, itching to get out to aravca area - pretty close by to me.  great question, been thinking along the same line as you and many responses to  you. Hoping to get more involved with local chapter - perhaps we will meet soon. 

 

I like meeting new people,  I am hoping to go to the GPAA meeting in Tucson this 3rd Wednesday in March

The Prescott forest is closed due to the Goodwin fire so all the GPAA claim within the forest boundaries are closed. Both Soldier Boy and Double JJ are not open at this time. Congress should be open. Not sure about the gold there. Black Canyon group north should be open. Access is by 2WD. Once again, not sure about any gold there either. 

It's very hot out there! Early mornings are best. Stay hydrated. Don't want search and rescue coming to get you.

Good luck ---------------------------------

Chris 

After Finding a 2.9 Gram nugget near Greaterville and a 8.4 Gram Nugget in Polaris Claim,  I'm thinking those are my favorites,  I would like to go up north and detect in Prescott.

Posted By LEO LORENZ on 16 Jan 2017 08:12 PM
Hmmm okayyyy.....but what number do you set the sensitivity to? When you say that you have not "figured out what the numbers represent" which numbers are you speaking about? There are numbers for the ground balance......when you first turn it on and have it in the air, there will be a number showing which represents the "ground reference" and bringing the coil closer to the ground, the ground reading will change,....and lifting or dropping the coil in reference to the ground will cause a sound to increase or decrease. But the sensitivity setting is independent of that. Usually a good target will register lower on the scale than the ground reference number, and if it is iron or something undesirable....the reading will go higher than the nominal ground balance setting. Wondering how you can use it if you are not familiar with the numbers??