Nugget machine

[hansenrw]

I have owned a Minelab Explorer for several years and really like the machine.

I am now getting somewhat involved in recreational prospecting and am in the market for a good gold nugget detector. I don't have the budget for a top of the line machine. I saw a demo of the X=terra 70 at a GPAA show and almost bought one on the spot. But I shy away from impulse buying.

I have a great coin shooter but would appreciate any input or advice on a good gold nugget detector that can find small nuggets as the areas I am likely to hunt are not known for very large gold. The x-terra seemed impressive enough at the gold show but is there something else out there that would be better suited as a dedicated gold machine and still in the price range of the x_terra 70?

Thanks in advance

Robert

 

[fredm]

For the tiniest gold a Goldbug-2 or any of the Whites Goldmaster series are a good bet. The x70 has developed quite a following...check out the x70 forum and some of the other gold forums...

there is no perfect detector...

Fred

 

[AU MARC]

Hi Robert
I have used the Exterra 70 and it is a great machine that has many uses including prospecting.You already own a very good and proven coin/relic machine in the Explorer.Seeing as the gold your after is most likely small nuggets and maybe high grade ore I highly suggest the Fisher GB2 as it is simply the best machine on the small stuff hands down!It will still hear larger nuggets as will the EX T 70,the GB2 will hear the smallest pieces of gold that most all other machines will miss.
That my opinion
Best of Luck

Marc

 

[AU MARC]

Robert
I`m hoping that Gus from IDAHO has a few words for you about the GB2.

Marc

 

[Allen in MT]

The Gold Bug 2 is a great machine for getting all the small gold and gold closer to the surface, but because of it's higher frequency it does not do as well on deeper nuggets as the GMT or LST, One advantage the GB2 and the LST have over the GMT is the ability to take the control box off the shaft and either belt mount or hip mount the unit. My smallest piece of gold to date with the GB2 is the .020 gm that is at the bottom and left of the date in the photo. This was my last take with the GB2 working cracks in bedrock. My next choice would be the LST good all around detector almost as good as the GB2 on gold. For user friendly it would be the GB2, LST then the GMT
been detecting since 1971
enjoy and HAGD
Allen in MT

 

[Gus in idaho]

Hi Robert.

I have owned a bug-2 for 5 years now.
It was my first machine. My second trip with it I found a patch of 65 nuggets. All 65 nuggets only weighed in at 9 grams.
And a couple of them were close to a gram themselves. meaning there was some pretty small ones.

Then I watched a 7 gram nugget dug with a pulse induction at a depth of like 17 inches.
No way in hell would a VLF machine come close to hearing it.
I bought GP-3000 the next week. Assuming that I would never use my gold-bug2 again.
Boy was I wrong, I'm so glad I kept my bug2
Big pulse induction is great in areas where there is larger nuggets with very little trash, and where they are deep.(my opinion)
The bug2 has such a great discrimination ability for trash.
I have found good gold with the bug2 in areas where there is 10 times as much trash as gold, and only had to dig the lead and gold.
They sound identical.
I have hunted with other people using different types of VLF machines,
while being right in the middle of a patch of specimen gold.
There were several pieces of gold that I found with a bug-2 that the other types of machines could not even hear.
I honesty feel that the gold-bug2 will find smaller gold than any other type of gold machine on the market. (MAKE SURE TO BUY THE 6" COIL)
I was able to swap for a 6" coil instead of the 10" that comes standard.
If you looking for super small gold the 6" is the only one I would recommend. I bought my Machines from Gerry's Detectors. And he can take you out and train you how to use it. That was the key to my success.

The best find I have made with my bug2 was a 8-1/2 ounce specimen that contains 1.65 ounces of gold.
I found this specimen at about 8" deep. And it sounded pretty good when I first started digging.
Hopefully this will help you in your choice of machines.
Gus-
Gold from the patch of 65 nuggets found with the bug2
[attachment 61144 80_1.jpg]
The specimen piece if found with the bug2
Au Marc was right by my side when I found this specimen
He also found some specimen pieces with the bug2 on that trip, as well as a nice little nugget.[attachment 61142 Specimen3.jpg]

 

[desertdon]

What is said about the GB2 is all true, BUT, it is not good in very mineralized ground and takes constant checking of the ground balance in such conditions and gives aot of false signals wih hot rocks. The White's will find very small gold also and handle bad ground better. The x-terra may not find as small, but is still good and has very good controls for mineralized ground and can be ued for other detecting if you are interested. It is a hard choice! all good detectors, you have to determine what you will do most. Maybe a dealer or a club near you will let you use the different models and you may find what you want to buy, a few hours or day will tell you alot about what suits you. Good luck...Don

 

[nugget71]

Hi, hows it goin! Well I own an X-Terra 70 and love it. I have used it in all conditions including heavily mineralized ground. Let me put it as simple as possible. Most of the detectors on the market that are built specifically for a certain purpose will do there job. The 70 does EVERYTHING it says it does and that includes nugget finding. Money! Ground type! and Main usage! are the three main most talked about topics when it comes to detecting apart from the treasures found of course. For the $$ value I personally think the 70 is one of the best priced detectors on the market at the moment. No detector is perfect but the 70 comes close the one of the most versatile detectors on the market. Give one a go and you wont be disappointed.
Cheers!

 

[desertdon]

I have posted below, but agree with this post because of the X-70's ability to handle minerialized ground and automatically. Don

 

[hansenrw]

I appreciate your taking time to share your thoughts.

I have not made a final choice as yet but am leaning towards the x-terra 70 because of it's multiple modes of operation. I can still use my Explorer and take someone along when coin shooting. And then when I get the rare chance to raid a gold site have the 70 there to chase a few nuggets. (I have a drywasher but you need to take a break from that after a while, too much like work)

It would be nice to have the benefit of trying some diferent detectors in the field but that is not too likely.

So thanks again, Robert

 

[Gerry in Idaho]

Robert, Your question is quite common and I get asked this same one almost daily when speaking to new customers.

You never did mention what kind of Nugget Hunting you want to do, what the soil conditions and ground mineralization is and any limitations you may have as for not know how to Ground Balance a detector properly, issues for your eye site, hearing, shoulder or back problems, options of coils and what is your idea of small gold? These are all factors that have to be looked at.

Provided the average of everything above is good, since you already have a quality Coin/Relic machine and are asking for a Good Prospecting detector for Small Gold, then my #1 choice would be a Fisher Gold Bug-2 with a small 6" elliptical coil.

My backing of this is.. I own, compare and use the White's GMT, the Tesoro LST, the Minelab X-70, the Fisher GB-2 and the Minelab Eureka Gold and train customers when them almost monthly.

They all have great features and I can find something with each unit that it does better than the others. But I am certain you are like most everyone else and can only afford to purchase 1 detector?

My customers are my proof and the GB-2 will find more pieces of gold and will respond to specimens with very little gold better than all the above machines when in average US soils. They always find more pieces of gold with GB-2. If you want the highest percent chance of SUCCESS, then the GB-2 is the right machine. My personal settings, tips/tricks and knowing of which accessories you will need can help you on your way to SUCCESS.

Am I saying the others are no good? Of course not and I will never say that. But each unit has things I don't like and things I like about them and if you all had the opportunity to own, use and compare them in the field, you'd start to learn the Pros/Cons of each.

I see that you are looking strongly towards the X-70 and I fell it is a great detector with plenty of potential. I had wonderful results with it at Ganes Creak, AK last year and I took it to England this Spring with SUCCESS again. But I know the higher 71 kHz GB-2 will find the most pieces of small gold and so that is why I say GB-2 with a small 6" coil.

If you don't have a local dealer to help you and you would like more info about any of the above mentioned machines, please feel free to email me and I'll be glad to assist you with my 30+ years of detecting knowledge.

The gold in this pan is what I helped recover with a GB-2 and small 6" coil last Friday (June 29th) in a Honey Hole after it had been worked for a half day by others.
[attachment 61714 GB2.jpg]