My Fisher Gold Bug Metal Detector
I have wanted a metal detector for years. I read every book and story I could find on the subject and finally decided it was time. I traveled up to Sweet Home, Oregon with the intent to buy a White's Gold Master. But while I was browsing in the Oregon Mining Shop, Rita, the proprietess talked me into the Fisher Gold Bug that had just been released. I am sure happy she did! In the short time that I have owned my Gold Bug, I’ve had tons of fun with it. I have detected Southern California beaches with it with modest success – lots of clad coins. I attended a gold seminar in central Oregon last spring put on by the dealer where I purchased my detector. At the end of the show, Rita put on a “coin shoot-out” where my Gold Bug was matched up against some high end detectors. From what I could tell, I found as many or more coins than anyone else. I just returned from a trip to Port Townsend, WA where I used it on the beach at Fort Worden. Unfortunately, all I found were a few clad coins. However, the ease of operation makes it a fine coin finder.
I have yet to find any gold with it but my time in gold bearing areas has been brief. I can’t wait to spend more time in some of the areas that I have researched. I have located some areas with old mines where I intend to detect their old tailing piles. We met a prospector last summer at the Shirt Tail Bridge in Northern California who had been detecting tailing piles with astounding success. He showed us some spectacular specimens. Sadly, he wouldn’t divulge his location. So stay tuned because I am determined to make my Gold Bug live up to it's name.
How to Find More Gold In The Backcountry
I have wanted a metal detector for years. I read every book and story I could find on the subject and finally decided it was time. I traveled up to Sweet Home, Oregon with the intent to buy a White's Gold Master. But while I was browsing in the Oregon Mining Shop, Rita, the proprietess talked me into the Fisher Gold Bug that had just been released. I am sure happy she did! In the short time that I have owned my Gold Bug, I’ve had tons of fun with it. I have detected Southern California beaches with it with modest success – lots of clad coins. I attended a gold seminar in central Oregon last spring put on by the dealer where I purchased my detector. At the end of the show, Rita put on a “coin shoot-out” where my Gold Bug was matched up against some high end detectors. From what I could tell, I found as many or more coins than anyone else. I just returned from a trip to Port Townsend, WA where I used it on the beach at Fort Worden. Unfortunately, all I found were a few clad coins. However, the ease of operation makes it a fine coin finder.
I have yet to find any gold with it but my time in gold bearing areas has been brief. I can’t wait to spend more time in some of the areas that I have researched. I have located some areas with old mines where I intend to detect their old tailing piles. We met a prospector last summer at the Shirt Tail Bridge in Northern California who had been detecting tailing piles with astounding success. He showed us some spectacular specimens. Sadly, he wouldn’t divulge his location. So stay tuned because I am determined to make my Gold Bug live up to it's name.
How to Find More Gold In The Backcountry
We often hike or backpack into our prospecting areas. Last summer we even floated down the river to get to some out-of-the-way areas. If you are serious about your prospecting efforts then you need a good Folding Sluice Box that you can take anywhere but still recover all of that precious gold.
This Royal Folding Sluice Box is just right. It is portable. It can be folded up and it fits inside a five gallon bucket or even a backpack but don't let it's portability fool you. When this sluice box is setup, you are looking at 50 inches of gold grabbing area. The channel is nine inches wide. That is a lot of space to run your material through but yet it is easy to transport. When this sluice box is folded up it measures 4 1/8" x 9" x 15 1/8".
The top has a nice wide flare allowing more material. The recovery system starts with ribbed matting, followed by zinc coated steel riffles over coated expanded metal (or aluminum riffles over aluminum expanded in the all aluminum option) and ribbed carpet. Clean-up is as easy as removing a couple of wingnuts.
This is an excellent sluice for out of the way prospecting when you are going to be hiking in. Smaller, lighter sluices are available, but a larger box can handle a lot more material, which often means more gold at the end of the day. This box weighs less than 9 pounds and there is an optional stand that you can purchase.
This Royal Folding Sluice Box is just right. It is portable. It can be folded up and it fits inside a five gallon bucket or even a backpack but don't let it's portability fool you. When this sluice box is setup, you are looking at 50 inches of gold grabbing area. The channel is nine inches wide. That is a lot of space to run your material through but yet it is easy to transport. When this sluice box is folded up it measures 4 1/8" x 9" x 15 1/8".
The top has a nice wide flare allowing more material. The recovery system starts with ribbed matting, followed by zinc coated steel riffles over coated expanded metal (or aluminum riffles over aluminum expanded in the all aluminum option) and ribbed carpet. Clean-up is as easy as removing a couple of wingnuts.
This is an excellent sluice for out of the way prospecting when you are going to be hiking in. Smaller, lighter sluices are available, but a larger box can handle a lot more material, which often means more gold at the end of the day. This box weighs less than 9 pounds and there is an optional stand that you can purchase.
Folded Dimensions: 4 1/8" x 9" x 15 1/8"
Unfolded Dimensions: 50" x 9" x 2 1/2" deep
Flare: 13 3/4" wide
Weight: 8 Lbs 6 ounces with zinc coated steel riffles or 6 Lbs 9 ounces for the all aluminum option
Folding Sluice Box
- $ 110.00
From: BlackCatMining.com
