Montana

Hey Chris, It looks like the type of nuggets that the GPs might have trouble with in some cases. Rough and ragged nuggets always seemed to give a fainter signal than the solid ones.----Bob

Of course a gold only detector is possible. There are many experienced prospectors who are very accurate at discerning whether a signal is gold or trash just by the sound of the target, but even they say that you should dig most targets. A large overload signal could be anything and a huge nugget and a horseshoe will sound about the same to the best trained ears. If a human ear can learn the difference to some degree, a computer could be built that could also tell the difference at least as reliably if not much better. It will happen within a few years. Discriminators are okay but not hearing the trash at all would of course be much better.---Bob

Andrey. I just called His brother and everything is fine. He is just out of cell phone contact where he is at. The message that you need to talk to him will be passed on in a couple of days-----Bob

Hey guys. Thanks for all the well wishes. I put my detector up for sale and was amazed when my youngest daughter called me and said that she wanted it and wanted to carry on the tradition. This will work out just great and hopefully she can call me in the future with news of a great find. I will be taking it to her on my upcoming trip to Montana where I will be giving her first hand instructions on its use. This will be a lot of fun and maybe she will be posting some nugget pics here on the forum. ----Bob

Steve And AZBLACKBIRD. I have seen quite a bit of variation right from the factory on the XT17000 and the XT18000 as far as sensitivity goes . I have 2 friends who have XT18000s that will give the GB2s a run for the money but most of them won't. One of these guys has 4 XT18000s but only one of the units is comparable to the GB2. I have seen the same thing with the XT17000. I would suspect that the Eureka is the same since it is basicly the same platform.----Bob

Aaron . Great to hear from you. Talk about memories and great outdoorsmen , you made elk hunting easy for me and there is nobody that I would rather have for a partner in a life and death survival situation. Deadly with a detector also. I hope everything is going well with you and yours.---Bob

That area was where I caught the gold fever. My first nugget came from there and it was a respectable 11 grams. That started the incredible journey around the world searching for that next patch, so I definitely have fond memories and wonder where I'd be now if that had never happened.---Bob

OLd age does come on quick. I think what really got me was a fairly minor surgery back in November. During the two months of recovery I got out of shape and I just can't seem to get back in shape at this stage. I could still go out and pound an easy patch and get a few nuggets, but what I always loved to do was explore for new ground and that requires the kind of stamina that I just don't have anymore. I'm not whining, I knew it had to happen at some point. There is no way around it.----Bob

Steve , Mark, Mikey. Good luck this week . Maybe I'll change my mind if you guys score big. I drove through that country last week and the geology screamed gold--Bob

Ron . I'm thinking about expanding my garden. Let me know when the Fallon cantalopes are ripe . Best I ever had. I might plan a trip on HWy 50 and see how many i can stuff in the convertible.----Bob

Gary . It's a great area actually with gold scattered across a huge area far beyond the club claims on the cemented alluvial fans , but they can be very scattered with random loners and lots of military schrapnel and bullets to deal with. Meteorites throughout the area also .----Bob

I have found something fun to do .Bingo really doesn't interest me. I bought a really nice old convertible and Betsy and I took a great mountain tour in the Northern Sierra and southern Cascades. We saw some incredible country in all of it's springtime glory. We have a few more trips planned over the next few months with lots of mountain roads a seacoast to explore. I have really been enjoying California these last few years. One more part of the great western experience.----Bob

Check out the classified adds . Time to call it quits for this old guy. It has been a blast for over twenty years and I found countless nuggets but the thrill of finding a nugget no longer kills the aches and pains. Time to play bingo I guess. ----Bob

The mormon crickets can disappear for twenty years or more and then all of a sudden appear in the millions for one summer or sometimes two or three summers in a row then the next year there may be almost none. Feast or famine critters. there's either millions or none.---bob

Chris. The twine wrapped around the handle is most likely a makeshift repair after the original bone or wood handle broke off. Neat looking knife!---Bob