New to prospecting!! Highbanker/Dredge questions inside!

Brehmdig

Brehmdig

Jr. Member
Mar 14, 2013
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I have always wanted to find some gold in the river, or anywhere really. I finally cracked and decided to get serious about it. I am currently living in Washington State in the Olympic Peninsula. I would love to be able to get started. I don't really know much going in to this so any input is greatly appreciated!
I'm leaning towards the Mini Highbanker to get started at Mini Highbanker . Does anyone have any suggestions on whether or not this would be a smart start? I also would like to be able to Dredge somewhere down the line but would love to just get started. I have done lots of research and have leaned towards this one..
Thanks!
 

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Click here ¬¬ South Yuba Mining Co. then look at the price comparisons between the Gold Hog you are looking at, then buy the one you can afford or will get you the most for your money. We have 2 South Yuba's and a Keene A52 combo.
 

Reed Lukens said:
Click here ¬¬ South Yuba Mining Co. then look at the price comparisons between the Gold Hog you are looking at, then buy the one you can afford or will get you the most for your money. We have 2 South Yuba's and a Keene A52 combo.
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Ah ok, the mini one I was looking at seemed less expensive and like it should do the trick!
 

Better look again, The 10" South Yuba is cheaper cause shipping is included. Not included with the mini. I know that you've done your research but that's a toy. Spencer sells toys like that also if you look at the bottom of the page for $149.00 but I wouldn't buy that one either. If this was for a 4 to 8 year old then yea it would be a good beginning machine and I would buy the $149.00 South Yuba for the kid. But for a 10 year old to an adult, (he is crouched in that video to make it look bigger but your back will be dead in an hour) get the man sized unit that you can set up in the air high enough to not have to constantly bend over to see what's in it. The last 4 videos are on 4 different models. I would buy the 12" wide anytime over any of the others being sold by any of the other manufacturers. We did put gold hog mat in the top under the classifier and down to the first riffle to get rid of the hump and it catches everything to powder. We checked our tailings many times and found 1 or 2 -200 specs if anything. Now we have vortex filling that gap.
 

Reed Lukens said:
Better look again, The 10" South Yuba is cheaper cause shipping is included. Not included with the mini. I know that you've done your research but that's a toy. Spencer sells toys like that also if you look at the bottom of the page for $149.00 but I wouldn't buy that one either. If this was for a 4 to 8 year old then yea it would be a good beginning machine and I would buy the $149.00 South Yuba for the kid. But for a 10 year old to an adult, (he is crouched in that video to make it look bigger but your back will be dead in an hour) get the man sized unit that you can set up in the air high enough to not have to constantly bend over to see what's in it. The last 4 videos are on 4 different models. I would buy the 12" wide anytime over any of the others being sold by any of the other manufacturers. We did put gold hog mat in the top under the classifier and down to the first riffle to get rid of the hump and it catches everything to powder. We checked our tailings many times and found 1 or 2 -200 specs if anything. Now we have vortex filling that gap.
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On nice! Thanks, that's exactly the input I've been looking for!
 

Better check Wa state gold and fish pamphlet before buying any equipment there are very strict regs up here if you get something too big your restricted to a very short season I sent you a PM check it out
 

It is of my opinion that it is all too common for people to approach prospecting by first buying equipment...........You can have a highbanker/dredge ect ect ect and still get little or no gold.. Spend your time getting familiar with FINDING GOLD learning some areas ect ect it's pretty cheap and I feel is the better start..
 

Ditto! MadMarshall. Best advise yet. There are lots of places where someone can go and try out equipment without buying it first. BLM areas dedicated to recreational prospecting sometimes rent out highbankers, sluices, hoses and pumps to prospectors for 20% to 25% of your daily cleanout (take). Your only expense is gasoline and groceries. There are also plenty of experienced operators looking for hands to work picks and shovels on their crews for a percentage, (A good way to learn geology and WHAT to look for). You'll also make important contacts. Not just prospectors, but also equipment salesmen who are demonstrating their machines right there where the gold is being gotten. Alot more informative than watching a video. Cache Creek, Colorado is one such example of this kind of location. I'm sure you've got one in Washington State too.
 

Not going to find anything like Cache Creek in Washington, I have lived here 62 years and never heard of such a place. Best thing for you to do I join a club to get some learning. WPMA,Bedrock Prospector's or Prospector's Plus are a few of them. Google them. There is going to be the Gold show in Puyalup April 6-7 where you can put your hands on stuff and talk to people. Reed knows what he's talking about, he's been mining the ground for many years, not mining the miners.
 

All that is great informations guys, thanks for all of it! I actually started making a sluice today... Going to be a small 6in one with boss hog matting inside of it... Over halfway done just waiting on the order to come in. I will definitely look into the clubs and start there, sounds like the smart thing to do!
 

Brehmdig said:
All that is great informations guys, thanks for all of it! I actually started making a sluice today... Going to be a small 6in one with boss hog matting inside of it... Over halfway done just waiting on the order to come in. I will definitely look into the clubs and start there, sounds like the smart thing to do!
Click to expand...

Gold hog I mean... So many new vocabulary words to remember!
 

I was just about to Google "Boss Hog" matting, I thought I somehow completely missed a new matting that came on the market!
 

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