Notsuredomus
Full Member
- Aug 12, 2012
- 107
- 93
- Detector(s) used
- Gold Bug 2
Whites GMT
Garret ProPointer
Bazooka Gold Trap Super Prospector
Fossicker Production Pan
Proline 3in Dredge/Highbanker Combo
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
The image is of the gold I got from the South Forks of Salmon River, near the N. California town of Sawyers Bar. The exact spot is the New 49ers claim San-6 which is on the Salmon at the Whites Gulch tributary. I had just got my Bazooka Gold Trap prospector extended sluice box and was eager to put it through its paces. I new that this sluice design was outstanding because I had used a friends Mini Bazooka quite a few times and was very impressed with its fine gold recovery. My only complaint with the mini was that I couldn't run a large amount of material. Prior to this I would have never paid 340.00 for a sluice box. I reluctantly emptied my pockets to make this purchase because funds were very tight at the time. I told myself it would pay for itself and after a lengthy talk with the Bazooka's designer I opted for the Prospector model with the extended body. This sluice requires a strong water flow to move the material un-assisted. So I spent a couple hours channeling the rivers current into my box and thats where I worked for several weeks. The mini could run 5 buckets in just under an hour. The prospector extended easily kept up with 2 people shoveling our asses off. You could just dump a 5 gallon bucket on the slick plate without any problem. The only assistance the sluice requires is keeping the grizzly clear of rocks. If you don't want to have to tend the box you can classify to a half inch which will help process the material much quicker, keep you from having to clear the grizzly and your tailings will rarely need to be cleared if you do classify. I prefer to fill buckets asap and use the time it takes to run the material as a little break. I would like to put together the components I need to run this thing as a high banker. Riffle sluices use vortex's creating small low pressure zones after each riffle. this system tries to catch the gold as it rushes down the box. Small flat gold is very hydro-dynamic and it is dependent on perfect angle, velocity, and volume of water in order to have a satisfactory recovery percentile. Leaving the sluice in the water when there is no material being run through it can dramatically affect your recovery as well. With the bazooka, once it is through the grizzly and in your fluid bed, it isnt going anywhere. The fluid bed aerates the material causing the heavies to quickly drop to the bottom of the catch basin. Once its there its not going anywhere. Leave it in the river overnight without losing gold. this design is also much less susceptible to mishandling as well. Every so often if you put your finger in the fluid bed and press down. The material should feel spongy or like a fluid, if the material is compacted you need to do a clean up (I've only had this happen once). I can't wait until winter is finally over and I can get back out there
Keep it Wild!
Keep it Wild!
