A52 vs Bazooka Gold Trap

[Kiwiguy]

Hi,

New to this forum but a very keen prospector here in New Zealand.
I have a question that maybe you experienced guys can help with.
Currently I run a Keene A52 and am generally happy, recently i saw the bazooka on the web and looks like a great sluice without all the classifying. My worry is the river I prospect most (Arrow river near Queenstown, NZ,) is extremely heavy in black sands with fine gold and I am not sure how the Bazooka would go in a heavy black sand environment?? Any thoughts would be appreciated... cheers

 

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[DizzyDigger]

Howdy Kiwi!

Or, should that be G'Day?

Here's my opinion, fwiw. The Bazooka is a superb sluice for many
situations, but (now this is just my opinion) a properly set-up
A52 will catch more of the super fine gold.

If you realy want to put the hurt on that fine gold, get a Gold Cube
and run it right there beside the creek. Classify down to a min. of
8 mesh (1/8") and if all the gold is super small, then classifying
to 20 mesh would be even better.

The Gold Cube is designed for that kind of heavy black sand material,
and while it won't save 100%, it'll get you much more of it than the sluices
will.

The gold in my area is also very fine with heavy black sand, and when
using my A52 I remove the riffles, add in a layer of v-mat (Vortex matting
is even better) and then add two layers of expanded metal over the top.

The trick is feeding it at the right speed so that the tiny riffle areas created
by the expanded metal don't load up. Run it at a water speed that it will clean
out most of the dreck in just 5-10 seconds, and then slowly feed it another
scoop.

 

[Goodyguy]

If you decide to go with a bazooka make sure the trap gets plenty of gravels in it. The gravel will keep the black sand from choking off the fluidization of the trap.

In other words.... if you run only sand into the trap the weight/density of the heavy black sand overcomes the pressure of the water flowing through the jets in the fluidizing tubes so the trap becomes packed too tight to allow the gold to settle through the sand fast enough to keep from being washed out the overflow.

More angle with a fast water flow also helps prevent the trap from getting packed due to increasing the water pressure to the jets.

But other than that the Bazooka is great at recovering any gold that the A-52 is capable of and without classifying.
The Gold Cube is also a great tool for running sand and 1/8" and smaller material and since it uses a pump it can be used even where the water is not flowing fast enough to run a sluice.


GG~

 

[Hoser John]

Old school rocks in comparison to a bamboogleajerka-John

 

[Aufisher]

Get the A52 if you enjoy classifying. Get the Bazooka if you want to double your gold with the same effort.

 

[KevinInColorado]

What is the sizing of the gold in your paydirt? As GG says, with a cup or two of gravel in the trap, the Bazooka works just great... on any +100 gold with virtually 100% recovery. Below 100 mesh it only retains a fraction of the gold no matter how you run it. Most streams have very little gold that fine (thank god!) and your A52 struggles to catch -100 consistently too of course.

In Colorado waterways I produce 2-3x the gold per hour worked with a Bazooka Sniper or Prospector as compared to a riffle sluice...mostly due to elimination of classifying and somewhat due to quicker setups and clean-outs.

If you're really facing a high percentage of -100 gold then you need a beach box (search on Tom Watson here on tnet) or a gold cube. Another good option is to see what others in your area are using if anyone has progressed beyond the old style metal riffle sluices.

 

[Goldwasher]

Old school rocks in comparison to a bamboogleajerka-John

Totally uncalled for John.....I will bury any keene ,proline ,angus or letrap with my bazooka tailings!!!!!!!! Run more material and recover more gold period. Easier to set up and clean out...no moving parts. Todd is a great guy and a prospector. He runs a very honest business and fully backs his product. They are a supporting vendor of Tnet...to imply that they are ripping people off is just off base.........Bamboo(zle) implies to scam jerka?? really?? OLD SCHOOL ROCKS.......IN A CHAIR is more like it

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Wow; from the Arrow! I wanted to dip a pan there many a time, but it was always on vacation with my wife, daughters, their husbands and my grandkids. No one in the family interested but me. I knew there had been a great gold rush there. We took the Shotover jet boats up the Arrow, but nary a pan did I get to wash.

That is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen, and I live in Colorado! I own an Keene A-52 and a Bazooka. We also have fine gold; the Keene sits at home while I use the Bazooka. KevinInColorado, Goldwasher and GG are right. And there are plenty of plans on here for a DIY Bazooka. I would imagine postage to New Zealand would be excessive; it always is when we mail stuff to Christchurch to my oldest daughter.

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

Old school rocks in comparison to a bamboogleajerka-John

I would be willing to bet you have never even seen a Bazooka in action with a statement like that. Hands down the Bazooka is better. It's easier to set up, no classifying and it's easier to pack in. There is not 1 thing about an A52 that makes it better than a Bazooka. With thinking like that John we should a be hauling out rocker boxes on the back of mules.

 

[Aufisher]

I second that. John has never used a Bazooka sluice. He may be confusing it with an underwater dredge. John, your welcome to try my sluice out.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Wow; from the Arrow! I wanted to dip a pan there many a time, but it was always on vacation with my wife, daughters, their husbands and my grandkids. No one in the family interested but me. I knew there had been a great gold rush there. We took the Shotover jet boats up the Arrow, but nary a pan did I get to wash.

That is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen, and I live in Colorado! I own an Keene A-52 and a Bazooka. We also have fine gold; the Keene sits at home while I use the Bazooka. KevinInColorado, Goldwasher and GG are right. And there are plenty of plans on here for a DIY Bazooka. I would imagine postage to New Zealand would be excessive; it always is when we mail stuff to Christchurch to my oldest daughter.

Queenstown, New Zealand:

 

[GoldpannerDave]

More Queenstown:



Is this not a beautiful spot? The Arrow runs into the lake.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

And two more: Me, daughter and granddaughter at the top of the tramway, with Queenstown below us: and a river close (but not the Arrow):

See what I mean about beautiful?

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Same river, looking the other direction:

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Wow; from the Arrow! I wanted to dip a pan there many a time, but it was always on vacation with my wife, daughters, their husbands and my grandkids. No one in the family interested but me. I knew there had been a great gold rush there. We took the Shotover jet boats up the Arrow, but nary a pan did I get to wash.

That is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen, and I live in Colorado! I own an Keene A-52 and a Bazooka. We also have fine gold; the Keene sits at home while I use the Bazooka. KevinInColorado, Goldwasher and GG are right. And there are plenty of plans on here for a DIY Bazooka. I would imagine postage to New Zealand would be excessive; it always is when we mail stuff to Christchurch to my oldest daughter.

Looks like I was wrong about the name of the river running into the lake, it is actually the Kawarau apparently. The Shotover runs into that and so does the Arrow also. In fact, I thought the Kawarau was the Arrow. Memory; you know CSR disease.

Anyway the Arrow is close and the entire area is incredibly beautiful.

 

[425jesse]

I own or have owned all of these devices that we are talking about, and to be fair, they all have their place. The Bazookas are an amazing sluice with fantastic recovery, easy to set up, and no classification, so this IS the fastest way to get the gold simply because you can process 3X the amount of material. The A52 is a long time great sluice, and it has a great place in a prospectors tools, as it is really easy to modify and use any combo of matts and or riffles that you choose. The gold cube is a sweet finishing machine, or if you are on the beach black sands, its the only option of the 3. Is one superiornope, they are all very very good tools, and each one has its place.

 

[Prospector70]

I specifically found this forum because the bucket shaking dance (Classifying into a 5 gallon bucket) was killing my thumbs (First dance with Arthritis), in search of a sluice I didn't have to classify to use.
That's why I'm such a fan of the BGT. I can shovel all day long and be over it the next day. If you can get one, add it to your arsenal. Instead of carrying in 5 buckets, classifiers and pans; Now I just carry (Or haul) one 5 gallon bucket, one shovel, and my 48 inch prospector. Shovel all day, wash into bucket and head home. Easy Peasy!


Now I can ride a bike again! RofL!!!

<3

Ps, I wish I had some beach sand to work on so I could give more insight into processing it, I'm imagining running it as flat as possible with as much water as I could coax down the pressure tubes with a nice bed of rounded gravels to wash dirt over. I think a longer slick plate may assist this process as well.

 

[425jesse]

I wish I could like your post twice P70!

 

[Duckwalk]

Have you looked at the gold hog mats? They exchange material in and out of each "riffle" in the mat itself. keeps it from over packing with black sands. the lighter stuff that gets trapped in the mat washes out and replaced with heavier material as you run. you can run a ridiculous length of time without cleaning out because of the exchanging. Might be something to replace the carpeting and riffles in your a52 with. Just a thought.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I specifically found this forum because the bucket shaking dance (Classifying into a 5 gallon bucket) was killing my thumbs (First dance with Arthritis), in search of a sluice I didn't have to classify to use.
That's why I'm such a fan of the BGT. I can shovel all day long and be over it the next day. If you can get one, add it to your arsenal. Instead of carrying in 5 buckets, classifiers and pans; Now I just carry (Or haul) one 5 gallon bucket, one shovel, and my 48 inch prospector. Shovel all day, wash into bucket and head home. Easy Peasy!

View attachment 1103951
Now I can ride a bike again! RofL!!!

<3

Ps, I wish I had some beach sand to work on so I could give more insight into processing it, I'm imagining running it as flat as possible with as much water as I could coax down the pressure tubes with a nice bed of rounded gravels to wash dirt over. I think a longer slick plate may assist this process as well.

This is obviously not yesterday or last month. Sure looks like great sluicing weather though, whenever it was!