Gold Monster 1000? Good starter machine?

[Golden_Crab]

Gold is my retirement plan. Poking around for gold and other sizeable deposits of interest to larger mining companies then leasing it out is the short version. This is assuming I make it that long. That said I dont see myself physically capable of much more than sampling and detecting by the time I can actually afford everything needed. I know typically right now most folks that make a living as described use a nice PI machine. Given this is a VLF.. the 45khz operating frequency caught my eye... that's gonna pick up some awfully small stuff.

If this were your livelyhood, what machine would you rest it on? (Under $1000 please) & (Over $1000)

Thanks.

Any other "vetted" must have equipment would be appreciated too.

 

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[seascene]

.....Sent mine back. Have a look at YouTube postings not just the promos. So far very impressed with my new gold racer.

 

[AU_Solitude]

It's received a lot of mixed feedback, I think the only valid known issue is the coil sensitivity when bumped against rocks or other objects. You have to put in the time to learn the machine though, a lot of people are making very good finds with the monster - check out the detectorprospector.com forums for examples. VLF's are always going to struggle some in very hot ground, but if you put the time into getting to know your machine, you can definitely run it a lot harder as you learn it's language. If I was just starting out detecting this would probably be on my short list - it bangs hard on small gold that the gold bug 2 does, its great on specimens, auto ground tracking. If you want to minimize your investment though a used whites GMT or Fisher Gold Bug II can save you money - these two detectors have pulled a lot of gold from the ground around the world.

 

[Golden_Crab]

.....Sent mine back. Have a look at YouTube postings not just the promos. So far very impressed with my new gold racer.

?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Bottom line? If you don't know what you are doing, or where you're going - don't bother. Whether you buy a Minelab GPZ 7000, or a Fisher Goldbug II, unless you have a claim that produces placer pickers and nuggets you can spend all the money in the world and you'll still get skunked. Dreaming is one thing, knowing what you're doing is another.

My gold prospecting school taught thousands of dreamers and bucket listers, that gold nuggetshooting and prospecting is NOT for old, retired, dreamers. It is hard, physical WORK. 99.9-percent of the folks that paid us to learn how, will never pick up a pick or pan again. Just buy your gold - it's way cheaper.

 

[sprailroad]

Come on, lighten up Terry, the same could be said for coin shooting and relic hunting as well. "If you don't know what you are doing, or where you're going-don't bother", we ALL started that way in detecting in one way or another, just as we could have bought all the coins and relics we wanted, yes, nugget shooting is perhaps a little more difficult, but it's the thrill of the search, the anticipation of finding something that keeps us going. We learn as we go. This being from an "old, retired dreamer".

 

[Terry Soloman]

Come on, lighten up Terry, the same could be said for coin shooting and relic hunting as well. "If you don't know what you are doing, or where you're going-don't bother", we ALL started that way in detecting in one way or another, just as we could have bought all the coins and relics we wanted, yes, nugget shooting is perhaps a little more difficult, but it's the thrill of the search, the anticipation of finding something that keeps us going. We learn as we go. This being from an "old, retired dreamer".

This is the problem. If you just want to pursue it as a hobby, nuggetshooting is the most expensive, physically demanding, and dangerous form of metal detecting there is - bar none. In the entire State of Arizona for instance, I can count the number of REAL, professional nuggetshooters on one hand. I would need two pencils and a calculator to count all the wannabees; weekend warriors; pretenders; and greenhorns, running around the foothills and desert with top-o-the-line metal detectors.

You cannot compare relic hunting or coinshooting to nugget hunting. Age, weight, mobility, expense - no comparison.

If you want to become a millionaire metal detecting for gold nuggets, you need to start with $2-million

 

[Grumpie]

Ok, first off let me just say that we wouldn't be where we are today with recreational electronic prospecting if we all shared the same attitude as Terry is displaying, I think he is just having a bad day. Nobody should be scolded for showing interest in our sport.
Golden Crab is just as capable of doing the research as the rest of us to find his fortune. Just imagine what our sport would look like today with no one taking interest like Golden Crab?

 

[Grumpie]

I'm sure the monster is a very capable machine and I would love to try one out but I'm satisfied with what I have at the moment.
If my budget only afforded me one vlf gold Detector and depending on where I lived and knowing what I know now my choice on a vlf gold Detector would be either the gb2 or Makro gold Racer.

 

[Golden_Crab]

I'm sure the monster is a very capable machine and I would love to try one out but I'm satisfied with what I have at the moment.
If my budget only afforded me one vlf gold Detector and depending on where I lived and knowing what I know now my choice on a vlf gold Detector would be either the gb2 or Makro gold Racer.

I hear these 2 quite a bit as well. What makes you say those machines?

 

[sprailroad]

Terry, I can agree with you in many ways, it CAN be expensive, physically demanding and dangerous, but only so much as we make it. Same holds true for placer and hard rock as well, even coin shooting. I have taken some stupid chances years ago climbing around mountains searching for places, and had a few close calls. We learn as we go. Golden Crab shows an interest, and he may well in fact find it's not for him, or, he might find it is. Grumpie's post said it well. Terry, even you started somewhere as a "Greenhorn" at sometime, but you learned, and now you know. I believe that's how it starts with all forms of detecting, you find it's either for you, or it's not. Professionals? Rare I agree, but in any sport or hobby. I would think of you more of the "Professional" side of nugget hunting. Would it not be better to inform as to what to expect, based on your own experience, as we often do on T-Net, instead of someone being "scolded" as Grumpie said. We all have hopes every time we go out with a detector. again, we learn as we go.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I'm not scolding, I'm scoffing.

The OP writes; "Gold is my retirement plan. Poking around for gold and other sizeable deposits of interest to larger mining companies then leasing it out is the short version. This is assuming I make it that long. That said I dont see myself physically capable of much more than sampling and detecting by the time I can actually afford everything needed..."

I hear and read this type of thing WEEKLY. I personally have met people that have sold their business, house, everything they couldn't fit in a camper, and headed west to make a fortune on a gold mine they "dreamed about" one night. Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid," but many of these folks aren't stupid - they are infected by gold fever, a real mental illness.

The OP - in my never humble opinion, is not being realistic. My response is a warning, filled with frustration. Vendors and dealers want you to believe you can do it so they can make money - your money. We charged $400.00-a-day to teach greenhorns how to placer mine. We taught THOUSANDS. What does that tell you? People have more money than brains when it comes to gold.

You need a good highbanker, Drywasher, Dredge, Minelab GPX or GPZ metal detector, a Fisher Goldbug II or another high freq VLF for small pickers. You need a generator, batteries, yadda-yadda-yadda, to sample areas only a helicopter can get your equipment into ($700-an-hour minimum).

If you want to screw around in your spare time nuggetshooting - Great! But if you post a wet dream, be prepared to have someone poke a hole in your condom.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Ok, first off let me just say that we wouldn't be where we are today with recreational electronic prospecting if we all shared the same attitude as Terry is displaying, I think he is just having a bad day. Nobody should be scolded for showing interest in our sport.
Golden Crab is just as capable of doing the research as the rest of us to find his fortune. Just imagine what our sport would look like today with no one taking interest like Golden Crab?

Don't see as it as Terry was scolding anyone. Don't know if Terry still does but he use to run Arizona Gold Adventures and put on gold hunting trips for gold detecting so he is pretty aware of recreational prospecting.

 

[Grumpie]

I'm not scolding, I'm scoffing.

The OP writes; "Gold is my retirement plan. Poking around for gold and other sizeable deposits of interest to larger mining companies then leasing it out is the short version. This is assuming I make it that long. That said I dont see myself physically capable of much more than sampling and detecting by the time I can actually afford everything needed..."

I hear and read this type of thing WEEKLY. I personally have met people that have sold their business, house, everything they couldn't fit in a camper, and headed west to make a fortune on a gold mine they "dreamed about" one night. Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid," but many of these folks aren't stupid - they are infected by gold fever, a real mental illness.

The OP - in my never humble opinion, is not being realistic. My response is a warning, filled with frustration. Vendors and dealers want you to believe you can do it so they can make money - your money. We charged $400.00-a-day to teach greenhorns how to placer mine. We taught THOUSANDS. What does that tell you? People have more money than brains when it comes to gold.

You need a good highbanker, Drywasher, Dredge, Minelab GPX or GPZ metal detector, a Fisher Goldbug II or another high freq VLF for small pickers. You need a generator, batteries, yadda-yadda-yadda, to sample areas only a helicopter can get your equipment into ($700-an-hour minimum).

If you want to screw around in your spare time nuggetshooting - Great! But if you post a wet dream, be prepared to have someone poke a hole in your condom.

Too funny, I hope I have enough $$ for all that and a 30' toy hauler to transport it all. How cool would that be.

 

[Hoser John]

I haven't had a chance to run one yet but know folks who have invested the time to learn and their many other machines from notka, minelab etc are now gathering dust. I get to try out for a day or two whenever we get back under 100 as no shade and too far to go for a few hours. I've only heard from a few but all good till this?? Oh well -one mans pleasure is yet anothers torture-John

 

[clv]

I guess that I will answer your question, I really like and use my minelab Eureka. I really the selectable frequencies on it, just flick the three position switch no need to change coils. I had a GMT but for some reason I did not get along with that machine, ( I think it did not like me).
That's mine under 1k choice. For the over 1k unit I have no experience to make a call on that.
A few other things you will probably want,

1. a good ice box
2. Folding chair with drink holder
3. A stainless thermos drinking cup, (get the big one 20 oz or larger)

4. a good tent, like a Springbar by Kirkhams or offroad teardrop.

 

[ecmjamsit]

The only place I can see success in MD'ing nuggets for a living is Alaska. Sure other states have nuggets, but I don't think you can make a living very easily. I would say Whites GMT or Gold Bug II to start. If you are going to hunt the beaches of Nome, I'd say some kind of PI, Garrett ATX or Minelab. I have had really good success with purchases of used detectors on eBay. If you think you can find a sizable deposit to sell to a corporation, you will need to learn to do a fire assay. That means you need a portable smelter. Most of the gold production of Colorado has been from sylvanite, calaverite and other telluride minerals. The free milling gold was a very small portion of historic production. The tellurides look nothing like free milling gold. They won't set off a metal detector. I think I would try to take a college course on mining. Success will come from how well you plan. Good luck in your future endeavor.

 

[Grumpie]

I guess that I will answer your question, I really like and use my minelab Eureka. I really the selectable frequencies on it, just flick the three position switch no need to change coils. I had a GMT but for some reason I did not get along with that machine, ( I think it did not like me).
That's mine under 1k choice. For the over 1k unit I have no experience to make a call on that.
A few other things you will probably want,

1. a good ice box
2. Folding chair with drink holder
3. A stainless thermos drinking cup, (get the big one 20 oz or larger)
View attachment 1487282
4. a good tent, like a Springbar by Kirkhams or offroad teardrop.
View attachment 1487283View attachment 1487284

Those springbar tents are nice, and camping out under the stars in one is where it's at for sure. It just adds to the overall experience.

 

[sprailroad]

I'm not scolding, I'm scoffing.

The OP writes; "Gold is my retirement plan. Poking around for gold and other sizeable deposits of interest to larger mining companies then leasing it out is the short version. This is assuming I make it that long. That said I dont see myself physically capable of much more than sampling and detecting by the time I can actually afford everything needed..."

I hear and read this type of thing WEEKLY. I personally have met people that have sold their business, house, everything they couldn't fit in a camper, and headed west to make a fortune on a gold mine they "dreamed about" one night. Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid," but many of these folks aren't stupid - they are infected by gold fever, a real mental illness.

The OP - in my never humble opinion, is not being realistic. My response is a warning, filled with frustration. Vendors and dealers want you to believe you can do it so they can make money - your money. We charged $400.00-a-day to teach greenhorns how to placer mine. We taught THOUSANDS. What does that tell you? People have more money than brains when it comes to gold.

You need a good highbanker, Drywasher, Dredge, Minelab GPX or GPZ metal detector, a Fisher Goldbug II or another high freq VLF for small pickers. You need a generator, batteries, yadda-yadda-yadda, to sample areas only a helicopter can get your equipment into ($700-an-hour minimum).

If you want to screw around in your spare time nuggetshooting - Great! But if you post a wet dream, be prepared to have someone poke a hole in your condom.

Terry, I fully agree with everything in your post, most everything, the part about posting a wet dream? There's a visual I could of skipped. Having said that, my take on Golden Crab's thread was a retirement pursuit of prospecting more as a hobby, and I would hope not as a vocation, and he may like it, and may not. Getting rich from it? Then I'd say he and perhaps many others should read your post above a few times over. There are many hundreds of rec. gold hunters out there, part time at best. The Pro's, I myself have only known one. He has shown an interest, and you've given some good infro. on detectors, as he had asked about. People selling everything to "Head Out" and strike it rich? I think way to many paper back novels. $400 a day? Man, you have created a gold mine "with out" the rocks. Good post on this thread, and enough from me.

 

[sprailroad]

Don't see as it as Terry was scolding anyone. Don't know if Terry still does but he use to run Arizona Gold Adventures and put on gold hunting trips for gold detecting so he is pretty aware of recreational prospecting.

Others did.