Nugget Shooters

[bigdigger]

Howdy,

Roughly speaking, nothing scientific mind you, just how many ounces per day *on average* can a good Nugget Shooter get and how much ground does that cover. Time period doesn't matter-- ounces day, week, month, whatever. I figure if the average expert Nugget Shooter makes one sweep every 3 seconds and covers 2' x 4' per sweep then that's roughly 80,000 square feet per day. That would be one ounce per 80,000 square feet.

Thanks for data,
BD

 

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[Willy]

Can't be done. I've known people that were swinging for months without a crumb and then.. BAM!.. a 5 oz nugget and then nothing. Others will be pulling out a few penntweight a day. some will be in nuggethunting glory for quite the while. It all depends on where you are, what you're swinging, how experienced. One thing to remember, there are more poor goldminers than rich ones, but a lot more happier ones than not. ...Willy.

 

[bigdigger]

I've known people that were swinging for months without a crumb and then.. BAM!.. a 5 oz nugget

Yes but those are probably people who spend maybe a few hours per week detecting just as a hobby. Lets see, 5 ounces in 2 months at 2 hours per week averages at 2.5 ounces per 8 hours of detecting. Still wondering what a *full-time* *expert* nugget shooter using a Minelab GP3500 could get in a years time. Full-time, as in 8 hours per day, 5 days a week.

BD

 

[bigdigger]

I'm talking about a serious shooter who knows his/her stuff. Full-time, as in 8 solid hours per day, 5 days per week. Not a few hours per week.

The expert shooter will greatly increase chances. Quaternary or Tertiary mountains on average are far better than others. The experienced expert looks for many signs-- rocky desert areas, fault lines and nearby gullies & ravines, Outcrops, amount of Quartz in the area, rocks, certain areas in streams, black or even ruby sand, mine tailings, etc.

I bet some really good technical expert nugget shooters can average more than an ounce per day.

BD

 

[bakergeol]

Jonathan Porter(forgive me if I have misspelled his name) a full time gold hunter in OZ mentioned that he detects about 100 ounces a year. However, he is a true expert with acute knowedge of his areas and his machines.
However here in the US Willy is correct. If we could detect 100 ounces a year here most of us would quit our jobs and go nugget hunting full time. It is just not going to happen. There are just an incredible amount of people going over the same patches year after year. Put in the hours nugget shooting and you will quickly understand our frustrations.


George

 

[Willy]

Listen to George. It's all fine and good to build up a towering edifice of deduction and statistics.. until you try to get all that gold out there to follow your logic. I've known many a hardcore prospector over the years (and could also be considered one) who swing sometimes all day with very little success. I'm talking day in, day out. I've seen too many people go out there with high (unrealistic) hopes, only shipwreck on the rocky shores of harsh reality. Not saying that nobody gets fat, but it's a case of wishing for the best & planning for the worst. ..Willy.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Ask these boys who live in the middle of the gold fields.They are the professional hunters.Just read some of their posts from time gone buy.
www.nuggetshooter.com

 

[bigdigger]

I'm wondering how many hours per day on average JP swings to get 100 ounces. 5days/week = 260 days/year. Someone said that nobody swings 8 hours a day. If JP swings 3-4hrs/day then that's approaching the one ounce per 8 hour day.

BTW, isn't that the same JP with hands full of fist size nuggets he recently found?

JP is obviously good, but we have to consider that JP may not be at the top of his game. I agree 1 ounce/8hr-day is a lot, but still seems obtainable. OK, consider an average 4-hr day, 5-day/week. That comes to 130 ounces per year. Personally I'd like to see someone average 130 ounces per year. You'd just have to be one sharp, knowledgeable, hustling swinger.

In another thread someone mentioned that 2 ounces in 6 days @ 4hrs/day is realistic. I did the math and that comes to 0.7 ounces per 8-hr day. That sounds about what JP is getting ... until he found all those fist size nuggets.

BD

 

[FredMaxwell]

Isn't there more to it than just finding the gold?
Getting it out the ground aint always easy.. is it?
I would imagine you would need to be in a location where you KNOW alot of gold is hidden,
have permission to work it or maybe own it..

And by then why would you be out there with a Metal Detector? If it does make sense please excuse my ignorance but I just can't see a guy out there with a hand held metal detector hunting gold in a ripe area when there are other better ways.

There sure is alot of wisdom in that wishing for the best and planning for the worst.
\\\That simple bit of advice could save alot of so called Real Estate investors ALOT of heartache right now.

You, before you jump into it trying to grind out a living, start it off as a hobby.

 

[Willy]

BD, we can type responses all day to your queries but if you've got it in your mind that you're right and everyone else is wrong, it's a waste of time & effort. You've had responses from people who know what they're doing and if that doesn't satisfy you then pick up a detector and go out and prove that we're all wrong. Fred, using a metal detector is a good way of "processing" a large patch of ground, down to about 16", without actually having to turn all that material. It's essentially highgrading an area. What it also does is help pinpoint concentrations of gold for later recovery by other methods. ..Willy.

 

[FredMaxwell]

BD, we can type responses all day to your queries but if you've got it in your mind that you're right and everyone else is wrong, it's a waste of time & effort. You've had responses from people who know what they're doing and if that doesn't satisfy you then pick up a detector and go out and prove that we're all wrong. Fred, using a metal detector is a good way of "processing" a large patch of ground, down to about 16", without actually having to turn all that material. It's essentially highgrading an area. What it also does is help pinpoint concentrations of gold for later recovery by other methods. ..Willy.

That makes sense.

 

[lou423]

a person I know told me that he has a friend who uses a dredge in some Tennessee creek...He told me that he finds about a 30 grams* of gold in 3 days...

*1 ounce

 

[bigdigger]

a person I know told me that he has a friend who uses a dredge in some Tennessee creek...He told me that he finds about a 30 grams* of gold in 3 days...

*1 ounce

That sounds good for Tennesse. Blueberry John gets about an ounce per day of Nome Alaska beach flower gold. :-)

BD