What Am I Doing Wrong?

I feel better now seeing those pics. Lol
Looks like the contents of my pockets!

The wife & I went for a long weekend when we first got our SDC & came home with 13 nugglets & 222 pieces of lead shot & other sh!t.

I think that was a pretty good win/loss ratio ........ I've never really bothered to count since then.

Rob.

Hi Wags76

yep -- most places have been fogged to death -- thats why everyone is heading to WA for the easy stuff -- but remember, they cant detected under trees, or long grass or bushes etc -- and most detectors only go down a foot or so -- so after a storm get out and do the patches again and again -- it washes that extra bit off the top and bag "Gold" --never rush be patient, it will happen -- just like the other day at Warwick -- some raked and raked the area I was in - did all the hard work, I came along a couple of weeks later and pick up 2 little pieces of gold -- its what you hear that stops you and say --hmm trash or gold -- dig it up anyway - its cleaning the bush up - so when you go back and the trash is not there and it will be easier hear that sweet sound of gold -- Gold comes from somewhere near by -- up from the ground or across land depends where the storm water goes -- it keeps coming - just ask the panners -- a creek refreshes its self with new gold after a storm -- swingers cant get everything. Lake Bolac -- try around the Gramps in the State forests -- not the parks -- eg Rocklands area -- research your area -- they was hundreds and hundreds of deep mines, south of Lake Bolac -- near DunDonald and Woorndoo -- long the Salt creek -- just ask for the owners permission first -- Ward69

Yeh, I agree; I went over a spot I got a 1.15g and picked up 2 more bits right under where I dug it, a lot smaller but I was so gob smacked with the bigger bit I diddn't hear the others. Plus I had picked up the 24.55g just before. All up I have 7 small bits and the 24g from that spot, about 10m sq. I still go back over it, try differant directions and coils. I reckon that there is more than 1 big nug there. That big nug came from a bigger supply; I hope. :Y: :rainbow:

Low and slow FTW

Wags, I understand your frustration. Im only new to the detecting game and bought a 2nd hand SDC2300 in Feb this yr after moving from SA. Found around 100 pieces of birdshot and bullets after the ban, not to mention how much of that I found before the ban. I too get slightly annoyed by some who rub it in our faces about finding 16pieces in a day or two, and digging up 2 grammers like it was common practice. I believe that they're probably on private property and/or are no doubt very experienced with Gpx5000 or Gpz7000's. I do, however, know someone who has had a 7000 for some time and has found nothing but birdshot and trash. He is probably still learning about his machine I guess as I believe they are quite complex to tune to the optimal settings. In the first 4 or 5 days after the ban I did find 4 nice little bits of gold, all under 0.4gm. The day before the ban I wish I did have the video on it coz I literally pulled up off a sealed road 8min from home, walked 40m, turned the 2300 on, tuned and balanced it and ran a few sweeps next to a old log and pulled up a 0.96gm nug about 2in down. That was about 2min including the tuning and balancing. I was literally getting in the car the next day to go back out to that spot when I saw on FB prospecting was banned....gutted. I have been out since of course and found nothing but birdshot in that same area. So, mate, if I can do it anyone can with this machine. I've found 9 bits since I've had it but now am in a dry spell which is frustrating. I admit when I found out how many people do this and with the 5000s and 7000s and different coils, I thought, why did I bother, surely those people have found it all. Most of the blokes with 2300s on YouTube don't tell you what they've got they're settings on, or how or what they adjusted the tone to, high or low. I downloaded some old Doug Stone gold maps, which did cost me but have proved to be pretty worthwhile, worked around the old timers test holes and mullocks and I have stayed away from all the popular spots that I assume have been plundered by the 5000 and 7000 owners...lol. Once you find that first bit it's on for sure. Good luck, coz a fair bit of luck is definitely what we need in this caper.

Time for a reality check I think.! A number of years ago when I was detecting on a regular basis it was rare for me to not get at least one nugget everytime I went out. And nearly all those nuggets were a gram and up. In fact 2 to 4 grammers were what I mostly got. And the occasional bigger piece. There's a good reason most nuggets found these days are sub gram pieces. It's simply because most of the bigger ones are gone folks! Detecting is more popular than ever with loads of newbies getting into the hobby and the new machines keep rolling off the assembly lines. Unfortunately gold doesn't grow again after you've found it and good machines have been around long enough to find most of it. And the likes of SDC type machines have been here long enough to find many of the tiny ones.This is not going to get any better until a machine with truly greater depth capability comes out. Only then will a new gold rush be possible. There will be the occasional beauty to be found as happens rarely but that's pretty much tattslotto odds. The best way to look at detecting these days is to treat it as exercise and a bit of fun. layful: