So I live in California and would like to do some gold prospecting and I really don't know where to begin. I have seen the ad for that DFX thing and it looks cool and easy to use. I need a machine that a dummy with ADD can use it. Is this the right type machine that I should be looking at ? I am also interested in dredging but again have no idea on where to begin. Can anyone please help me with this ? Thanks for your time.

Welcome to the forum I-want-gold!!

Know are you only going to be looking for gold???If so I wouldn't go with the DFX,maybe the MXT or the fisher has,or one of the Minelab gold detector's.I know some one will come along here and help out more,as I haven't really got it to that type of detecting yet.HH,Tom

First of all, where do you live. Most dredging is done in the mountains of central and northern Cal. Detecting for gold is easier in So Cal but can be done anywhere there is gold. I have a MXT and have found gold in mine tailings and placer gold around streams. I also dredge with a 4 inch dredge on two claims I am partners in.

To get started I suggest looking at the GPPA site (goldprospectors.com). For around $80.00 you get a begining gold kit, claims guide and can use any of their claims. They also list the open areas anyone can go. Alot of their claims are hard hit but usally you can still get some color. Their claims are all over the state. Depending where you live there probably a local prospecting club you can join. Most of the local clubs will teach you where and how to find gold.

You might also post on the nugget forum.

If you have any more questions let me know.

Sal
(Hunts4gold)

Hi "I want gold," if you are really serious about gold prospecting the MXT is a VASTLY better choice then the DFX. In the prospecting mode on the DFX, a nugget has to be about 7 grains in weight before you can sense it, and then only pretty much on the surface. With the MXT, you can find flakes as small as 1/4 grain, and a 7 grain nugget can still be detected to about 6+ inches, depending on the soil conditions. For the price of a DFX you can get an MXT with loads of accessories. Hope this helps; HH JIm

So prospecting mode is the "gold" mode on a DFX? I generally stayed away from that, thought it was for following mineralization and I spent most time hunting coins. My prospecting forays have primarily been looking for old mines and outcropping hydrothermal plays...

Will any of the other modes pick it up deeper but with interference from trash or iron?

Anybody here have a spare MXT I could borrow if I take them to a cool site? :-)

I appreciate everyones respone this will be usefull in the future. Is there anyone willing to maybe team up with me and a couple of friends and show us how it is done. I would like to work with somebody who has been doing this for a while and has a great deal of knowledge. I am willing to put up a $100-$250 for anybody who can help me out with this. Please I am not looking for somebody to scam this money from me but lookning for an honest person that maybe I can buddy up with next time around. If you drink or 420 or whatever I don't care you won't offend me but just make sure you know what you are doing so I can learn something. Hopefully somebody can help me out. Thanks for your time.

How do you partner up with somebody on a claim ? Are they for sale ? Do you just have to ask ? Does it cost money ? Thanks.

Can anybody also help out with some relic hunting ? This would be great !

To anwser some of your questions. First you can buy a partnership to a claim or buy your own claim, through Ebay, The minning journal or some of the gold forums. The important part is to make sure the seller has a valid claim filed with BLM and has paid property taxes for the year with what ever county the claim is in (yes you pay taxes on your claim). Next is to check the claim out for gold, like test panning. If the seller will not let you test pan something is wrong. You can file your own claim with some research at the BLM office in Sacamento. Most of the clerks there will walk you through the process.

As for having someone go with you and show you how. I can do that, but will not be going again until next spring when the water goes down. I do not charge and would not charge and would not expect anyone to charge unless they are going out of the way to teach you. I have taught several people how to find and pan for gold including several children (one 8 year old boy found a two gram nugget on his first pan full of gravel he located on his own, after I showed him to look for. the others kids all found gold too). I have even taught my 5 year old how to pan which he love doing as he gets all wet.

I still reccomend the GPPA to start they will provide you with a pan, a video on how to use the pan and a book of their claims to use. It is great to start out and to find out if prospecting is for you.

As for the detector the MXT is a good around machine that will find gold. I have never found anything as small as Jim M says it can, but Ihave found gold with it.

PS: Jim M sold me my machine and is considered one of the more knowledgeable people for nugget hunting


Sal

Where are you located? California? The MXT is a good machine for nugget hunting plus you can use it for coin hunting too.

Try going just below Downeyville (spelling), across from Indian Valley Camp Grounds. They have public claims in that area and you can meet miners with claims or whatever. The season for dredging begins in the spring after the winter rains and when the snow melts; this washes new gold into the rivers and streams. If you really want to find gold at this time of year, hop a few fences and hunt those playgrounds.


HH