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Keen Hunter and Newbie Fossicker

Gold Fever Social
#1

Hi All. First time post, will start by saying Thank You to the sight creator and all the posters, I’m extremely grateful for all the great information and stories.

I’m brand new to fossicking, but hunt in the Otago inland mountains quite a bit. Hunting mainly occurs in the morning and evening, which leaves many hours in the day free for other activites. If I were keen to have a go at sluicing and panning, what equipment would I need to get started, bearing in mind that weight and size are considerations as I’m also carrying in my hunting and camping equipment? I currenly have an Elemental pan, garden sifter, and trowel, but haven’t yet picked up a sluice. Was thinking EZ Sluice, but also noticed the Gold Buddy.

Any advice or suggestions greatly appreciated (I’m aware of the public fossicking restrictions). I love the idea of bringing our a few grams of yellow along with a couple of hind quarters and a back steak!

Thanks!

#2

Well i just got an EZ sluice and found it great on the fine gold , it had a loot of black sand in it witch is a right pain. need to set it up right then all good gold was sitting right at the start.

#3

Buy yourself a light weight metal detector - a Gold Monster could be excellent, a light three or four inch plastic pipe with a clear perspex base to look in crevices under water, a light weight digging tool like a trowel, a pointed scratcher to scratch out crevices plus a bent ended screw driver to prize open small cracks and scratch them out as well and a small sucker bottle and tweezers plus a small bottle to put gold in - thats all you need if you are carrying rifle and ammo and other gear.

#4

Great, thanks. Would the detector be used in place of a sluice, in order to find small nuggets? I had figured that most likely I’d be sluicing in streams for fine gold and flakes. Also, would be detector be used in/near the stream, or just around likely geological formations? Cheers

#5

You can put the detector head into the stream and use it along bed rock on the shore - anywhere there is likely to be gold. Gold Monsters will find shallow tiny pieces of gold and are really very good. They say that an Equinox is also easy to use but a couple of people I know said that they are harder to get to know and get used to as the Gold Monster you just turn on and go for it. Fisher Gold Bug is also light and good value. They are all good for general use detecting and light weight.

#6

Great, thanks. I’ll start selling the wife on the detector idea, cost a fair bit more than a plastic sluice…but I do like the idea of bringing home a small nugget!!

#7

Dont sell her on it - go one better and CONVINCE her that it is for your psychological well being, better than a pill, one of the best economical investments you have ever made with the chance that it could pay off the mortgage first time out. She might even buy it for you for Christmas on the promise that you will give her 1% of the takings.
All that will cost you is a bottle of gin and some sweet talk. There was, well still is, a member on here and he got himself a Gold Monster and took home to the land if the Midnight Sun 3 ounces of gold that he had found.

#8

Ha! I’ve already used the psychological well being line to upgrade my Howa 1500 to a Kimber Montana, so will have to try the mortgage sell! Looks like a great piece of kit, nice and light and hopefully breaks down without too much hassel. Cheers

#9

What caliber is that there Kimber Montana - on my property in the hills I carry either a good old .303 or for a bit of fun use an original 1863 Sharps in .52-70 to shoot pigs.

#10

.308, seems to work well for where and what I hunt, namely red deer and pigs in the Catlins, Rock & Pillar, Oteake, etc., with the odd Fiordland trip when I can get out there and the weather allows.

#11

I just got my daughter a case of .308 Winchester ammo a while ago for $200.

#12

It’s getting more expensive, the Hornady SST that I shoot is now $70-75 per box, and it’s currently sold out everywhere I’ve called. Hopefully more coming soon, I’m down to my last 10 rounds.

#13

Yes it is getting expensive. I load my own .303

#14

.303, good on ya. Do you still get animals?

#15

Thats a strange question isnt it? The .303 has taken more game in NZ than any other rifle by a long long way. What do yo umean by ‘Do I still get animals’??? Maybe you think I am too old, or shaky, or blind? - well I must admit I am probably all three but…

#16

Just stick to the goldpan in the bottom of your pack whist out hunting unless you do find good ground. I’m up in oamaru if you Wana get out for a day over Xmas keen hunter here too… But haven’t been out all bloody year benny stocks atc
all time low… Rem 700 titanium in 7mmo8

#17

Yep, that would be awesome. Did I meet you at Tailings Hut last May?

#19

Yes, sorry. Just because I’ve never seen or fired on doesn’t mean that they’re outdated, just that I’m ignorant.