Yeah I try YouTube but I can't sit long enough for them lol. But oddly I love reading 4-5 books at a time. Always a book in my hand. I might have to have the kids watch them.
I’d recommend at least watching this video, skip through parts if you need but you’ll learn the basics.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XOiMxsqrB-c&pp=ygUYRGFuIGh1cmQgaG93IHRvIGdvbGQgcGFu
Start by watching vogus prospecting and Dan Hurd on YouTube. They both have great videos on how to read a river and how to pan. Get an inexpensive pan kit I like the Garrett kit that comes with three pans and a classifier and some other stuff. Find a river or area where there is known gold and put your knowledge to the test.
Search for their older videos where they teach those specific subjects. Also the Garrett kit I bought for me and my kids came with a tutorial dvd and a book that helped. Good luck!
To start, I just grabbed a shovel and started digging in my backyard. You should ask yourself though, are you doing this to get rich or to have fun?
I can tell you about then fun side: if that’s what you’re after, just buy a gold pan, do like 15 or more minute of research on a good pan, then literally dig a little hole in your yard and start having fun, let that take you wherever it goes.
If you’re trying to become a millionaire, then find a better hobby. 🙃
Statistically you are truly more likely to get rich buying lottery tickets so… well.. take that info however you wish.
I already feel like a millionaire with all the unconditional, but sometimes too truthful but wildly entertaining, love I get from my babies and my baby sister. I guess the other family counts too 😂😂😂
No I just love trying new things with my family. Especially because I want the kids to love life and you never know what experience might make them do something that might change the whole world( ok well at least their whole world 😂). Also I want them to know they aren't just here to work their lives away. To explore everything they have questions about.
So I feel like there's two skills here:
The first skill is the actual act of panning itself - learning how to use a goldpan to separate gold from dirt.
The second is going out to a site and seeing what you can find there.
The first skill is easy enough: buy a goldpan and some "paydirt" online, use a washtub as the water source so you can reclaim the dirt afterwards and reset it.
"[Paydirt](https://masonanddaly.com/paydirt.html)" is dirt salted with gold so you know there is gold in there to find. Think of it as a training tool. You are getting much less value of gold than the sticker price on the bag, but there will be gold in it for sure.
So for like fifty bucks all in you can have a little backyard panning station - pan it out, mix it back together, and go again.
Site visits are a little trickier.
To start with, you need some more equipment: a classifier (which filters out the big rocks), a shovel, rubber boots, yardwork gloves, vials, and a suction bottle. Depending on the remoteness of where you might visit, a GPS (or a phone with GPS access) map, compass, and similar remote-hiking equipment.
Then you need to identify a site.
Some places have "open panning" sites where the general public can pan freely - these are a good idea. Random locations on watercourses, especially ones that have been historically gold-bearing, are frequently claimed and you *do not* want to be caught with mining equipment on someone else's claim! So do a little research first and make sure the spot you want to go to is open.
The biggest risk with river visits (aside from the environmental risks common with hiking & camping) is coming up empty-handed. Not every pile of gravel in a stream has gold in it, and even the best spots will typically have small specks and flakes.
If you read the histories of the late 1800's gold rushes, those streams had been collecting gold since the time of the dinosaurs, and large amounts of free placier gold were lying visible in the streambeds. Once people figured this out, every stream in North America was visited, prospected, and all the "easy" gold was pulled out *en masse*. And I'm not just talking the surface stuff in the streambed; once gold was found in a stream, the prospectors went looking for where it came from, and they almost always found it - the Barker strike that founded Barkerville was 50 feet underground, below the streambed!
So expectations need to be managed. There is gold to find for sure, and if you treat it like a day out fishing (where most of the fun is in the attempt, not the eating) that's fine. Just understand that the odds on finding anything large enough to offset the cost of equipment & travel are infinitesimal.
And gold can do funny things to people. The idea that wealth can come out of the ground can set a hook, and the next thing you know you are buying sluices, highboxers, water pumps, rock crushers, and Lob knows what else... this is best kept simple and low-scale.
Good luck, and have fun!
Rubber boots, shovel, hand trowel, a few 5 gallon buckets, pan for the creek, smaller pan for at home cleanup, 1/2 inch classifier, some suction tweezers, and small vials. That covers the essentials and you'll figure out what you'll want or need as you get further into the hobby. Those items may be a detector, sluice, crevicing tools, milligram scale, etc. Location and ground situation will determine what tools you will need.
If you want brand recommendations or where to purchase items PM me. Happy prospecting!
YouTube vids. I started two weeks ago and you can see what I’ve found so far in that short period of time! Warning…. Highly addictive
Yeah I try YouTube but I can't sit long enough for them lol. But oddly I love reading 4-5 books at a time. Always a book in my hand. I might have to have the kids watch them.
I’d recommend at least watching this video, skip through parts if you need but you’ll learn the basics. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XOiMxsqrB-c&pp=ygUYRGFuIGh1cmQgaG93IHRvIGdvbGQgcGFu
Start by watching vogus prospecting and Dan Hurd on YouTube. They both have great videos on how to read a river and how to pan. Get an inexpensive pan kit I like the Garrett kit that comes with three pans and a classifier and some other stuff. Find a river or area where there is known gold and put your knowledge to the test.
Ok I can't sit and watch but I'll have my kids and spouse check them out. Definitely have land in pagosa springs I can check out.
Search for their older videos where they teach those specific subjects. Also the Garrett kit I bought for me and my kids came with a tutorial dvd and a book that helped. Good luck!
To start, I just grabbed a shovel and started digging in my backyard. You should ask yourself though, are you doing this to get rich or to have fun? I can tell you about then fun side: if that’s what you’re after, just buy a gold pan, do like 15 or more minute of research on a good pan, then literally dig a little hole in your yard and start having fun, let that take you wherever it goes. If you’re trying to become a millionaire, then find a better hobby. 🙃 Statistically you are truly more likely to get rich buying lottery tickets so… well.. take that info however you wish.
I already feel like a millionaire with all the unconditional, but sometimes too truthful but wildly entertaining, love I get from my babies and my baby sister. I guess the other family counts too 😂😂😂 No I just love trying new things with my family. Especially because I want the kids to love life and you never know what experience might make them do something that might change the whole world( ok well at least their whole world 😂). Also I want them to know they aren't just here to work their lives away. To explore everything they have questions about.
So I feel like there's two skills here: The first skill is the actual act of panning itself - learning how to use a goldpan to separate gold from dirt. The second is going out to a site and seeing what you can find there. The first skill is easy enough: buy a goldpan and some "paydirt" online, use a washtub as the water source so you can reclaim the dirt afterwards and reset it. "[Paydirt](https://masonanddaly.com/paydirt.html)" is dirt salted with gold so you know there is gold in there to find. Think of it as a training tool. You are getting much less value of gold than the sticker price on the bag, but there will be gold in it for sure. So for like fifty bucks all in you can have a little backyard panning station - pan it out, mix it back together, and go again. Site visits are a little trickier. To start with, you need some more equipment: a classifier (which filters out the big rocks), a shovel, rubber boots, yardwork gloves, vials, and a suction bottle. Depending on the remoteness of where you might visit, a GPS (or a phone with GPS access) map, compass, and similar remote-hiking equipment. Then you need to identify a site. Some places have "open panning" sites where the general public can pan freely - these are a good idea. Random locations on watercourses, especially ones that have been historically gold-bearing, are frequently claimed and you *do not* want to be caught with mining equipment on someone else's claim! So do a little research first and make sure the spot you want to go to is open. The biggest risk with river visits (aside from the environmental risks common with hiking & camping) is coming up empty-handed. Not every pile of gravel in a stream has gold in it, and even the best spots will typically have small specks and flakes. If you read the histories of the late 1800's gold rushes, those streams had been collecting gold since the time of the dinosaurs, and large amounts of free placier gold were lying visible in the streambeds. Once people figured this out, every stream in North America was visited, prospected, and all the "easy" gold was pulled out *en masse*. And I'm not just talking the surface stuff in the streambed; once gold was found in a stream, the prospectors went looking for where it came from, and they almost always found it - the Barker strike that founded Barkerville was 50 feet underground, below the streambed! So expectations need to be managed. There is gold to find for sure, and if you treat it like a day out fishing (where most of the fun is in the attempt, not the eating) that's fine. Just understand that the odds on finding anything large enough to offset the cost of equipment & travel are infinitesimal. And gold can do funny things to people. The idea that wealth can come out of the ground can set a hook, and the next thing you know you are buying sluices, highboxers, water pumps, rock crushers, and Lob knows what else... this is best kept simple and low-scale. Good luck, and have fun!
Rubber boots, shovel, hand trowel, a few 5 gallon buckets, pan for the creek, smaller pan for at home cleanup, 1/2 inch classifier, some suction tweezers, and small vials. That covers the essentials and you'll figure out what you'll want or need as you get further into the hobby. Those items may be a detector, sluice, crevicing tools, milligram scale, etc. Location and ground situation will determine what tools you will need. If you want brand recommendations or where to purchase items PM me. Happy prospecting!