Fisher Gold Bug 2 Metal Detector - 26 Years Later
I bought my Fisher Gold Bug 2 metal detector in 1999. It has been so long that I don't remember exactly who the dealer was, but I'm pretty sure it was located in Burnaby BC, and that the dealer is no longer in business. The detector I bought came with all 3 accessory coils: the 6", 10" and 14" elliptical.
One of the first trips metal detecting was in one of the creeks in the Tulameen district at a time when there were barely any staked placer claims. There was an old working that looked interesting, and for 2 years I've been detecting it long and wide. I remember reading some online posting of so called experts who wrongly recommended setting the sensitivity high for increased success. Suffice it to say I wasted a lot of time listening to a cacophony of sounds each time I swept the coil over the ground. After more reading, books this time, I started to understand how everything works. The extra time spent reading paid off, as I started to find lead bullets, bird shots, cases (those .22 cases really squeal), cans, and all kind of other junk. I admit the first gold I found was on Newton Creek some time later. Most claims are along the water course, but metal detecting can be successfully done away from water and other people’s claims (ask for permission). BTW, please respect private properties, cover your holes, and pick-up the garbage even if it isn’t yours and and do not jump claims.
The Gold bug 2 is sensitive enough to pick up fractions of grains in shallow ground: I detected 0.5 grains nuggets at 2" depth. They don't give a strong signal, but a distinct one if your detector is set right; keeping the coil at a certain height and if the sweep speed is right. Remember to use a test piece (use the search button to look it up in another blog). The Gold Bug 2 detector has a shallow learning curve, however, if you're lucky enough to find someone to teach you the ropes so to speak, you can cut the time to finding your first gold by months or years. These days it is very hard to be able to "hunt" good ground; everything is staked, and unless you do a lot of research, your chances of hitting gold are slim, which is the one reason I decided to offer a course on how to do research.
In a future blog I will tell you the story of my first detecting trip along Coquihalla River when I was researching for a chapter on pulse induction in my book about metal detectors, and how power lines can really mess with your detector.
Happy hunting,