Just a wondering...

[skeet]

Has anyone on HC ever done any gold panning? or prospecting?? I'm waiting for spring so I can get back at it again. I've been using a pan(plastic) for the last year but am making a sluice rocker box to use this year too. Went to an auction the other evening and got 3 boxes of 300 Win Mag once fired brass and one box of factory ammo..same caliber..wife got an original Hudson's Bay Co 4 point wool blanket in beautiful condition but I also got ta da..a pair of old gold pans. Cheap too. That gold panning is hard cold work..worse than trapping..in my opinion..but with gold at 1400 bucks or thereabout..it is worth it ..Most of what we find here is small flake and dust..I mean a third of an ounce per day is like 400 bucks

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Skeet;
I went panning for gold up in Alaska on our family vacation a couple of years ago.....it was one of those "touristy" outfits that gives you a bag of dirt and lets you pan. Found some flakes, but found the process and technique more interesting.
For a souvenier from that trip, I bought a metal gold pan.

For my birthday last year, my wife and daughter bought me a membership in the Gold miners club of America (or some such thing).......they supposedly had property in my home state (MI), but I never got there. I've heard that there is gold in every county in my state, but the hodgepodge of permits (even on public land) and trying to figure out who has mineral rights, claims, ect, is just too much of a hassle.
Would like to find a spot in my home state where I could go and maybe do a long weekend of hunting/fishing and some panning.
Also, if you haven't done it already, check out some of the videos on youtube.....there are some great ideas for sluice boxes, ect. on there.

[Dan Morris]

LOL, trust me...the guy that sells the pans makes more gold than the guy whut uses em!
Dan

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Dan;
Never had illusions of "striking it rich" (although if it were to happen, it would be nice!;)).
....just looking for some more time outdoors doing something other than mowing the lawn.:)

[skeet]

Hey Mr 16..never thought of that you tube thing. Thanks. I'm gonna make a small sluice rocker that comes apart and is packable. Saw my first one that a guy packed on an old Honda murder cycle in Alaska years ago..His was made out of aluminum..He was working a stream while on vacation from an oil rig somewhere.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Skeet;
There's a fellow on youtube that has a portable sluice box that he made from an old rubbermaid tub, PVC tubing, and (I think) a bilge pump. I can't remember if I book marked it or not, but I'll see if I can find it and post it here. IIRC, he worked in a desert type environment where water was scarce.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Skeet;
Here is the website.....looks like it might be a fun project.

http://www.mdpub.com/sluice/index.html