A New Gold Panning Video

It’s said that every gold mining project begins and ends with a gold pan. Panning is basic to gold mining, a skill that every gold miner, regardless of his method of recovery should have. It will be used as the testing device and the cleanup device regardless method. Dredgers, drywashers, sluicers and even metal detectorists and hardrockers use the gold pan.

J.K. Lyon, in his new Gold Panning DVD Professional Panning Tactics, introduces the gold pan as a production tool. He clearly shows how you can move a large amount of material in a short amount of time with just a gold pan, a screen, a pick, a snuffer bottle and of course his patented goldtube. Don’t get it wrong. This Gold Panning Video is not a smokescreen for a Goldtube advertisement. In the segment that he does use the tube, he recovers a single flake that would have been missed without the tube. Now, even though I’ve personally witnessed the Goldtube recover ALOT of gold that would have been missed and I’m quite certain John has done the same, it stands as it is. What you’ll witness in this demonstration is exactly what would have happened if the cameras had not been running. There is no salting and no B.S. What John does is simply go about the business of showing you the most efficient method of panning I’ve seen so far. He shows the area he intends to work and the simple reason why it was chosen and then over the course of an hour, he proceeds to move about 600 pounds of material in 25 pans at a rate of about 35-40 seconds per pan! In the hours time he pans, he becoms $20 richer in placer gold while explaining his methods to you continuously in a very unassuming manner.

I’ve seen a lot of panners work in my day and in my opinion John’s methods and tools are superior. He’s got the most efficient methods for classifying, stratification and cleanup that I have seen. John uses his method perhaps 25 times in the video ( plus a couple for demonstration) and so after viewing it once, I felt I could easily apply the techniques on the creek. Now, without as much practice as John has had I might not be as fast as his 35-40 second pans but having gone out to the creek to actually try the techniques, I felt great about them. The panning was suddenly the least time consuming aspect of the project and that left more time to dig and move material and thus, more placer gold in the snuffer bottle. I was able to easily run a full pan of about 25 pounds of material in 2 minutes or less and that included cleanup. When I say cleanup, that’s what I mean. John’s video shows exactly how to clean up quickly and to snuff gold with NO BLACK SAND at all. Throw the spiral pans and other expensive cleanup tools in the trash. Indeed, it was the first time I went home with no black sand at all in my snuffer and it was easy to do.

So, if you want to be able to run full pans and fast as you can fill them with a technique that, with practice will allow you to do so in less that a minute with a black sand free cleanup, you need to get John’s Professional Panning Tactics DVD. It’s worth several viewing as there are subtle techniques that can be picked up on through close observation. Taped during this summer’s monsoon season, there is even an exciting segment when a roaring monsoon flood puts the panning session to an end only to be resumed the following day where more rich gold bearing material has been redeposited on the same bedrock.

Right now there is a second video in pre production called “Bedrock Tactics” which will go into more detail regarding prospecting bedrock for fines, pickers and nuggets. I’ll be sure to give that one a full review as well. If it’s as good as Professional Panning Tactics, this series is a winner.

Here is the short segment from the DVD where John uses the Goldtube:

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O.K., I’ve had several chances to take the 5.11 H.R.T. boots out into the field. Here are my impressions….

First off, I’ve heard it said that this boot fits like a glove. The truth? It’s better. I really enjoyed the fit of these boots. They are true to size and provide a lot of support both on the arch and the ankle. They felt comfortable right from the start and didn’t need any break in. Once I used them several times, they still feel the same.

Have you ever used boots that were hard to get on and off? I have. Not a big deal really but sometimes you have to lace and unlace severel eyelets worth just to get a boot on or off. With the H.R.T. boots it’s not so. I’m able to unlace one eyelet only and the are on or off in a flash. I don’t know about you but the way I am at 2:30 in the morning, prior to coffee, this is a plus.

Ok, so, do a lot of boot digs. If I hear a whisper signal in the ground, I scrape the ground with my boot and run my coil over the ground again. You know the routine, check and scrape. Most of the time it turns out to be ground noise and on a few occasions it turns into a signal. It’s even better if it’s a deep nugget. Now, I’m not going to bend down and use my pick every single time this occurs so in most cases, my boots are going to take the abuse. The 5.11 H.R.T. boots seem like they are going to be up to this job as well.

My first trip out, I purposely went out to a trashy area so I could do a lot of boot digs and generally dig a lot of targets. Over several trips, the boot has held up well. It has an extra thick sole and a triple stitched toe guard and after dozens and dozens of boot digs, it really has held up nice. Also, since it’s got suede construction, they don’t seem to wear as hard as smooth leather.

Safety in the field is of the utmost importance. One of the worst things that can happen in the field is a bad fall. Since we all very often find ourselves in rocky and steep environments, it’s important to have a boot that is not going to slip. Although it wasn’t premeditated, I went on a hunt with my boy who is six and we ended up in a fairly steep section of Lynx Creek. I was carrying a detector and had to do a fair amount of hand holding to support him on the path. The 5.11 H.R.T.’s do not slip and did great in that environment.

My assesment: An Easy on and off no metal tactical boot that provides great comfort, excellent construction that is great for boot digs and will likely hold up for a long life. Non slip soles that provide safety for dicey hiking. Even though they are more expensive than the Bates Falcon Enforcers, I’ll spend the extra bucks on them, assuming they hold up in the way I believe they will.

5.11 H.R.T. Tactical boots are a great detecting boot.