Whether you've been gold prospecting a while now or just getting interested, the number #1 question everyone asks is WHERE to find gold. With all the great gold prospecting equipment available, recovering the shiny stuff isn't really the problem. It's WHERE do you look for gold in the first place.

Discover Secrets That Most Americans Will Never Know About Claiming Gold Mining Rights to Government Lands!  Click to read a FREE "Gold Mining Claim Secrets" special report by Tyson Elliott. Simply enter your e-mail address where prompted (your personal information is never shared with anyone) and you'll get immediate access to read the report.

In addition to the FREE report, if you'd like to learn even more about how to claim your gold mining rights, Mr. Elliott's complete "Gold Mining Claim Secrets" home-study course is available for only $27 and jam-packed with information including:

* Exactly how to find a slew of EXPIRED MINING CLAIMS
* Where and how to correctly take ownership of gold mining rights (placer and lode)
* How to make certain the land you claim is yours and yours to keep as long as you wish
* Step-by-step handy reference guide of the mining claim process with sample forms
* Federal and state agencies reference lists
* Much more!

Discover the Fortune that Lies Hidden in the Massive Stockpile of Unclaimed Federal Lands -- Yours for the Taking!

Your chances of finding gold in the desert are about as good as finding gold in wet areas. Study the geology and history of the area where you're prospecting or detecting, and you'll have a distinct advantage. Many large-scale mining operations of yesteryear didn't set up in the desert simply because their equipment needed lots of water, and the desert was much more inaccessible a hundred or more years ago. They didn't have portable Gold Buddy drywashers or variety of spiral gold panning machines that operate on just 3 gallons of water like we do now. So that means less competition! Just like in the mountains during spring snowmelt, one big rainstorm in the desert can change the landscape forever and uncover gold that had been hidden for centuries. Perhaps one of the best locations to look for gold is where the hills meet the desert and fan out. This is where the water slows down during storms and drops gold in the gullies. There also are likely to be more gold traps further up the hillside. Concentrate much of your effort in drywashes, dry streambeds, and canyons. When water flows during a flash flood, areas where the greatest amount of erosion has taken place are natural areas for gold collection. In some areas, like Quartzsite, Arizona, nuggets can be found with a metal detector just under the ground's surface, or even on top of the ground. If you find one piece of gold on the surface of a dry placer area, it is likely that there are more pieces of gold in the immediate area because gold generally does not travel alone. So don't call it quits after the first find— keep looking!

If you're a military history buff and haven't heard about the Woodman's Pal Nostalgia Collection, you're in for a nice surprise! In early 1942, the US Signal Corp was issued this collection as standard equipment— a Premium Woodman's Pal tool, canvas sheath, round honing stone and set of 4 manuals. Each of the 4 manuals provided the soldiers with valuable information on a variety of topics. The titles are: Care, Use & Sharpening of the Woodman's Pal; Living in the Jungle; Survival Tool Kit Airman's; and Fighting with USA Knife LC-14-B. The manuals in today's Woodman's Pal Nostalgia Collection are reprints, but contain the original wording and artwork from the original manuals from 1942. The olive green canvas sheath has a zippered closure and is a true vintage military design from World War II. It attaches to your belt via the canvas loop. This collection is a best selling item and makes a great gift!

Gold Panning Kits are an economical introduction to the excitement of panning for gold— whether for yourself or to give as a gift. Kits are problem solvers; you don’t have to think about what to buy— everything you need is included! Garrett has offered very nice Gold Panning Kits for years, and now Fisher Labs is introducing 3 kits of their own that meet the needs of beginners and pros alike. Fisher Gold Panning Kits are made in the USA:

Fisher STARTER Gold Panning Kit: The Starter kit is economical introduction to the excitement of panning for gold! Includes a 10-1/2” red pan and a 14” red pan. The red color makes even the smallest piece of gold stand out. A pair of shatterproof 1-oz. gold vials are ideal for storing and displaying your gold. The snuffer bottle is great for sucking up small gold bits. A “how-to guide” is also included. ON SALE $24.99!

Fisher DELUXE Gold Panning Kit: The Deluxe kit includes a 10-1/2” and a 14” red pan, a classifier with 5/16” holes for sifting rocks and pebbles, a pair of 1-oz. shatterproof gold vials, a snuffer bottle, a Top Hat Sand Magnet to remove unwanted magnetic black sand, a treasure scoop, an instruction booklet, and a drawstring bag to carry everything. ON SALE $49.99!

Fisher ROCKHOUND Gold Panning Kit: The Rockhound kit has everything beginners or pros will need to strike it rich: 10-1/2” red pan, 14” red pan, classifier pair of 1-oz. shatterproof vials, snuffer bottle , Top Hat Sand Magnet, treasure scoop, tweezers, magnifier, crevice tool that gets into tight places, light-duty forged steel rock pick, instructions, and carry bag. ON SALE $99.99!

If you don't need a self-contained gold panning kit, check out our wide selection of individual pans and classifiers, too! 

Designed and built in the USA to the same high quality standards of materials and
workmanship as the Woodman’s Pal tools... we are pleased to introduce the Pro Tool Industries utility knife collection!

PT100 Hunt Utility Knife
• 3/16” thick carbon steel, with a full tang for durability, deep hollow ground and drop point 3” long
• Overall length 7”, annealed, heat treated, blasted and powder coated solar black; weighs 4.8 oz
• The finger grip below and scalloped thumb grooves above, give this Hunter a secure grip and ultimate maneuverability
• 2 piece handle is specially designed for comfort, durability and an awesome look. Custom drawn and individually cut, each piece is of hardwood ash, hand sanded to perfection, then treated with Pro Tool Industries’ Pennsylvania German Harvest brown oil stain. Nickel plated heavy duty rivets finish it off
• Includes heavy duty, lightweight, 1800 denier black nylon sheath with belt loop and Molle compatible straps on the back.

PT101 Camp Utility Knife
• 3/16” thick, 1075 carbon steel, deep hollow ground and drop point, 5 ½’ long, and full tang
• Overall length 10 7/8”, annealed, heat treated, blasted and powder coated solar black; weighs 9.76 oz
• scalloped top thumb grooves for ultimate control
• Comfortable, contoured 2 piece handle is quality designed and constructed of hardwood ash, meticulously hand sanded, then treated with Pennsylvania German Harvest brown oil stain to bring out the gorgeous grain, luster and designs of the wood. The handle is secured with heavy duty nickel plated rivets and a lanyard/ring hole
• Includes heavy duty, lightweight, 1800 denier black nylon sheath with belt loop and Molle compatible straps on the back.

PT102 Chisel Utility Knife
• Actually 3 tools in one— a knife, a chisel, and a wedge/prying tool that weighs 1 lb 25 oz and can tear apart a 4’ x 4’ pallet 
• Overall length 10 5/8 inches
• 5/16” 1075 Carbon Steel full tang that allows a generous “flat” on top edge of the knife to strike with your heavy mallet or hammer for maximum force cut
• Flat ground knife edge 4 ¾” long
• Chisel ground tip edge at the end, 1 ½ long
• ½” long x ¾” wide butt end for striking with a hammer.
• Heat treated, blasted, and powder coated. Two piece contoured hardwood ash handle, hand sanded and treated with Pennsylvania German Harvest Brown oil stain for maximum grain appearance, secured with nickel plated rivets
• Includes heavy duty, lightweight 1800 denier black nylon sheath.

Click here for photos and pricing.

Looking for a weather resistant rust/corrosion inhibitor to protect your Woodman's Pal as well as other edge tools and blades of all kinds-- shovels, hoes, axes, pruners, and most other cutting tools and knives? Schmutz Protective Blade Coating is the answer! Schmutz is applied to each and every Woodman's Pal tool before it leaves the factory, but if you'd like to also apply this at home on your other tools, a quick application after each use is all you need. Consider adding Schmutz to your next order. $9.50 for a 4 ounce can with brush.

Ancient documents indicate that over 2,000 years ago, a Chinese emperor developed a metal detecting device using magnets. The purpose of his invention was to find weapons before they were used to assassinate him! In the early 20th century in America, metal detectors were developed to monitor metal tools and products in manufacturing plants, primarily to prevent theft. During WWII, more advanced equipment was developed to aid in locating land mines. In 1945, these mine detectors, along with countless other war surplus items, showed up in the marketplace at a fraction of their cost. Veterans familiar with the mine detectors were quick to realize that this equipment could also locate buried treasure... and a new hobby was born!  Just one more reason to thank a Vet for his/her service!  Today, several companies such as Garrett and Fisher and Tesoro and Bounty Hunter and others have perfected the modern art of metal detecting and the machines just keep getting better.

Purist beach detectorists will argue that the best time to find goodies on a beach is after winter storms. While that’s certainly true, any time after a crowd has been through (Mondays following busy weekends or the day after a holiday), can mean a fresh crop of coins and jewelry just waiting to be found by your metal detector. Although some beaches can yield historic artifacts, most finds will likley be of the modern variety.

In all types of beach hunting, the discrimination must be kept very low, eliminating only small iron (bobby pins and nails). Aluminum pull tabs and tin foil should not be discriminated or you will lose some gold and/or platinum rings as well. Some beach hunters operate with zero discrimination and dig everything. Using a sand scoop makes target recovery faster and easier.

If you plan to hunt only in dry sand and in very shallow water, a good coin shooting detector will work well if you keep the discrimination set low. If you wish to go out into deeper water you will need a totally submersible machine. Some machines have a single tone for all targets and some have variable tones for different targets. It’s important to realize that most gold rings will read in the “middle” tones (above iron but below coins).

All metal detectors work well in the dry ocean sand but most single frequency detectors become erratic in the wet salt sand or in the surf. Wet salt makes the ground conductive and the detector sees the sand as a large sheet of metal. In order to operate in those areas with most single frequency instruments, you must decrease the sensitivity of the detector and it may still operate erratically. If you only occasionally visit the ocean and own an instrument that becomes erratic in wet salt sand, you can still operate perfectly in the dry sand area. If you live near the ocean, or get to the ocean frequently, consider investing in a detector that will operate well in all conditions including wet salt sand. Those detectors are generally higher priced than multi-purpose detectors, but they are definitely worth the investment if you frequent the ocean. Good luck and have fun!