Fisher Gold Bug 2 Metal Detector with 6 1/2″ Elliptical Search Coil

Like the original Fisher Gold Bug metal detector, the Fisher Gold Bug-2 is designed for finding gold nuggets.

It offers extraordinary sensitivity, ultra-high frequency (the highest operating frequency on the market), iron-discrimination, dust and moisture resistance, audio-boost and the ability to operate in extremely mineralized soil with a 3-position mineralization switch. Backed by Fisher’s 5 Year Warranty.

* Powerful 71kHz Operation for extreme sensitivity to small gold nuggets

* “IRON DISC” mode rejects iron (trash) targets and hot rocks.

* Resistant to dust and moisture.

* Boosts audio signal of small and deep targets

* Convertible to hipmount or chest mount

* Weighs only 2.9 lbs.

* Quartz-crystal locked electronics.

* Takes only two, drop-in, 9-V batteries

* Dual-knob ground control for coarse and fine adjustment.

* 6 1/2″ Elliptical Search Coil

* 5 Year Warranty

Fisher Gold Bug Features

• Fisher Gold Bug 2: Legendary nugget hunter.
• Powerful 71kHz Operation for extreme sensitivity to small gold nuggets
• “IRON DISC” mode rejects iron (trash) targets and hot rocks.
• Convertible to hipmount or chest mount
• Weighs only 2.9 lbs. – 6 1/2″ Elliptical Search Coil

Fisher Gold Bug 2 Field Test

I made purchase of the Fisher Gold Bug 2 because of what I researched it can do. It has been stated to be able to find gold as small as a pin head. The GB2′s ability to locate gold say 0.02 grams is on or 1 inch near the surface. Reported depth is around 4 to 5 inches with a 1.0 gram nugget. I wanted the 6 1/2 inch search coil that is very small because the larger coil looses the ability to see the smaller gold. I needed a detector that has a smaller search coil and the Gold Bug 2 is it.

The Fisher Gold Bug 2 was tested for several days in Arizona and produced one nice little 3-grain nugget. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t the one to find it.

As for myself, I found more than my share of the tiniest pieces of lead, whiskers of metal and small pieces of aluminum foil, as well as the usual large number of shoe tacks, nails, bullets, shell casings and other larger pieces of iron. Initially, I started out in one of my favorite hunting spots with the Fisher Gold Bug 2 set at Normal on the mineralization switch and varied the sensitivity periodically between a setting of 6 and maximum. The detector displayed excellent sensitivity to really small targets and displayed very respectable ground stability.

Throughout the next several days of testing, I switched between normal and difficult ground modes depending on the conditions of the location and varied the sensitivity between 5 and maximum. I found if I switched to the Low mineralization setting and adjusted the detector as I do with all nugget-hunting detectors, nulling the most negative hot rock, I didn’t have to make any adjustments to the ground balance control when adjusting either the mineralization switch from Low to Normal or High or adjusting the sensitivity control.

I also found by running the detector on Normal or Difficult and the sensitivity at less than maximum, I could readily search with the coil almost scraping the ground, making small deep targets easier to hear.

One feature that was seldom used during the testing was the Audio Boost Mode. When it was on, it was almost too much signal gain for normal operations. However, in the search for a couple of really small targets, it did prove beneficial. Throughout the entire trip, I used the Iron Disc Mode to verify targets. The more I used it, the more confidence I had in this feature. I suspect that if I had been in an area just loaded with positive hot rocks, I would probably have searched slowly in this mode.

Near the end of the last day of field testing, everybody, including myself, was discouraged since it seemed gold was not to be found. While talking to a couple of nugget hunting partners, Tony Pancake asked if he could try the detector again for a while.

Tony took the Fisher Gold Bug 2 to a nearby dirt bank that had been previously hunted by several people and in fewer than five minutes he had found a nugget. Quickly walking over to him, we saw the smile on his face as he was in the process of spitting out the small but beautiful piece of gold. On this day, Tony proved that when you combine luck, skill and a very sensitive detector, you can be successful.

This new detector displays the same light weight as the Gold Bug, but has some added features. Both have excellent sensitivity, especially to really small gold nuggets. However, the new features of Iron Reject Discrimination and Mineralization switch greatly enhance the versatility and ease of use of this detector.

I suspect this new detector will have the same success as the original Gold Bug. I heartily recommend this detector to anyone wanting a extremely sensitive detector capable of finding the tiniest of nuggets as well as the larger and deeper ones.

Tags : Fisher Gold Bug