Associations

When thinking about prospecting, nothing compares to experience.  However finding someone who will teach you everything they know about gold hunting is about as easy as using a home lobotomy kit.  Fortunately there are several groups who have come up with the solution to this problem.

Gold clubs, gold memberships, and prospecting associations are a great way to learn about prospecting from people who have done it longer than you have been alive.  Many groups have regular meetings, outings, and even access to claims that are otherwise off limits to the public.

 In these gold associations you can also learn about the different equipment used by fellow prospectors.  You can gain valuable information on which drywasher produces the best results in gold recovery from someone who has spent tons of time and money on countless models.  You can hear old tales of how far metal detectors have evolved from guys who used to lug around the old heavy models.  You can join an outing where you can pick up hints and tricks on old panning techniques from seasoned pros.  At meetings you can find out where the best places are to find gold in your local area.  All in all, a prospecting club is a great way to gain a large amount of knowledge for less than the price of the gas you would waste trying to figure it out on your own.

There are many gold gathering groups for you to choose from and not everyone may be right for you.  There are a few questions you can ask that will help you along the way that can help you make the most of your hunt for the precious metal.  Here at GottaGetGold we believe a happy prospector is a long time prospector, so we have compiled these questions to be answered.  As time goes on we will contact groups and put information on them for you here in the site.  For now, here is what we believe are the best questions to ask:

Why should I join your gold club?  

This seems to be a simple question, however you would be surprised.  Sometimes the answer you don’t want comes through in this reasoning.  If you are looking for a small group of local prospectors and find out that the association is primarily located on the other side of the country, your probably not going to get the most out of that membership.  If you are looking for the most active association but someone tells you that they are the cheapest then you may not get the benefit that another association wants unless the next question covers that problem.

How many members do you have and how many are near me? 

If an association is large enough or has enough members in your area you are likely to get a good bang for your dollar.  That is not to say you should go looking for the biggest group to join.  Smaller groups mean less people picking over any single claim.  This often results in better gold recovery for the claims you will have access to.  I personally joined an association that was new and didn’t have any members near me.  However they had two new claims within driving distance and I got enough in my fist few visits to more than pay for my membership.  That also isn’t to say that you should avoid larger associations.  The balance is generally in the number of claims, or benefits to joining that group to even up the playing field.

How many claims do you have in my area?

Yes, we have already talked about the importance of claims, but not every group has, or needs, claims.  Some groups are designed to help you learn the most about each piece of equipment on the market.  Trust me when I say making the most out of your gold dredge or metal detector is well worth the price of admission.  If you are looking for a good number of claims though, this is an important question.  Once again, it doesn’t matter if the club has over a million claims, if none of them are near you (providing you live in an area that has gold) then you will be paying for things you don’t use or need.  I have found that a good formula for me is this.  Take the number of claims in your area and divide that by the amount of the membership.  For example; if you pay $100.00 for your membership and there are 4 claims that you know you can go to, then you are paying $25.00 per claim that you will use.  This equation will help you factor the value of the membership from a claims standpoint.

Is there a chapter in my area?

Gold association chapters are a great way to get to know other prospectors and gain limitless information.  You can get the head of the chapter’s information and talk with them directly.  They will tell you how often they meet, how often they have outings, where the best places to go are, and even good resources on getting you equipment.  Even if you go once a year, a local chapter can be a great benefit to you.

Do you have a website?

Though GottaGetGold tries to give you as much information on each piece of information that we can, information does update and change on us without notice.  So find out if your prospective gold prospecting club has a website.  Search the website and look at the features and additions that are on the site to decide what is important to you.  Many have newsletters that will update their members on changes and upcoming events.  Some have forums or chat rooms that allow you to talk to other prospectors and voice your opinion on different matters.  Scour the site and see if you find enough there to make you whip out your credit card and join them.

Of course not all memberships are general either.  There are associations for just about every type of prospector and these may be options for you to consider as well.  If, for example, you are only going to invest in the best metal detector you can get your hands on and forego the rest, there are specific associations for metal detectors.  This is true for many different styles of prospectors.

Another important thing to keep in mind is this; you can always join more than one association.  I know of folks who have joined three or four different associations because of the strong varying benefit of each.  One group had a local chapter that met on a monthly basis.  Another club had great magazines and newsletters with tons of hints and up to date information.  A third group had the most interactive website with tons of members.  This is not sports fan hangout, you can be on more than one team.

Overall when choosing an association to join, decide what features are most important to you and let those be your deciding factor.