Book Reviews

I have found The Nugget Shooters FIeld Guide to be a massive help in my prospecting ventures. Great information and years of experience out in the field have seemingly been condensed into an easy to read book.The photos go along way with helping understand techniques and strategies for finding the elusive gold nuggets! Being from Australia, I have found the information Reese has supplied translates well with the local geology. I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to better their chances of coming home with some gold in the pocket. - Brodey W, Australia

Would you like to learn how to take your nugget detecting to an exciting and rewarding new level? In the "Nugget Shooter's Field Guide", author and experienced prospector Reese Townes shows you how to increase your gold recovery with a metal detector through his tips on detecting strategies, what to look for in the field to recognize gold geology, and identify gold deposits, and how to expand productive areas to detect by applying his new Towne's Theory. Other topics include modern nugget detectors and prospecting equipment, safety while detecting and camping, how to hunt old mine workings, cleaning your gold specimens, and more. I found this book to be very informative and detail-oriented, with a plethora of color photos and diagrams illustrating practical techniques and theory that, at the end of the day, puts more gold in the nugget hunter's poke. I liked the way that the author uses repetition in the text to drive home key aspects to be successful in the field when searching for gold with a metal detector.

I met Reese in the goldfields, where he was applying his "layering" technique as explained in the book, and I was quite impressed when he showed me the nuggets he had been finding as a result. He struck me as an avid, experienced prospector, and his willingness to share his hard-won knowledge in his freshman publication is laudable. I believe that newbies and seasoned pros alike will enjoy and benefit from reading "The Nugget Shooter's Field Guide", and I look forward to Reese's next Goldseeker book. - Lunk, Sandpoint, ID

Great Book! The best book on detecting for gold I have ever read! - Kurt Kornchuk, Alaska

Got mine today, and already read it. very good book, with lots of nugget-hunting insights. Well worth the wait, and price.  I'm going to keep re-reading it, too. I want to cement all that info into my mind. 

- Jim in Idaho

I've skimmed some of the geology (it is very detailed to me) and looked at lots of pictures and read a couple of the detecting chapters and I'll have to say it is like having a new detecting partner.
Reese's wordings and style and when he talks about the 'pre-gridding' routine are words that would focus a detectorist like me.  I'm mostly a solo detectorist so I'm apt to repeat my mistakes and not see what I need to see or detect where I should be detecting.  This book will help me to look at my spots with a different light even tho I'm not in Montana.

- Mitchel in California

Here is my opinion of "The Nugget Shooters Field Guide" by Reese Townes. A very informative book, nicely formatted, with excellent photos, with a strong emphasis on the alluvial geology of Montana, Idaho, and similar areas. Plenty of good information, and as I always say,  if you glean just one new tip from such a "how-to" book, which helps you find more gold, then it's worth buying the book. In fact, I have sold thousands of copies of my own books to folks who have exactly the same opinion. Yeah, this old Desert Rat learned a bit more about finding alluvial gold. Well done Reese! I recommend it highly. Good value for the money.

HH Jim- Jim's Metal Detectors - California

I just received my book and browsed through it. It is obvious that Reese put a great deal of work into this endeavor. From the outset, I am very happy that I spent the money on his book and I will go back and read it through. 

- Bugler - Montana

I got my copy yesterday and was quite impressed! I was expecting more of the "low and slow"......" coil to the soil" type stuff, but this book leans heavy towards geological hows and whys with plenty of color pics to help a guy "read the ground" better to hopefully choose more likely locations for the yellow. He brushes on different tailing types and how you might hunt them, things to avoid and things to look for, and much more, etc.. Well done Reese!!!!  On a personal note... Reese, it was cool to see some very familiar spots, Andy's nugget again, and I got a second laugh reading the hornet story again... it brought back the memories of that moment and I laughed out loud. Good luck on the next book... I look forward to it!!!!

- Oneguy - Montana

Got my book today, man this is well made with tons of colored pictures. Well done!!!!!! - Brownnugget

I received my copy a couple of days ago, and am quite pleased. Well written and informative. As a new detectorist, some of it is a bit above my head right now, but not for long. I'd much rather have challenging content, as opposed to something dumbed down. I particularly like that many of the locations pictured are in my neck of the woods - Idaho and the Helena, Montana area. While the content is applicable across geographic locales, it was nice to see gold being found in locations I am familiar with and have access to. The book covers some basic geological concepts, and how they relate to finding gold with a detector. Also, there is particularly useful information concerning the analysis of old mining sites, and where to look for gold around them.  Another great attribute of the book is the professional layout, photos, printing, etc. I feel like I have a text in my hands someone actually cared about producing, rather than production as an afterthought. Well worth the investment! - Bash - Montana