jphendren Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Hello,I use to nugget hunt back around 1999 to 2001 timeframe. I started with a Goldmaster 4B, and then bought a Minelab GP Extreme from Doc when they came out in 2000 I think it was? I never found any gold with the Goldmaster 4B, but I did find many small metallic items including small birdshot. On my second outing with the GP Extreme I found a 1.5 gram course nugget, I was pretty stoked to say the least! I continued to go out with the GP for another six months or so, but never found another nugget. I ended up getting married and having kids, and pretty much stopped hunting. I stupidly sold my GP a few years later. I usually hunted with the Coiltek Mini UFO coil.Fast forward to about a month and a half ago, I was driving my kids home from school and saw 6 metal detectors sitting on the sidewalk in front of a neighbors house, but the garage door was closed, and the garage door closed. So I stopped and asked if they were for sale. The lady of the house told me they were free and to take them, "take them all" she said. So my boys and I loaded them up. There is a White's GMT, DFX, and Classic IDX. Along with a Minelab Eureka Gold, Fisher CZ-6, and a Tesoro Silver Sabre II. I installed batteries in them and they all work fine. So with my newfound detectors I decided to give nugget hunting another try, I re-read both Zip Zip books, along with "Follow the Drywashers," and finally "The Complete Guide to Finding Gold Nuggets with a Metal Detector" by James Mcculloch.I went out to the area where I had found my first nugget 15 years ago, and started hunting with the GMT. I found nothing that first day out, but got better at running the machine, not trusting the Fast Auto Trac I ran the machine in manual ground balance most of the time. Well on my third trip out, a friend and I hunted all day and came up with many small pieces of wire, square nails, a screw and other assorted treasures but no gold. It was getting late and sun was setting so we headed back to the truck to get a drink. We were all set to go when I decided to go down into a small gulch just below the truck and kill the last 5 minutes of light. I buried my small test nugget about 3 inches down, and set up my machine for the most distinct signal and stepped aside while my buddy did the same. As I was standing there, I got a strong target about 10 inches from where my test nugget was buried. I proceeded to check it out, not ferrous, hmmmm. About 2 1/2" down was a nice little 3 grain nugget! Haha, 15 years later I finally found my second nugget.Jared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahorton10 Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Awesome story! Keep at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim straight Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 WOW... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 Great story. Persistence pays off in this game.Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Seeker Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 While not to put down your second nugget find which is awesome , I think finding the metal detectors were the best treasure finds for you, and for free at that , without finding them the nugget would be mute!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 man, 1500 bucks worth of free detectors...nice score!great story too.fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortuga Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 I've also found a few at the end of the day right when I'm about to quit too. Nuggets are kinda weird like that sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jphendren Posted November 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 I've also found a few at the end of the day right when I'm about to quit too. Nuggets are kinda weird like that sometimes.Strangely, my first nugget 15 years ago was found as the sun was setting also. Maybe I should only hunt at sunset LOL. Jared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted November 27, 2015 Admin Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 Hey Jared, Congrats and thanks for sharing with us. Wishing you many more nuggets to come in the very near future for you!! Keep us updated if you would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jphendren Posted November 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks for all of the replies guys. It will be a few weeks before I am able to get out again, my hunting buddy will be on a Mexican cruise for a week or two. I'm hoping there will be a few more nuggets in that gulch, and will start my search there. I will post again if I score another nugget.Jared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Your hooked now best to tell the wife . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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