Admin nuggethunting Posted July 8, 2022 Admin Report Share Posted July 8, 2022 Hey Guys/Gals, Here in the Southwest, it's now hot (over 100+ degrees) and higher humidity due to the Summer Monsoon storms. That being said, many are still out roaming the goldfields during the early morning hours in hopes for a few gold nuggets. A friend and I are still out and about, hunting in the morning hours until the heat/humidity or the storms run us out. Spending most of the time in the gully bottoms, the bedrock can get as high as 140-150 degrees making it difficult to stay on the ground too long. This has been a weird year, we have yet to see a single Rattlesnake to date. I have seen just about everything else, lizards, small rodents, bugs and other snakes, but no Rattlesnakes to boot. I'm not sure if it's the drought or what, but normally my friend and I would run across dozens of Rattlesnakes by this time. I'm not complaining, just seems weird this year, but maybe we just have been lucky to miss them. On another note, I stumbled across this nice gold nugget a few weekends ago. We were metal detecting with the Minelab GPZ 7000's in a new area and I got this faint signal right in the center of the wash bottom. I almost didn't dig it, as I haven't found a single nugget prior to this targets, so normally I'm not going to dig deep targets right out in the center of any gulch unless I have a reason to believe there is gold. I guess I have to be happy about this one, it was well over a foot deep on bedrock. The nugget was just over 1/4 ounce in weight, nothing huge, but sure was a surprise to say the least! The nugget lead us into a new area that has potential and paid for gas (almost $6/gallon). A few other smaller gold nuggets were also found not shown. Keep in mind, hunting this time of year, make sure you hydrate well, wear light clothing, pack enough liquids, wear sunscreen, gloves, hat and snake gaitors. These are just some recommendations for all the years of searching the desert regions during the Summer. I also recommend also hunting with a friend if possible and carrying 2-way radios so you can communicate back in forth and tell your buddy when you find that big gold nugget! Wishing you all a beautiful gold nugget under that searchcoil. Keep it swinging, Rob 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravelwasher Posted July 8, 2022 Report Share Posted July 8, 2022 Nice fat nugget, congratulation on finding a new spot!! Love it when you get to see them in-situ, well done. Makes me want to get out and dig;)) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 11, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted July 11, 2022 Hey Gravelwasher, Ya, it was a nice find for sure. I knew due to the depth, it had to be a nugget. Rob 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatup Posted July 12, 2022 Report Share Posted July 12, 2022 Well done , and good on you both 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one4gold Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 Right on guys !! Great pics !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNuggetBob Posted August 3, 2022 Report Share Posted August 3, 2022 (edited) Nice find Rob It looks like you hit that sucker down half way to China. that Minelab GPZ7000 is impressive on depth. I agree when your digging down past the last couple of centuries you just get that feeling it’s not trash. AzNuggetBob Edited August 5, 2022 by AZNuggetBob context 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted August 6, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted August 6, 2022 Hey Bob, Ya, she was a deep one. That is one reason I find it hard to part with the GPZ 7000. If the area has minimal trash and is a known gold nugget area, the GPZ 7000 is my choice. It's ability to shoot down deep, but still maintain good sensitivity to small gold is amazing. I love the GPX 6000 also, lightweight and super easy to use, but it's NO GPZ 7000 in my opinion if you can deal with the weight. Rob 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNuggetBob Posted August 11, 2022 Report Share Posted August 11, 2022 Hey Rob Been thinking about upgrading. I've been thinkin about some of old patches that I found with some real nice nuggets in the 3-4-8 ounce range and on the deeper patches you always get that nagging feeling you left one or two behind, just too deep for the detector I hit it with last. I’m thinking with a upgrade I could hit some of those deep ones or maybe even find a satellite patch I missed in the process. I know what you mean about the detector weight. Swinging those older beasts can wear down your arm quick but I have a bungee cord and hunting harness. I ended up hip mounting that old modded 2100 I had with a mono coil extension cable I got from Doc. and that detector was good to me, it found me a lot of gold but that detector was getting old. It had been through a lot of bashing and thrashing and was getting a little unstable and annoying from too many mods so I finally just retired it to the closet. So anyway before I get off into another rant. 😀 The Minelab GPZ 7000 is heavier than the GPX 6000 based on what I’ve read 2 lbs heavier, so is that the biggest trade off? And are there even larger aftermarket coils available for them than the factory ones? I’m also waiting to find out more about the new Garrett Axiom. AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted August 30, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted August 30, 2022 Hey Bob, I have been out swinging for the Monsoon Gold a little bit, been picking up some bits here and there, nothing to write home about. The Monsoon's in some areas can blow out washes and exposing new bedrock sections that could contain gold nuggets. A tip for anyone new, if you found nuggets in a wash, always re-visit after large Monsoon storms or Winter storms, you might be quite surprised! Yes, the GPZ 7000 is a beast when it comes to weight, but it's also the KING for depth if your ground warrants it. I wouldn't recommend a GPZ 7000 for someone that is hunting nothing but shallow or bedrock conditions, but anywhere the ground is 1-3 foot in depth and nuggets have been found, it's worth it. The lightest coil that does not require any modifications to the cable and such would be the Nugget Finder 12" Z Searchoil. This is my go to coil on my GPZ, still get good depth, but lighter and a bit more sensitive than the stock 14x13 Super DD. The Garrett Axiom will have it's place for sure. It's great to see Garrett jump in with a great new detector. It's not going to take on a GPZ 7000 @ $8499, nor be a GPX 6000 slayer at @ $6000, but at $3995 it will have it's place and do well. It's has a lot of great features, Iron Scan, Lightweight 4.7 lbs, Wireless Headphones, extreme battery life 16 hours & several audio types. Going to be interesting this Winter season with new coils for the GPZ 7000, new coils for the GPX 6000 and the new Garrett Axiom metal detector. Rob 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNuggetBob Posted September 8, 2022 Report Share Posted September 8, 2022 (edited) On 8/29/2022 at 6:39 PM, nuggethunting said: On 8/29/2022 at 6:39 PM, nuggethunting said: Hey Bob, I have been out swinging for the Monsoon Gold a little bit, been picking up some bits here and there, nothing to write home about. The Monsoon's in some areas can blow out washes and exposing new bedrock sections that could contain gold nuggets. A tip for anyone new, if you found nuggets in a wash, always re-visit after large Monsoon storms or Winter storms, you might be quite surprised! Yes, the GPZ 7000 is a beast when it comes to weight, but it's also the KING for depth if your ground warrants it. I wouldn't recommend a GPZ 7000 for someone that is hunting nothing but shallow or bedrock conditions, but anywhere the ground is 1-3 foot in depth and nuggets have been found, it's worth it. The lightest coil that does not require any modifications to the cable and such would be the Nugget Finder 12" Z Searchoil. This is my go to coil on my GPZ, still get good depth, but lighter and a bit more sensitive than the stock 14x13 Super DD. The Garrett Axiom will have it's place for sure. It's great to see Garrett jump in with a great new detector. It's not going to take on a GPZ 7000 @ $8499, nor be a GPX 6000 slayer at @ $6000, but at $3995 it will have it's place and do well. It's has a lot of great features, Iron Scan, Lightweight 4.7 lbs, Wireless Headphones, extreme battery life 16 hours & several audio types. Going to be interesting this Winter season with new coils for the GPZ 7000, new coils for the GPX 6000 and the new Garrett Axiom metal detector. Rob Thanks Rob you answered a ton of questions I had on this. AzNuggetBob Edited September 8, 2022 by AZNuggetBob double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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