sdf527 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Ken and I decided to have another go at the area where we found the wash of the big ones. The big ones are all gone and we spent two full days hiking looking for another promising area. We modified our logistics this time. We camped at the trucks, making day hikes each day. Better food, cold beer and a cot to sleep on, makes a huge difference. Day one was a complete bust, didn't even turn on a dectector after a monstrous up and down hike. Day two was even worse. We hiked one way the better part of 2 hours and saw no promising ground. In desperation I climbed about 700 ft to the next level of mountains and found Mountain Sheep central. Three different bands of sheep. The biggest band had 8 brand new babies for 7 ewes, figure the math on that one. The old ram was pretty watchful as the band made its retreat. I didn't find a single target other than hot rocks. The hike back down was horrible, no trails, just picking my way down a steep ridge line. I was downright discouraged and half of a mind to go home the next morning. But, a few beers, good food and a decent nights sleep put me in better spirits the next day. We decided to take a short cut to an area of old dry wash tailings we had seen. The short cut was only 1.5 hr up and down hike, no trails. The first gully I hit was only 300 yds long, but I found 4 small nuggets. I had by no means worked it carefully, so I called Ken over to give it a go. Within the next 2 hours he found 3 nuggets and called me back, suggesting I work higher on the sides of the gully. I put on my little Joey coil because the underlying bedrock was so shallow. I found 4 more little crumbs in an area I know I had waved my big Goldstalker over. They screamed on the front toe of the Joey coil. Low and Slow to get that hot toe area over the nuggets. We finished the day with 8 nuggets for me, 5 for Ken. About 14 grams total weight for the two of us. Mine ranged from 1.9 grams to 0.5 grams. Doesn't come close to our take on the big ones, but total count was impressive by our amateur standards. Beats sitting in an office except for my sore tired legs and feet. I'm including a picture of a baby snake I found on our previous trip to that area. I rolled a big rock and out he came. He was harmless, but reminds me to be careful where I put my hands when digging those holes. I don't have a picture of Ken's nuggets, but they're just shy of 7 grams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdf527 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Oops, lousy photo on the gold, they're not at all black, bad light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COLORADO BOB Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Sdf,Good story and very nice gold.Keep the hammer down, you can't stop now.Bob T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Thats awesome SDF.Congrats on your hard earned nuggets.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlakMagnet Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nice descriptions sdf, sounds like you guysdid a good job with that area. Continued good hunting.All the best,Flak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadams Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nice gold! It's rewarding when you find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotrock mike Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Good story sdf. I always enjoy hearing the stories others have about their gold adventures. I was wondering what size goldstalker you had that didn't pick up what the joey did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdf527 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Good story sdf. I always enjoy hearing the stories others have about their gold adventures. I was wondering what size goldstalker you had that didn't pick up what the joey did?I had the big Goldstalker. There is always an element of operator error. For example, I dug one of the little .5gram pieces that boomed on the Joey coil. I continued hunting in the same 20 yd section back and forth and got no more signals. I left it but came back to it about 20 minutes later and got another booming signal, less than a foot away from previous nugget I had dug. These little nuggets were down in the little bedrock cracks that were not even visible, so I think sometimes its a question of their orientation. I believe some of them were standing on their edge so the coil angle had to hit them just right. Dig Deep and I were hunting together awhile back. He was using the 4500 with 11" Commander coil and I was using the 4000 with the big Goldstalker. He got a signal and pointed to the area of the target. I could not hear that target even after fiddling with the gain and timings. The target was a small nugget, less than a gram and down about 4 to 5 inches. Don't get me wrong, that big Goldstalker has found some tiny little nuggets and its my go to coil for almost all occasions. I haven't used that Joey in nearly 2 years, but I had it with me in my pack and I wanted to get it into some small spaces and scan along the deeper bedrock cracks. We all know about overlapping our swings and criss crossing productive areas, but how many of us are really doing it effectively? Obviously, I wasn't that effective and that's why good detectorists continue to find gold in hammered patches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COLORADO BOB Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 sdf,Your right about them standing on edge.I found a little one the other day in a little crack that was less than 1/4 inch wide and a little over two inches deep.I scratched it out with a stiff piece of wire. There was just a sliver of the top edge showing when I first saw it, but it weighed 42 grain, or a little less than 2 Dwt. or a tad less than 3 gram's.Bob T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroaddriver Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 What do you mean by promising ground? What type of signs are you looking for? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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