Northern Nevada or Arizona

[inthedark]

Hi all,

I am new here as well as to nugget hunting. When I retire I am hoping to relocate somewhere where I can hunt for nuggets most every day (and maybe even find a few).

If you had your choice of where to relocate, would you choose Nevada or Arizona and why.

Thanks!

Frank

[Uncle Ron]

Just about anywhere in Central and West Central Arizona you're surrounded by miles of prime gold hunting country...Think Prescott, Quartzsite, Wickenburg or even Black Canyon City...You can be over gold within a half hour of deciding you want to get out...Hope this helps...Cheers, Unc

[whats4supper]

While it pays to be prepared with a kit for breakdowns, food and drinks, flats, and other obstacles anywhere, in the AZ part depicted by Uncle Ron, there's a lot more people around that may be able to help you in distress.

Nevada places, for the most part, are as wild and remote, and without convenient places to get help.

While there are prime gold areas in each just about any gully or wash, or any mountain or hill in central, western AZ has gold in one form or another. The Bradshaws, Mohave Mountains, La Paz area, etc., any place but into the Mogollon Rim and the Northeast.

In Nevada, your search is going to jut into sagebrush, and it's no easy chore digging or detecting around that 'guardian' bush cover. It's also like scanning places on a vast land ocean, and not many gas stations around.

In AZ, the guardian bush is usually some sort of cactus, so prefill your tires with Slime. Both places have deep sand, NV has alkali flats (crust on top, bottomless powder underneath) while AZ has a lot of mesquite and palo verde. With a lot of club ground in AZ, and moral support from the membership, if you're just starting out, AZ would be a good choice to cut your teeth.

As with any venture, come with a bankroll. Don't make the mistake that many make by deluding yourself into thinking that the nuggets are simply laying all around and that the process or chance of success is simple. It takes time and a lot of effort to get your lines right, and if you don't have any money to tide your over for a year, or several months, you may go away just as broke as when you came.

No offense but almost everybody posting or reading this stuff is a dreamer of sorts- a MOTIVATED Dreamer. Everybody starts out like you (myself included) thinking about riches waiting to be dug up or discovered. I think it's God, in the end, that determines who gets the gold, and who gets the lesson. In many ways, lessons are sometimes worth far more than gold. And, if you find gold, that seems to drive those same finders to bankruptcy looking for the next poke.

Put another way, some people walk up to a crap table, place a bet or two, and losing, walk away to something more stable or substantial in life. Yet others, placing a few bets, win, and start betting more, and higher wagers, thinking it's so easy to hit big. If they aren't careful, they lose all they have and end up on skid row. Take a hard look at all those big Casinos and hotels in Las Vegas- most weren't built by the banks; they were built by dreamers who freely forked over their own money and lost the crap game. If it weren't for losers with big dreams, Las Vegas wouldn't be what it is. Best to come out West to work at something which you are professional at (the day job), and keep the nugget hunting on the 'hobby' level during free time off work. once you get the hang of the hobby, and know your way around with the beeps and quirks of your detector, and start making more hits, then maybe you can work less at the day job and hobby your way into more finds of gold, meteroids, and relics. The finding part is the adventure, and in my own mind, the experience is worth far more than whatever gold I ever recovered; though finding the gold has its own worth as well.

[Jeffdgodfrey]

I just started panning myself in Prescott Valley, Az. So far, I've been lucky to pull out 5-20 visible flakes with every pan. From what I've seen, there're alot of placer spots... pretty much in every creek you cross if you look in the right spots (low pressure when the creek is flowing). I haven't pulled out anything larger than small sized pickers, but I've heard of people working a quarter ounce out of some good pockets in a day.

Unfortunately, I've taken the position of "motivated dreamer." I got laid off from work, and the job market is horrible around here. I've got 4 more months until bootcamp, and hopefully panning will pay off (at least rent and a bit of groceries). I've searched around on the internet and found plans to make a "Henry henry sluice." Has anyone tried one of these? I was thinking of going with a two or three foot piece of sewage pipe with a 15gpm pump (all I have available). It looks relatively cheap to create; and trust me, cheap is goooood right now. Any advice would be appreciated

-Jeff