A Few Hours This Weekend...

[bado1]

I just posted this to the AZO forum. Let see if I can do it again...

We went to the micro-nugget gulch for a few hours this weekend to clean it up. We both were swinging our Minelab units. Me the SDC and my buddy his GPX-5000 tipped with a 6" Coiltek coil. The SDC is made for this kind of hunting and the 5000 with this coil is super sensitive to the small gold. Started out a bit warm but got much nicer as the sun got lower. Some may think of this type of hunting as tedious(it is)but it really sharpens your detecting skills. It forces you to slow way down and listen for the slightest change in the threshold. A good pair of head phones is essential.

The wildlife was out as well. We saw some Mule deer and met this guy...

Look very close as he has great camo. Can you see him? A beautiful and deadly Mojave Rattle Snake. Snake guards would have done no good as he is hip height on the edge of the inside bend of the gulch. Thankfully, he was not in a bad mood, as I didn't see him until I stood up from digging a target about three feet away! He would not rattle and we could not get him riled up. He just wanted to be left alone so we obliged him and let him be and moved on up the gulch.

As the guardian of the gold he didn't do a very good job because we scored these little guys....

first few (combined).

My total take. I didn't get a pic of the final total but I think it was 14(?).

My first target of the day was a perfect signal on the SDC. A nice mellow gold tone. I thought to myself, "first gold, YES"! Instead, this is what gave the nice tone...

Very strange for the SDC as it usually doesn't sound off on hot rocks and if it does it gives a different tone. Plus, there aren't many hot rocks in this area and they don't look like this. It appears to be a large piece of Hematite. It is not magnetic. Weird for this place.

Another fun trip with my buddy hunting micro-nuggets.

Dean

[Jim Hemmingway]

Thanks Dean for taking us along on your visit to the micro-nugget gulch, and congratulations on those finds... any gold is good gold. That one little piece is particularly attractive and shapely if such a description could apply to valuable rocks.

 

I suggest you take a good close-up photo of that 'hotrock' outside in natural lighting. If you have a VLF unit it would help to know its target ID and more importantly its GB compensation point on a VLF GB scale. Does it possess any unusual property. for example... weight, streak, metallic luster or color anyplace on the rock, is it particularly hard or soft, and when rubbed on your damp thumb does it leave any residue or black stain, and / or anything else that you notice.

 

Jim.

[californiagold]

Very nice day! Good job. Yes that snake did a good job hiding himself. I hate when you just about step on one before they rattle.

Luckily I have not seen one this year. Once again thanks for the pics.

[fredmason]

don't depend on them rattling; and not seeing them does not mean they were not there...

 

fred

[Steve Herschbach]

don't depend on them rattling; and not seeing them does not mean they were not there...

 

fred

That goes for gold nuggets also!

Them little ones add up. Thanks for posting Dean.

[bado1]

That goes for gold nuggets also!

Them little ones add up. Thanks for posting Dean.

Steve,

I wish the nuggets would rattle more often!

[boulder dash]

Wow nice small nuggets

[Bob(AK)]

Gold is nice, rock is interesting. Like Jim said, another photo would be nice. Rock and dime both look blue,  Bob

[bado1]

When I get some time I will re-visit the rock. It is black and the dime has got a blackish patina from being in the ground for years...found it detecting.