Popular Post Lunk Posted November 11, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2020 With the fantastic weather in the Rye Patch region during the month of October, I was chomping at the bit to get down there, but my summer job didn't end until the 30th. It still took me a few days afterward to get everything wrapped up, so I finally hit the road and met up with Gerry and friends at Rye Patch the following Tuesday. The detector training class we were scheduled to give that weekend ended up being cancelled, thanks to a winter storm that was forecast to move into the area on Friday. Needless to say, having only two days of optimal detecting conditions before being snowed out and forced to move on to Arizona was a total bummer.😞 Intent on finding a few bits of gold in-spite of the looming storm system and armed with our trusty Minelab GPZ 7000 gold detectors (and one SDC 2300 - also quite trusty, btw), we hit an old patch in hopes of digging up some previously overlooked yellow metal. Only two small nuggets were found after a couple of hours searching with four coils on the ground - not a very good start. It was then that I remembered another old patch nearby that I had completely forgotten about, it had been so long since I had been there. It wasn't a very good producer back in the day, but perhaps we would be able to find a few nuggets that the VLF and early PI machines may have left behind. Within minutes of hitting the ground, my good friend Chef Rusty and I both popped a shallow sub-gram nugget; not a bad start. Soon, everyone was digging good gold! My second target gave an obvious yet deep sounding signal response from the GPZ's stock 14” coil. I imagined it to be a three or four gram piece at a depth of 12” to 18”. Gerry noticed me digging quite an excavation and came over to capture the action on video. At a measured depth of 20”, the target was finally out of the hole, and as I held it aloft there was an audible gasp from the audience that had gathered to watch, followed by cheers and fist-bumps: After a thorough cleaning, the specimen weighed in at a whopping 40 grams - a totally unexpected and pleasant surprise! The nuggets kept biting sporadically for everyone the rest of the day, and the same was repeated the following day. Just goes to show that sometimes the ZVT tech can really ignite an old burned-out nugget patch. Much fun was had by all, and it really made up for such a short two-day detecting trip. Pictured below are my finds, including the 40 gram chunk, a couple nuggets at over 8 grams, and all the small bits, with a total combined weight of over 66 grams. 42 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valens Legacy Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 19 minutes ago, Lunk said: Pictured below are my finds, including the 40 gram chunk, a couple nuggets at over 8 grams, and all the small bits, with a total combined weight of over 66 grams. Fantastic hunt and I loved the story you told. Hope I can some day find something close to it. I really need to go there some day and try my grandfathers 800 in the area just to see what it my find. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasong Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 You da' man Lunk. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn in CO Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Wow, just wow! Good to seeing you post again Lunk. Thanks for sharing! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1515Art Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Lunk, the Z couldn’t do it without you, no doubt about it an amazing detector...operated by a more amazing detector’ist! 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn90403 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 1 hour ago, phrunt said: How on earth did that get missed for all those years! Well done Lunkster! Showing everyone how it's done. It's called a 20 inch whisper Simon. Only a few people in the world can hear a little fart in a windstorm and Lunk has proven it time and time again. 2 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPeg Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Incredible! Congrats on a great hunt with your Buddies! And by the way, you are a talented writer too...very engaging posts! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afreakofnature Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Right on Lunk! I’d love to see that video. Gerry post a link! Unless it gives away too much information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim McCulloch Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Friend Keith, ya' done real good, buddy! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLundy Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Wow! I was looking for two old patches and I can find them! I know I riding right past them...I hate the thought of swinging 500 acres to see if I can find them again. WTG, Great trip and you did just miss a season ending storm that set the perfect GPZ dirt back to wet and noisy! Rick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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