Andyy

In southern AZ, my father in law had one (mtn lion) stalking him and was able to scare iit away with a gun. As I've mentioned on this site before, I generally will not prospect without some small gun.  Rabies is another concern, as well.

As for snakes, I wear guards. Hunting at night, people expect that I would always run into them, but not so. If in boulder areas or especially water areas, this would be different.  But I've spent many many night hunts without a strike. I see more in the daytime.  ButI purposely make a lot of noise so they know I am coming. 

And Ido not wear headphones at night.

Scary video.

My story happened, last year during a night hunt to an area I had been to before.  There was good gold here and I wanted to see what I had missed.  Now... I wear a bandana around my neck a lot of times.  Sometimes this is for sun guard and other times it is to maybe give me an extra bit of time in case a mountain lion decides to get its jaws around my neck (not that it would help much)  But maybe it would give me an extra couple seconds to reach my gun.   

Anyways, I had hiked back into this spot and it's maybe around 2am.  Nobody around.  Well, I had just sat down and decided to eat an apple and get some carbs back into my system so I could get more energy before all of the digging I had to do.  And the nights are soooo beautiful in Arizona.  I like just sitting and listening.  Call it my midnight meditation if you will.

Well, after my snack and bit of meditation, I started walking down this familiar wash, in search of yellow, when I felt a tickle on my neck.  I thought my bandana was rubbing against me.  hmmmmm, no wind, tonight.  I stopped  frozen, and felt the crawling farther along my neck on my hairline.  This was no bandana.  I quickly tipped my head forward, and savagely brushed both hands to the back of my neck and forward to get whatever it was, off as expeditiously as possible.  Well, lo and behold, a scorpion with a body of maybe 3/4 inch, lands in front of me.  With no stings on my hands or neck, I felt we both stood there staring at each other for about 10 seconds or so, wondering WTF just happened.   But after snapping out of my shock, I let the bugger go with a thank you.  Now I have been stung before on the feet and hands, but I am really not sure what would happen if stung on the neck.  Probably nothing different.  Thankfully, that night, I didn't have to find out.

My thought is that it crawled up my backpack when I sat down to have a break.  So now, day or night, I shake my pack before putting it back on.  I have many more stories like this with spiders, but the scorpion crawling around my neck is still the clearest one on my mind, and one I recall every night hunt I am on.

Just a short story to remind everyone to shake out their backpacks and brush off a little after those short breaks. 

Nope.   Not mine, but yes, both were Bunk's.  I love those picks.  Thanks, Mike!

I saw the title and thought you found one of my Arizona picks.  Even with reflective tape and a gps, I still couldn't find them again.  I've lost two. 🤣

I really love the original hip stick.  I only wish this was still available in the U.S.  Frustrating.

5 hours ago, phrunt said:

.  20-30 tiny nuggets smaller than the GPZ can hit still add up in weight. and this is where VLF's still have an advantage.  JW often does this, finds a lot of little tiny stuff with his GB2, GM1000 or Nox in holes that the bigger one come from.  I should get in the habit of doing the same as it really works for him. 

This is why I have had to make modifications to my GM1000.  It should be on a telescoping rod (mod#1) and should have a better more stable stand (mod#2 - using pvc pipe).  I mean common.   But I can run my GPZ and hook my GM1000 on my backpack and hike for miles.  In areas with a lot of bedrock, it takes me less than a minute to unhook from the side of my Camelback backpack.  Now I don't have to use a blowtube ... which takes for(freak'n)ever.   Then again, I am talking the US deserts.  Sometimes those little specs let you keep a little manhood when you can say you still found gold.  (well, just a little)

But, Phrunt, I also have found that when I am digging the larger pieces (well, I mean gram+), there is usually more gold bits in my dirt pile which I find with my GM1000.  It was a little eye opening when I started checking my piles.  

hey we all start with a dream.  It's a learning experience.  He will come to the realization.  But if he doesn't and you run into him in 6 months, help him along and crush his dream, like a first love on prom night!  Gotta help that poor feller.

funny one.  I sort of thought the wife would be at the end of that list ....errr....

Wow, that is beautiful.  Colorado born or Arizona? ... if you don't mind my asking.  Either way, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

6 hours ago, Sourdough Scott said:

I use the GPZ 7000. So I'm looking for a backpack that I can replace the supplied Minelab harness. I also use the Hipstick and bungee. So the backpack would have to have heavy duty shoulder straps to accommodate the detector weight and movement. I'm not into using the Camelback water bladder.  But want a compartment to be able to hold water and a lunch and keep them from getting hot and the food squished. Also a little extra room to put a jacket or sweatshirt when starting on cold mornings. I also like to keep my pick up and away from the detector,  so I like to holster it behind my shoulder blades. 

 

Hang on tight to that hip stick. I tried to find them in Arizona and they are unavailable (a must for the GPZ7000 ... unless you are a hulk).

Great pics.  Now here is someone who knows how to show off their finds!  I go straight to the pics and tend to skip over the words.. (I read those last 😆)

Maybe you have already found your first nugget.  But I remember when I was looking for that first elusive nugget.  Pictures of grandeur would enter my mind as I walked miles through gullies over cactus and rattlesnakes.  I would dig down 2 feet and repeatedly find nails.  And then the old bullets so marred up you would swear it had to be gold or some other precious metal.  But it wasn't.  But the funny thing is, after I found that first nugget I never asked that question again.  I forever knew the feel and look of gold.  And I never questioned again, whether unicorns existed.

Ok.. too much time at the book store.. google prospecting.  And Waaaay too much coffee.  Good luck out there!!

2 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

So, I went on a little afternoon hunt in the Mojave Desert. I did not have much time but thought to check out a wash where I found gold before with the SDC. The ground conditions there are extremely mineralized and the wash is littered with hot rocks, mostly volcanic in nature.

 

That is amazing.  With all of that volcanic rock, I would never have even taken out my detector.  Not because of expected ground noise, but because I typically do not find gold that close to that much volcanic activity.   So thank you for sharing this and the setting for quieting down the detector.

That pick has too small of a head to do any good with magnets, in my opinion.    I have a pick with a large scoop for the dirt.  I have 2x high power neodymium or whatever and the hell that alien magnetic substance is.  Gets your fingers in the way of two of them and your finger will be the middle of an oreo cookie.   As everyone said, already, the magnets will move on the head.  A little JB weld will keep them there much longer.  But they will need maintenance every once in a while. 

To answer your specific question on location, I do not put mine near the tip or you are very likely to chip or lose them.  I put mine 2" back, or so.

I also put one on the handle.  Sometimes this is an easier iron checker, if it seems like shallow iron.

7 hours ago, phrunt said:

Yea, I don't really enjoy the over excited clowns they use in lots of the metal detecting "reality" slows in the US, it's like they've drunk about 50 red bulls and sucked on a bobble of nitrous oxide for an hour before they start filming.   They seem to favour using loud obnoxious hyperactive people and if I ever watch them I've got the wife on my back telling me to turn it off or turn it down as she can't stand hearing the people either,  jumping up and down all excited then running around in circles and yelling because they find some old crusty bullet.

I haven't seen the show, but I see some similarities here...

-  I *do* still freak out when I get large nuggets, often screaming out to nobody but the local bobcat and mtn lion, which are no doubt wondering why I am in their territory in the middle of the night, with a machine that squeals like a rabbit being attacked.

-  In order for me to do my night hunts, I am known to drink a couple red bull type drinks and thirst busters, to keep me amped up for the night.   I just hope my body can handle the octane in short durations.

Maybe if I had news crews following me around, I would seem like an excited clown, too!!  LOL. 

But I PROMISE YOU, you would not see me jumping around in circles because I find an ancient bullet!  I find lots and lots.. and lots of bullets.

yes... worst movie ever.   Don't waste you're time.  Better off putting it to searching for gold yourself.

On 3/17/2022 at 9:45 AM, Mick said:

Definitely work when working....

 

 

 

 

And Mick - that is some gorgeous gold you found there.  Nice work!!

Thankfully, the adapter for my 10"  Xcoil has held up.  Then again, I over design and reinforce everything, extra.  The key is to use that strain relief clamp on the connector.  If you do not use this correctly, you will be pulling on the wires and the glue.  My only issues which I have noted in other links is:

1)  rare ground (in AZ) that renders balance impossible

2)  the problematic coil cable that comes unraveled if you run your shaft fully extended in the heat (as I do).  The coil is not wound nearly as tight as the Minelab coil.  You will have to pull it through the shaft with a string.

These are really my only complaints.  I still use this coil actively, and it will get smaller deeper gold than my 14x13.   So it remains a useful tool in my toolbox.

Andyy

Nice haul, Jason.  Researching those new areas can feel like a big risk, but the payoff is golden. 👍

Andy

2 hours ago, geof_junk said:

The GPX-6000 is flooding the market.  🤑

LOL.  now that's funny.  I don't think the GPX-6000 will get you too much more in my neck of the woods.  I already get sizes less than half a grain.  (it takes a while to get in the scoop)  But you never know.  I am waiting for a bigger jump in technology before I trade in my GPZ.  

On 3/11/2022 at 1:03 PM, Bucksnboulders said:

 I would sure love to see some club's start up a program allowing people the opportunity to access a claim or two for a daily fee of $30-$40 dollars. The club would make extra money and others would have the opportunity to enjoy the hobby. In Utah our club dues are only $40 a year but the fact of the matter is, I know few people that have found enough gold to pay for the due's, Prospecting for the most part is not much more than having fun and making new friends. Here in Arizona where you have real gold, it would appear to be a little more competitive and rightfully so.  

I can get your point.  My first couple years learning to detect, definitely did not pay my dues.  But I did find gold and have access to gold areas (and what the ground looks like), and yes, I met some great friends.  But for the first 3+ years, I would say I was mostly learning on my own.  And it was rough going out sometimes 6 or 7 trips with nothing.  I guess if it were easy, everyone would do it.

If anything, I would look at the club claims as a learning ground. And I have found ounces of gold even on the AZ club claims.  Not all in one place, but spread out. 

I think I started detecting like 7 years ago.  Today, the newer prospectors may have slightly better machines but it is much much harder to learn.  There's just fewer "opportunities".  But it can be had. 

Good luck to you.  

yep... all of those little pickers I have that are not too impressive, may now have paid for my gas.  Oh wait ... that went up, too!! 🤔

On 12/31/2021 at 9:19 PM, Gerry in Idaho said:

Hunting with friends is one of the best parts of metal detecting to me.  Sure I'll go do it alone, but I prefer to have buddies along so we can harass each other and also celebrate our successful digs when it happens.

 

So true, Gerry.  And I think if you can hunt with others you can trust, you will both benefit... both from the gold, and more importantly, the knowledge.  I would never be the gold hunter I am today, without trusting in others.  Inadvertently, we have shared in our learnings.  Yes, I found lots of gold before I ever teamed up, but I have since found much more than I would have on my own, due to me sharing my knowledge and visa versa. 

But, it can be a fine balance in finding a hunting partner.  You must ... choose wisely.  🙂

Thanks for the comments, all.  Prospecting with friends is still my best all around therapy.  The gold is a bonus 🙂