Closing Out The Season In Sunny Yuma

[Condor]

We caught a break in the 90+ temps in Yuma for one last trip.  Ostensibly, it was to be a quick trip to the spot we found the bigger gold in Feb and to test the X-Coil 15" Concentric coil over the ground we had covered extensively with the X-Coil 17x12 and stock coil.  It's about a 1/2 mile walk to the spot but I pulled up short to detect a wash we were about to cross.  My friend with the Concentric coil went on to the target area.  I am using the 7000 with stock coil while waiting for some re-work on my patch lead for the X-Coils.  

I had worked the lower sections of this particular wash back in Feb and found 6 little bits in one small area, the rest of the wash seemed barren.  My goal was work the wash towards our target area just to get the machine warmed up and my listening skills tuned in.  I was working pretty quick really looking for a sitting duck rather than slow and methodical because this wash hadn't produced too well.  About 100 yds on, I hit a pretty good tone right up against the wash sidewall.  I pulled out the bigger of non-specie gold in the picture.  From there over about 20 yds I pulled 3 more small pieces then hit the smaller specie gold on an inside bend of the wash.  I continued up the wash and found the bigger specie dead center of the wash down in the bedrock.  I found 1 more tiny bit up on the bank, but then starting hitting a lot of trash targets so I turned around and reworked the wash for 0 nuggets.  Because of the specie pieces I then started a circle on the hillsides all around the area for nothing.  

I put down my gear and walked to the target area to check on my friend with the Concentric coil.  He had found 2 pieces in an area well detected on our previous trips and attributed it to the overall sensitivity of the Concentric on small targets.  Because of the heat and short trip we had no opportunity to make any comparisons on undug targets.  

I worked my way back down the wash to the RZR, over areas I had covered in Feb.  On the last bend I was picking my way down a slick rock slide area and waved my coil over some overburen covering a layer of bedrock above me.  I got a faint tone and started pulling down the overburden and reached some decomposing granite bedrock.  The target sound got better so I ended up busting out the bedrock trying to pick up the target down in a deep crack.  As I got further down, the target got weaker and I thought I was pushing it deeper in the crack, so I busted out some more bedrock.  I finally picked up a half a matchhead size nugget and thought that just couldn't be right.  As good as the 7000 is on small gold, that just didn't seem right.  I then waved over my spoils pile with all this overburden and busted up granite.  Targets everywhere.  The sun beating down on me and I'm on my knees sorting through the spoils trying to pinpoint tiny targets with a 14" coil.  After about 1/2 hr, I got most of them, 6 matchhead size nuggets.   If I had my handy NOX, I could have made short work of this mess, but maybe I'll go back for the crumbs next year.  

I'm moving to Reno in a couple weeks, I'll be a snowbird in Yuma next year.  

 

[Lunk]

Good finish to a good season!

[beatup]

Great bit of detecting you guys some nice gold to end the year on , well steve next year we will all be on the same footing as we all will be snowbirds.

[Arky]

Great work. Makes our final Yuma haul look a bit slim. But we had a great finish too.

[jasong]

Nice hunting and good luck with the move, with as good as you do down South I have no doubt you'll be making some nice finds posts up North in short time too!

[Joe D.]

Great finds, and blow by blow Condor!!

    Do any of the handheld pinpointers work for you at all? Or do you only use the Nox?👍👍

    

 

[Hard Prospector]

Are you through detecting in Mexico?

[Valens Legacy]

Fantastic hunting for sure with some very nice items. Great story on how you found everything and very nice pictures of your finds.

Thank you for sharing and good luck on your next hunt!

 

[Condor]

13 hours ago, Joe D. said:

Great finds, and blow by blow Condor!!

    Do any of the handheld pinpointers work for you at all? Or do you only use the Nox?👍👍

    

 

I should have tried the pinpointer, but generally their sensitivity to small matchhead nuggets is wanting, you have to get right on them.  I had this big pile of softball sized overburden rocks and big chunks of rotted granite to contend with so I opted to stick with the 7000 coil and plastic scoop.  I just got my new Coiltek coil for the NOX yesterday, that would have been a great test.  

[Condor]

9 hours ago, Hard Prospector said:

Are you through detecting in Mexico?

Not at all through with Baja, but the Covid restrictions kept us out.  You could fly down to the tourist areas, but you couldn't drive down Baja.  The border areas were open for shopping and medical, but further travel inland was restricted.  Next year hopefully we'll get back down there.