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3 hours ago, mn90403 said:

WTG Andyy!  You and I have talked about night hunts before.  I've done less of them lately but in the next few weeks I might have to try them again because the days are short and the nights are long!

Mitchel

Ahhh... yes, Mitchel.  I remember those discussions.  Yet aren't you currently in Australia?   I wonder how different night hunts out there would be.  The only thing I have to worry about for Arizona night hunts are crazy people, getting bitten by a rattle snake, falling down a mine shaft,  the occasional hungry mountain lion, and UFO abduction.  And so far I haven't had any of those things happen to me (at least I don't think so) :huh:

Andyy

 

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I leave tonight for Australia.  15.5 hours later flight time I'll be there!

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43 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

I leave tonight for Australia.  15.5 hours later flight time I'll be there!

YESSS!!  I really wish you the best, Mitchel.  And I am not afraid to admit that I am a little jealous as well. :)

 

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Nice find. I bought a powerful headlamp and I'm going to give night prospecting a go this year. Thanks for the inspiration.

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Night hunting, taking all the smart precautions like not falling down mine shafts etc, is really fun. We put a small light on an antenna close to our camp so we could see how to get back. 

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34 minutes ago, flakmagnet said:

Night hunting, taking all the smart precautions like not falling down mine shafts etc, is really fun. We put a small light on an antenna close to our camp so we could see how to get back. 

The first time I went out night hunting, I went up on a ridge and saw a light moving around where I parked my truck.  Hastily I made my way back, only to find out I was seeing the reflections of the moon off the windows and mirrors.  You'd be surprised how much your mind plays tricks on you.  I usually, get a startle or two from various things within the first 15 minutes.  Then my mind ground balances to the sound of the detector.  Fear goes away.  It is a peaceful experience, and you'll see a few more animal.  Rabbits freeze in bright white light to where you could run up and kickem over (I don't of course).  Tarantulas will be all over the ground in Sept. and Oct.  Scorpions are everywhere but that is just natural.  Burros kinda scare you because you'll come around the corner and see these huge alien looking eyes turn toward you and freeze from 100' away.  Creepy.  But the hardest thing for me to get used to were trying not to walk through webs at night.  Funny thing is, they are there in the day, too.  You just can't see them ... or what is on them. 

For me, the key to making night hunts work is #1, already knowing a high probability area.  I say this because you will be able to notice contact zones and such, but you will only see what you shine your light on.   And key#2 is figuring out what caffeine concoctions allow you to hunt wide awake all night without wrapping your car around a tree, once you have to drive home. 

And yes, you feel crazy the first few times you do it (and it *is* a little crazy).  But if you already know it is gold ground, and are just checking washes off your list, it is peaceful experience.

Andyy

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Outstanding gold sir, congrats.

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On 5/7/2019 at 5:55 AM, Andyy said:

So I titled this as such because when it gets especially hot (here in Arizona) I start my hunts at midnight and go thru until the morning until about 8am.  For me, this offers multiple benefits.  There is more time with the family on weekends, which for me is #1; I cherish this more than gold.  And secondly, if it is hot out, I cannot keep my ground balanced, as some put it.  When it starts getting hot, I would tend not to look as hard and rush through areas. 

 

Anyways, back to the gold.  I was in a wash last week when I ran into some pretty good gold.   I found 11 small pcs adding up to almost 4 grams.  Now, for my night hunts, I won’t go every weekend, I usually skip 1 or two so that I get my sleep cycle working again.  But then there is Mother’s Day coming up and so my wife briefly mentioned that I should go this weekend, too.  An hour later I am charging batteries.  She walks by and says, “wow, you really have the fever don’t you”.   I just laughed.    She knows me.  She has seen me prospecting for 5 years and put up with it for 5 years.  One of the best decisions I made was marrying her.  I explain all of this because it was nice to come home and show her the source of the fever. 

 

So I went back to this area with my GPZ and started walking through more washes I had marked out on my gps.  Nothing for the first one, but the second one, I got a nice strangely shaped 2.75 grammer.  Now, I can kinda see a patten on my gps when I look at my finds.  I finish the wash and go to a wash that is in the direction of the gold distribution.  Good topography … I am in.  First couple of minutes of slow hunting in this wash yields, nothing.  And then I start focusing on a bench that is maybe a foot higher than the rest of the wash… and I get a signal.  A clear, still loud, but smooth signal.  My heart jumps as I begin to dig.  The dirt just fell away until 15-16” I hit gravel.  By now the target was booming.  I scrape the gavel back with my pick and I see a large piece of gold flip out!  It replays in my mind over and over.  Needless to say, you may have heard my scream at 2:15 in the morning (Arizona time).  LOL.

 

From there the gold kept coming.   I got a couple more pieces farther up the wash and then came back and placered the area for a couple more little ones missed by depth.  Wide range of sizes.  THAT is why I love the GPZ.    And it was nice to see my wifes face change to a smile when she felt the .86oz chunk fall into her hand.  Priceless.  All in all, my findings came to just over 1oz.  Who needs sleep ...

 

Andyy

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That's excellent. Well done.

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