Bedrock and Gold: The mysteries . . .

[Lanny in AB]

Do you love to chase the gold? Please join me--lots of gold hunting tips, stories of finds (successful and not), and prospecting poetry.

Nugget in the bedrock tip:

I had a visit with a mining buddy this past weekend, and he told me of an epic battle to get a nugget out of the bedrock, and of what he learned from the experience. I thought some of you might like to learn from his mistake.

While out detecting one day, he came across a large sheet of bare bedrock. The bedrock was exposed because the area had been blasted off with a water cannon (a monitor), by the old-timers! It was not fractured bedrock, in fact it was totally smooth.

He was not optimistic at all of the prospects of a nugget. But, for some reason (we've all been there) he decided to swing his detector over that bedrock. After a long time, just as he was about to give up on his crazy hunch, he got a signal, right out of that smooth bedrock.

There was no crevice, no sign of a crevice, nada! So, he had to go all the way back to camp to get a small sledge and a chisel. The signal in the rock intrigued him, but he still wasn't overly optimistic. For those of you that have chased signals in a similar situation, sometimes there's a patch of hot mineralization in the bedrock that sounds off, but this spot, according to him, was sharp and clear right in the middle of the signal, not just a general increase of the threshold like you get when you pass over a hot spot in the bedrock.

Anyway, he made it back to the spot and started to chisel his way into the bedrock. If any of you have tried this, it's an awful job, and you usually wind up with cut knuckles--at the least! Regardless, he kept fighting his way down, busting out chunks of bedrock. He kept checking the hole, and the signal remained very strong.

This only puzzled him all the more as he could clearly see that it was solid bedrock with no sign of any crevice. He finally quit at the end of the day, at a depth of about a foot, but still, nothing in the hole.

An experienced nugget shooting friend dropped by the next morning to see him, and asked him how the hunt was going. My buddy related his tale of the mysterious hole in the bedrock, and told the friend to go over and check it out, and see if he could solve the riddle.

Later in the day, the other nugget hunter returned. In his hand was a fine, fat, sassy nugget. It weighed in at about an ounce and a quarter! After my friend returned his eyeballs to their sockets and zapped his heart to start it again, he asked where the nugget had come from.

Imagine his surprise when he heard it came from the mystery hole!! He asked how deep the other guy had gone into the bedrock to get it. "Well, no deeper" was his reply.

So, here's the rest of the story as to what happened. When the successful nugget hunter got to the bedrock, he scanned the surface got the same strong signal as my buddy. He widened out the hole and scanned again. Still a solid tone. He widened the hole some more so he could get his coil in, and here's the key and the lesson in this story, he got a strong signal off the side of the hole, about six inches down, but set back another inch into the side of the bedrock!!

My unlucky friend, the true discoverer of the gorgeous nugget's resting place had gone deep past the signal while digging his hole!!

Now, of course, a good pinpointer would easily solve this problem. The problem was, my buddy didn't have one, so why would he widen the hole, right? Well, the other guy was the one with more experience, and that's why he did. It was a lot more work, but what a payoff!

So, my buddy's butt is still black and blue from where he kicked himself for the next week or so for having lost such an incredible prize.

Some nugget hunting lessons are harder than others to learn. . . .

All the best,

Lanny


P.S. When in gold country--check the bedrock, regardless of whether it looks likely or not! Mother Nature likes to play games sometimes.

 

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[Jeff95531]

Jeff,

"I hope you're always checking that bedrock with a detector when you uncover it."

Ummmmmm

I have a Technetics Alpha 2000 that isn't gold specific but will find it if it's big enough. Certainly can't hurt to try. Duh.
Kind of like when GoldenIrishman asked me on my area..."so whats the topo look like?" Ummmmmm.

So much to learn, use and apply. Next time I go I'll just use it and see what happens. I'm also taking a push broom to try to gather flood gold on a big slab of bedrock.

Thanks again Lanny

 

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[Jeff95531]

Speaking of winter, when I lived in AK I would play this song endlessly in the fall. I call it my "Goodbye to Summer" song tho it is more commonly known as Forever Autumn by the Moody Blues. Hope you all enjoy it too.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Lanny, we can actually get some substantial snow at times. What we don't get is the sub zero temps that make it stay around all winter. I guess some might think I'm kind of a weird duck, so to speak, as I rather enjoy working during snow storms, lol. It's usually around 30 degrees when it snows here so very tolerable. However snow does add another level of danger to what I do as you know. The problem is people just don't know how to drive in that white stuff.

Ok, well get back out there and find that gold while the weather allows. I know how fortunate I am to be able to look for the noble metal year round. Even though other prospectors in this great state haven't quite figured that out yet, lol. Wishing you a very golden finish to your limited season. Dennis

I'm amazed at how so many people out here freak out over a little snow out here. It never sticks around for long unless you're above 5,000ft. Kind of like rain in SoCal. I remember one morning with 80 wrecks on I-8 between San Diego State and the stadium just from a little rain. I'm like you Dennis in that I like the cold to work in. You can always put more layers on in the winter but only take so much off in the summer without ending up in jail. The only reason I wasn't out digging much this summer was because I was getting the new house projects done. Why can't people sell places with everything I need already in place?

 

[Lanny in AB]

Lanny, we can actually get some substantial snow at times. What we don't get is the sub zero temps that make it stay around all winter. I guess some might think I'm kind of a weird duck, so to speak, as I rather enjoy working during snow storms, lol. It's usually around 30 degrees when it snows here so very tolerable. However snow does add another level of danger to what I do as you know. The problem is people just don't know how to drive in that white stuff.

I agree that we would have fun hunting sassy yellow gold. Maybe some day we might get that chance as we never know what the future has in store for us. Certainly we have a few things in common, and I'm sure we would have some similar stories to share around a camp fire.

I'm sure it wouldn't take much to modify the battery contact, but for now I and other SDC operators use a piece of cardboard or something like that as a shim to help keep the batteries from shifting around. Seems to help, but you have to pay attention when installing battery door to insure proper contact with positive post. A likely simple fix would be to solder a flat metal contact onto the end of the spring.

Ok, well get back out there and find that gold while the weather allows. I know how fortunate I am to be able to look for the noble metal year round. Even though other prospectors in this great state haven't quite figured that out yet, lol. Wishing you a very golden finish to your limited season. Dennis

Good to hear from you again Dennis, and it's good to get a bit more of the story of your area and your ideas on a fix for your machine as well.

I'm very familiar with the notion of people living in areas where it's perpetually warmer not knowing Jack about driving on snow-covered roads. I well remember watching cars go zipping by me in various States of the Union where the winter's are moderate, only to see them not much later down the road on top of guard rails, 360'd or 180'd in the ditches, flipped over, etc. It takes some more constant living with the white stuff to earn respect for it and to understand its subtle natures.

As for snow and gold, I don't get many opportunities to hunt for the sassy yellow after the white blanket decides to stay; there's a tiny window in the spring when the Old Man Winter is having his last say, and the same sliver of hunting time in the fall when Dame Summer is casting her last warm rays before the Old Man slams his white fist down again.

It would be cool to chase the gold together some day, and I'd enjoy the opportunity for sure, especially with a sniper like you that's learned lots of desert-hunting tricks. Each hunting environment offers its own lessons.

I remember hunting the desert with my former buddy that's now well into his eighties (an old nugget shooter that's been over the mountain, up the other side, down the river and up and climbed both banks!). He and the buddy he detected with (a Korean War veteran, now passed on, that used to Captain a battery of 155mm Howitzers) found a one-pound patch of solid gold nuggets and gold-laced specimens (one pound of gold after using the specific gravity test) on an old trail deep in the Arizona desert in the literal middle of nowhere. He took me to the site, and while I was there, he found another gold-laced specimen just off the road in the desert brush. It's a story I have yet to write about the finding of that trail and the finding of the gold, and the eventual capture of the dense pound of sassy metal. In reference to desert sniping, I've only taken the opportunity to chase the gold on four separate occasions, totaling only several weeks of warm, wintertime nugget shooting, but I can sure see why you love the unhindered nature of warm wintertime prospecting.

As for my season, there's only a tiny fraction left now, but the nuggets have been predictably sassy, yet somehow cooperative this season, and I've freed a whack of them from their bedrock prisons, whether they wanted liberation or not. It really has been a fun, productive time, but the cold will soon clamp down hard with its icy fangs and stop the process with the hard bite of winter when it so chooses.

All the best, and good luck with finding a satisfactory fix to your detectors cranky battery box issue,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Jeff,

"I hope you're always checking that bedrock with a detector when you uncover it."

Ummmmmm

I have a Technetics Alpha 2000 that isn't gold specific but will find it if it's big enough. Certainly can't hurt to try. Duh.
Kind of like when GoldenIrishman asked me on my area..."so whats the topo look like?" Ummmmmm.

So much to learn, use and apply. Next time I go I'll just use it and see what happens. I'm also taking a push broom to try to gather flood gold on a big slab of bedrock.

Thanks again Lanny

I've been surprised more than once by doing just that, checking the bedrock with a detector when I was out sniping or panning.

In fact, I wrote a little story as well on here somewhere about a Rookie that deserted his bedrock patch (after moving boulders a plenty, and all kinds of cobbles and dirt to get down to the bedrock) only to see another Rookie with a detector come along and pull some very nice nuggets out of that bedrock with his detector! I've also found gold that way after dredging, and it only makes sense if you think about it. Gold loves the bedrock (in most cases), so use modern-day electronics to sniff around to see if any is hiding on you Jeff.

You keep at it Jeff, and as I've told you before, the gold will come.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

I'm amazed at how so many people out here freak out over a little snow out here. It never sticks around for long unless you're above 5,000ft. Kind of like rain in SoCal. I remember one morning with 80 wrecks on I-8 between San Diego State and the stadium just from a little rain. I'm like you Dennis in that I like the cold to work in. You can always put more layers on in the winter but only take so much off in the summer without ending up in jail. The only reason I wasn't out digging much this summer was because I was getting the new house projects done. Why can't people sell places with everything I need already in place?

Sorry your house-building project kept you from the gold, but the great thing to keep your hopes up is that it's not going anywhere, especially considering the vastness of the desert and the multitude of hiding spots it's chosen over the millennia.

That prospect of only being able to take off so many layers in the summer really rings true in the desert as everything there bites, claws, or scratches to boot.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well the house projects are just about done for now. I've already gotten my due diligence done on about 20 areas and am more than ready to get my boots on the ground. We took a ride out to one of the areas already just to double check access and man does it look good! Clays site has helped me to be able to streamline much of the required research and having the County Recorders office 5 minutes away from the house is also handy.

I'm loosely following Clays filing formula...
1. Researched areas on their history, geology and mineral makeup.
2. I've checked the Master Plats and determined that the areas are open for entry (Why prospect an area if you can't claim it?)
3. Checked the records for each and every quadrant of interest and no current claims are shown in any of them.
4. Boots on the ground in each of the areas for 1st stage testing. If this looks good then we'll pick the one with the best results and erect our monument of discovery and corner posts and begin 2nd stage testing to determine if we want to file on the area.
5. If filing, get it done late in the afternoon and then head to Phoenix with the paperwork the next morning pay fees and hand walk it through their system. Only leave Phoenix once we have the MC# in hand.
6. Return to claim and post all the signage and start working the area 5 days a week. Use the other two days for checking out other areas so we always have a couple of claims ready to go if the one we're working plays out.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Well the house projects are just about done for now. I've already gotten my due diligence done on about 20 areas and am more than ready to get my boots on the ground. We took a ride out to one of the areas already just to double check access and man does it look good! Clays site has helped me to be able to streamline much of the required research and having the County Recorders office 5 minutes away from the house is also handy.

I'm loosely following Clays filing formula...
1. Researched areas on their history, geology and mineral makeup.
2. I've checked the Master Plats and determined that the areas are open for entry (Why prospect an area if you can't claim it?)
3. Checked the records for each and every quadrant of interest and no current claims are shown in any of them.
4. Boots on the ground in each of the areas for 1st stage testing. If this looks good then we'll pick the one with the best results and erect our monument of discovery and corner posts and begin 2nd stage testing to determine if we want to file on the area.
5. If filing, get it done late in the afternoon and then head to Phoenix with the paperwork the next morning pay fees and hand walk it through their system. Only leave Phoenix once we have the MC# in hand.
6. Return to claim and post all the signage and start working the area 5 days a week. Use the other two days for checking out other areas so we always have a couple of claims ready to go if the one we're working plays out.

All the best with your filing, and I hope it all works out for you.

Clay sure knows a lot of very important stuff, and ain't it wonderful that he's so willing to share, as well as willing to take all of the time to put things together so others can learn as well--the time commitment on his part is a genuine treasure all by itself.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Well,

Old Man Winter is starting to kick up a bit of a fuss, but Dame Autumn has yet to completely fade when faced with his cold-fisted disposition.

The mountains are very pretty this time of year as the ever-present green gown that Mother Nature usually dresses the slopes with is now highlighted by vibrant oranges and yellows. It makes for a beautiful transition, especially watching the Tamaracks (Larches) change. They really light up the mountain sides with remarkable yellow bands and pockets of brilliant color.

Plus, the big game are very active trying to keep their respective species going. So, it's a great time of year to see some massive bull Elk posturing, bear that are rolling fat, bucks and rams doggedly battling for the ladies, and in the bird kingdom, wild turkeys and grouse strutting their stuff.

Overhead, long flying V's of Canadian Geese are heading for warmer locales as are the smaller waterfowl, the ducks and teal.

This ever evolving spectacle is why I love the change of the seasons: I'm not sure I could live in an area where the weather was without the definitive seasonal changes of the transitioning north.

As for the gold, it's been very cooperative this season with many a sassy nugget now calling my nugget bottles home. In fact, the closer it gets to the end of fall, the better the gold has been getting, and it saddens me to think that winter will soon freeze me out, literally.

I've been using the Bug Pro a lot lately, checking afterwards with the GPX 5000 to see what I've missed, and in combination, the two are a real tag team of efficiency. However, whenever I make the switch from the light little easy swinging Gold Bug Pro to the cumbersome 5000, I have my regrets, but it's amazing what that 5000 will sniff out that the Pro just doesn't have the punch to see, especially when the minerals get on the cranky, waspy side. (Why Minelab can't go lighter and get a first-class iron discrimination system, I'm not sure, but I'd sure welcome it!)

This is the first year I've really tried to take advantage, in a concentrated way, of both platforms to chase the gold, and in this season's chase I have to include the little Minelab 705 as well, for it's sniffed out its fair share of nuggets in tandem with the other two detectors. But, I put more of a focus on using the one-two combination of the Pro and the 5000 for an extended period of time, with great results.

I'm learning more as I go along as well. The meter on the Pro pops the gold in the 40-50 range, but when the nuggets get bigger, it jumps up higher, with one this weekend jumping all the way up around 70! I'm not sure why, but the nugget had a unique cupped shape in its middle, and that may have been a factor. But, bigger gold, for me anyway, pops the meter up higher when the coil gets close.

I'm still adjusting to the little whispers of the Pro on small stuff, and it does not disappoint, but I still need to learn to hear those tiny differences to know exactly what they're telling me.

I've learned that when I get a broad signal over an area (when I've extracted at least one nugget from said area), that I'd really better pay very close attention and be very thorough. Three times now it's been a concentration, an extended family unit so to speak of sassy nuggets all packed tightly together in a small area, thus the broad signal instead of the normal well-defined peaked signal of solo nuggets. Moreover, there's been nice residual flake gold in the same spots as well that I recovered with my pan. That's a trick I learned the hard way years ago when my buddy had to suggest I pan the surrounding material whenever I hit a concentration of nuggets. To me now it makes perfect sense, I mean if Mother Nature's been concentrating nuggets, why wouldn't some little rascals tag along? Well, it doesn't always work that way, but often enough that I pack a pan to be on the safe side.

I've paid for the Bug Pro many times over now, and that's remarkable considering that I've not had it long, but the overflow has paid for the 705 and in tandem with the use of the GPX, it's made a huge dent in the 5000's price tag as well, which makes me happy as my season is relatively short up here, and the spots I have to hunt are quite scattered.

I've made mistakes as well, being over eager at the outset of my learning. I'd watch the meter on the Pro closely, and if I had two iron bars, I didn't take the target too seriously, or didn't dig at all (I know, stupid, stupid, stupid), but I've found through sad experience that often, chunks of magnetite or concentrations of smaller pieces of magnetics or high iron non-magnetics were often the culprits as they were bedded right close in little pockets with the nuggets. Once the magnetite or hematite was removed, and if the signal persisted, the bars would drop to one or none, and it was very often a nugget. I guess this is why Ray says to dig everything. He's a pretty smart guy. (If you haven't had the chance, you should read his book.)

You have to understand that when I'm out hunting the gold, one of my favorite labor saving devices is a super-magnet on the end of a robust telescoping wand. The instant I get a positive signal, that wand hits the dirt, roots around, and many, many times, a sliver of iron or steel bristles from the magnet, thus killing the signal. If there's still a signal, I now know the game is more interesting. This telescoping magnetic wand is a life-saver especially with the 5000, as I've spent many fruitless hours chasing tiny pieces of steel or iron, pieces that the magnet on the end of my pick would miss as the little pockets in the bedrock were too small for the big magnet on my pick; the magnet could not get down into the small spaces, but the magnet on the end of the wand gets in there just fine. Man, what a labor saver!! (Why can't Minelab get a cool meter for iron, and for non-ferrous like the Bug Pro?)

When there's wet, sticky clay, well, that creates problems as any magnet will struggle trying to get those tiny magnetic fragments away from the goo, but if a person persists, it's simple enough to reduce the clay ball to a manageable size, then isolate the signal either manually or magnetically.

I always work with two sizes of picks now as well. A smaller, lighter pick for most of the shallow work, and a robust larger pick for the heavy digging. In fact, I'll often toss the lighter pick not too far ahead of where I'm heading and only get it when I've got a non-magnetic signal that's interesting. This saves wear and tear on my magnet swinging arm as the wand is nice and light, and I'm not swinging both devices from the same hand. And yes, I have a metallic loop for my belt to hang my smaller or larger pick from, but I like to get as much metal away from myself as I can when I'm detecting. Plus, to get the pick in my hand, I've got to drop the wand to slide the pick out making it a hassle to switch, so I'd rather toss it somewhere close and get it when I need it. As for the bigger pick, it gets tossed or stashed too until I need it and this keeps my personal "metallic signature" to a minimum.

I've rambled long enough, and when the season finally ends, I've got some stories to write, and some picutres to post, while I'm Old Man Winter's prisoner.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[goldenIrishman]

Looking forward to more Lanny! You always write a good story.

 

[IMPDLN]

Finish the season with a considerable bang , my friend. Dennis

 

[Jeff95531]

Another great story Lanny with even better tips. I just ordered this and me and my back thank you!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Do you use any kind of cover for quick clean up or just pull the magnetics off?

So far every seasoned prospector I have met uses one of these. Starting to see a pattern here. Just starting to compare but I like this one so far...

Amazon.com : Teknetics Gold Pick with fiberglass handle, rubberized hand grip and powerful super magnet : Home Improvement

You are one of the few treasure seekers who have paid off a detector...but only a true expert in the field would do it in one season...not to mention how short your season is! Well done sir!

BTW...prospecting has taught me a new life rule. I found that just because you remember something does not mean you really know it. When I first read Bedrock and Gold from front to back in 2013, I was a complete newbie. Maybe (maybe) getting 10% out of it. One of my tasks I've assigned to myself this winter is to completely reread this thread and take notes on things that apply to me for 2016. Another top priority is to learn more about and use Land Matters to find new ground. Although I can now find gold on almost every outing, it's not very much when found. My new mantra is: There is much more to it than sticking a shovel in a likely looking spot".

 

[meMiner]

I didn't know there were wild turkey in western Canada. It is always sad when the prospecting season ends and cabin fever sets in. It is always a risky time for me as I try to out think what new equipment I think I need, when really, all I need is more time using the stuff I already own. That said, I think I might take your advise and try a telescoping stick with a magnet. I have used magnets on my picks, but I think your approach has great merit.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Looking forward to more Lanny! You always write a good story.

Many, many thanks for your kind words. After all, it's the feedback that keeps this thread going and makes the time invested worth the effort.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Finish the season with a considerable bang , my friend. Dennis

Thanks Dennis, and the Great White Jailor is about to freeze me out right quick!

So far, it's been a great season, and the last few trips were very productive, plus, I learned a whack more of what to do and what not to do, and how do you put a price on that, right?

All the best, and I envy that you'll be detecting and mining while I'm staring at solid white vistas . . .

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Another great story Lanny with even better tips. I just ordered this and me and my back thank you!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Do you use any kind of cover for quick clean up or just pull the magnetics off?

So far every seasoned prospector I have met uses one of these. Starting to see a pattern here. Just starting to compare but I like this one so far...

Amazon.com : Teknetics Gold Pick with fiberglass handle, rubberized hand grip and powerful super magnet : Home Improvement

You are one of the few treasure seekers who have paid off a detector...but only a true expert in the field would do it in one season...not to mention how short your season is! Well done sir!

BTW...prospecting has taught me a new life rule. I found that just because you remember something does not mean you really know it. When I first read Bedrock and Gold from front to back in 2013, I was a complete newbie. Maybe (maybe) getting 10% out of it. One of my tasks I've assigned to myself this winter is to completely reread this thread and take notes on things that apply to me for 2016. Another top priority is to learn more about and use Land Matters to find new ground. Although I can now find gold on almost every outing, it's not very much when found. My new mantra is: There is much more to it than sticking a shovel in a likely looking spot".

If that model doesn't keep you happy, try to find one that's a two-piece unit where the bottom rod slides up into the top rod. That design allows a very sturdy design of a "magnet on a wand" with lots of reach.

I've got one like you've purchased, and I've used it a lot as well, especially when I know I'll be in rough country where reducing weight and outfitting as compactly as possible is a prime consideration. Oh, and it does save the back muscles lots of up and down labor for sure.

I have used covers and not used covers, but what I've wound up doing is always having a light, flexible but fairly sturdy pair of gloves that breathe. That way, I can simply reach over to the magnet head and carefully pull off the magnetics and discard them. I don't use my bare hands anymore as in a lot of the old workings I detect, there's pieces of steel and iron and still have sharp or jagged edges, and my skin isn't tough enough to win every encounter with them.

I know other guys that have done the same thing, but it doesn't happen very often, you're right on that one. Lots of luck, access to good ground, and hard work seems to be the difference in the seasons as does research and a continual effort to understand the technology packed into those little control boxes and the coils that are sweeping the ground.

Thank you Sir for your kind words about the stories in Bedrock and Gold. I appreciate the input, and I'll continue to either update or add to those stories as I find the time. Thanks as well for taking the time to post your comments about the content as being a writer of gold stories is something that takes a lot of time and the reward comes from the generous feedback people like you post here.

"There is much more to it than sticking a shovel in a likely looking spot." You're dead right on that one Jeff, and keep learning all about your "land matters" too as that's time that's never wasted.

All the best, and thanks again,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

I didn't know there were wild turkey in western Canada. It is always sad when the prospecting season ends and cabin fever sets in. It is always a risky time for me as I try to out think what new equipment I think I need, when really, all I need is more time using the stuff I already own. That said, I think I might take your advise and try a telescoping stick with a magnet. I have used magnets on my picks, but I think your approach has great merit.

Why, yes, there's lots of them. I've never hunted them yet, but looking at the size of some of those Toms, it's got me thinkin' . . .

Ha, ha, I love how you phrased that it's a risky time in the off season! I got a good chuckle out of that one.

The telescoping magnet concept is one I really love. It's not perfect for every situation, but I sure love it most of the time.

All the best, and when are you going to post one or two of your stories? I'd love to hear what you've been up to.

Lanny

 

[meMiner]

Why, yes, there's lots of them. I've never hunted them yet, but looking at the size of some of those Toms, it's got me thinkin' . . .

Ha, ha, I love how you phrased that it's a risky time in the off season! I got a good chuckle out of that one.

The telescoping magnet concept is one I really love. It's not perfect for every situation, but I sure love it most of the time.

All the best, and when are you going to post one or two of your stories? I'd love to hear what you've been up to.

Lanny

Turkey hunting in the spring is good fun. They have great eyesight and are so dumb that they outwit most of us hunters. I have had them walk up to a fence that they could walk around, crawl under or certainly fly over, but instead they hang up and come no closer (same thing happens with swamps and ditches). My best hunting has been where there are hills and I sit just beyond the crest of a hill - - that way, they have to climb the hill and look over the top before spotting me (or getting a load of #5 in the head). More than once, I have heard hen calling that was so bad that I was certain it was another hunter - and it was a real hen. The best "trick" that I have learned, if a gobbler hangs up, is to walk away and call again, which is counter intuitive. You would think it would be better to walk towards the bird - moving away sometimes makes a gobbler think the hen lost interest. Turkey hunting in the fall is a different game. The only way I know to be successful is (1) find a flock, (2) sneak up without being caught and then (3) bust it up by running at it with shock and awe(better yet, let my dog do that) so they each go 10 different directions. Then you sit down and call the flock back together - soon, they will come running of flying back from all over.

I just got back from a week deer hunting. I will post some stories and perhaps a few videos shortly. Also, I found my gold prospecting diary from 30 years ago from the Cariboo and am reminded of some interesting things that happened: Bears, old timers, people with gold fever, some successes and plenty of failures. I may have to dust some of those off.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Turkey hunting in the spring is good fun. They have great eyesight and are so dumb that they outwit most of us hunters. I have had them walk up to a fence that they could walk around, crawl under or certainly fly over, but instead they hang up and come no closer (same thing happens with swamps and ditches). My best hunting has been where there are hills and I sit just beyond the crest of a hill - - that way, they have to climb the hill and look over the top before spotting me (or getting a load of #5 in the head). More than once, I have heard hen calling that was so bad that I was certain it was another hunter - and it was a real hen. The best "trick" that I have learned, if a gobbler hangs up, is to walk away and call again, which is counter intuitive. You would think it would be better to walk towards the bird - moving away sometimes makes a gobbler think the hen lost interest. Turkey hunting in the fall is a different game. The only way I know to be successful is (1) find a flock, (2) sneak up without being caught and then (3) bust it up by running at it with shock and awe(better yet, let my dog do that) so they each go 10 different directions. Then you sit down and call the flock back together - soon, they will come running of flying back from all over.

I just got back from a week deer hunting. I will post some stories and perhaps a few videos shortly. Also, I found my gold prospecting diary from 30 years ago from the Cariboo and am reminded of some interesting things that happened: Bears, old timers, people with gold fever, some successes and plenty of failures. I may have to dust some of those off.

What great tips on hunting the wily wild turkey. It's something I've yet to do, but with your tips I now have some information I can be confident in if and when I give it a try.

Please share a few of your stories from that diary!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Warning: Annual Christmas Poetry!

There lived a miner, name of Pete
That hit a pocket, mighty sweet
The gold was thick like toffee true
The quartz was loaded through and through

So Pete he worked that pocket out
Packed up his gold and gave a shout!
He’d tramped those hills for many years
He’d given blood, and sweat, and tears.

But now our Pete was mighty flush
So off he went in a big rush
To find a gift for his love true
A lovely gal named Honey Dew.

His wife had come across the seas
And she did all she could to please
Her rugged man that chased the gold,
Yet wanted children, truth be told.

Now, Honey Dew was never blessed
With child or babe. She'd tried her best.
But Pete was loved right through and through
By lonesome little Honey Dew.

T’was Christmas soon, and miner Pete
Was clueless what to buy his sweet.
For worst of all, in minin’ camps
There’s nought to buy but picks and lamps.

So Pete he wrote to Old Saint Nick
And prayed to God to seal the trick.
But mail in minin’ camps is slow
And when them winter winds did blow

The storms they closed those passes quick,
So Pete gave up on news from Nick.
He grabbed his pack and fine snowshoes
To cure his heavy Christmas blues.

Across the pass a town he knew
Had gifts a plenty, it was true.
With pokes of gold Pete hit the trail;
His Honey Dew he would not fail.

He’d find a gift for his love true
The gal that loved him through and through.
But on the mountain trouble came
An avalanche changed up the game.

A detour Pete was forced to make
That took him past a frozen lake,
And near that lake there stood a shack
With windows frozen, cold and black.

It looked deserted that was clear
And winter’s night was drawing near.
So Pete decided this was where
He’d spend the night a restin’ there.

The snow was drifted round that shack
The door he forced, but just a crack.
When Pete squoze in, he got a start
That almost stopped his mighty heart.

A ma and pa were frozen there.
Him in a bunk; her on a chair
Beside a crib with furs piled deep.
Then Pete, he heard the faintest peep!

He gently moved the furs away
A babe in swaddling clothes there lay
A little boy, it looked to be
But death was near, t’was plain to see

He quickly grabbed some tinder, bark,
With flint and steel he threw a spark.
The smoke rose up, the bark caught flame!
Pete knew he had to win this game.

He built a blaze to warm that shack
He took some jerky from his pack
He boiled some water, made a broth
And dipped the end in cotton cloth

To let the babe nurse on that brew
But not too much our Pete he knew.
He spent the night, then days went by
At last the babe yelled out a cry!

The worst was past, and Pete was due
Back at the camp with his love true.
In furs he wrapped the babe all warm
To keep it safe from Winter’s harm.

So, to the camp he swiftly flew
On snow-shoed wings with one life new.
This precious babe his gal would raise--
To God and Nick Pete gave his praise.

All the best, and a very merry Christmas to one and all,

Lanny