A nice day out...

[trinityau]

I really would like to say that I have not been out because it has been raining and snowing however it was almost eighty degrees today with bright sunny skies. Expected to be dry for awhile. I have started to buy up bottled water and stack it to the ceilings. We are not done yet but I like to be prepared. Being raised in this part of the country I have seen winter come late many times so I am not too worried. We have had a few years where you get all the rain and snow in about five weeks and then it is over and you are wishing you never heard the word, " winter".

I got out today with some friends for a hunt. We went to an old spot that has been hunted out, or so I have been told. I went through the normal rounds of showing the areas where I had found gold in the past and then we all split up and started detecting.

Two friends, Mark and Chris went down into a draw to try their luck. I stayed up on the flat top with two new friends, David and Wyatt, who I had taken out yesterday for a day of prospecting classes. David was using a 5000 and Wyatt, his son, was doing the digging. I had my 3000/Sadie Mono and walked out to the end of the ridge through the young but dense manzanita bushes. I had been hunting for just a few minutes when I got a nice mellow signal right in the thick brush. I had to stay standing while I dug the target out because of the brush.The signal turned out to be a nice little starter nugget about 4.4 grains. I began to detect back towards David and in just a few feet I got another real weak but soft signal, it turned out to be a 4.1 grainer. I detected for another hour and picked up several .22 rounds and an old fifty cal ball at about twenty inches, but no more gold.

I met up with David and Wyatt to find out that he had found his very first piece of gold. He was a happy camper. Being it was his first nugget I immediately took his cap off and slapped him on the head with it. After a short break we went back to hunting and in a few minutes David had his second nugget. About that time my son in-law, George, was wandering up the hill towards me. He had not found anything yet. George was using my GB Pro/five inch coil. I sent him a few yards away from my position and told him to stay close to the brush with his sweeps. In a few minutes he had his very first piece of detected gold, it was about a 15 grainer. A half an hour later I got a screamer that was an 11.6 grain piece of gold that was stuck in a dirt clod when I dropped the target on the coil. It looked like a piece of rusted tin at first. I was close to the other guys so walked over to show it off. About that time my son in-law found another little nugget that was about twelve grains just a few feet from our location. A few more sips of tea and I was off again into the manzanita where I found two more pieces in just a few minutes. One was a 7.6 grainer and the other was another 4.4 grainer.

As I was detecting I heard my close friend George talking to the other George behind me. He had his GB Pro and hunted with us for about an hour but was unable to get a piece. George was getting ready to leave when I got call and I hollered to the son in-law that we had to head out. The three of us headed towards David and his son to let them know we were leaving. They had found two more small nuggets for a total of four, not bad for the day. He had gotten his first nugget ever and three more to really give him and his son the fever. Mark and Chris were still off somewhere down a draw and I did not hear from them till they got home. Chris had found two small pieces and Mark drew the skunk card.

All in all it was good day and I was very happy to see George and David both get their first nuggets ever with a detector. Thanks all, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

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[Lanny in AB]

I loved reading your story Ray. It's great that you take interested people out with you, and that you are so generous by being willing to show them the ropes.

Wonderful pictures of the gold, and it's great that so many people in your party were able to hit the nuggets!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Hoser John]

How much ya charge $$ now Ray-John

 

[Oakview2]

Great gold, and double hear you on the rain. Can't rember seeing a January so dry

 

[trinityau]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Lanny, I very much enjoy reading your posts also.

John, my rates are very similar to what the prospecting shops charge. I give a customized training session on prospecting/detecting. I go over ground, research, types of set-ups, identification of old dig sites, and much more. I try and stay away from actual detector use and stick to what you need to know while prospecting for gold with a metal detector. After a session I sometimes meet up with the customer and go out for a few hours or a day to detect. There is no charge for that, it is just a friendly gesture. In this case I had taken the father/son out for a session the previous day and as we were finishing up I got a call from some friends that wanted to go out detecting the next day, so I invited them. My son in law has been after me to take him out and it turned out to be a good day for that also. There was no charge for anyone that day.

John, call me or PM me for rates and times. I will give you a senior's rate and then I will discount the session another 99 percent as you are a friend. LOL

All others, I have been doing these sessions for the last two years. There are many people that pay to fast track on golf, fishing and in my case to gain a basic understanding of gold detecting/prospecting.

Management: This is not an advertisement, may be construed as such, but I feel the need to clear things up.

On this very forum I have given an open invitation in the past and I give it again today, any of you guys that are passing through the Redding, CA area and wish to go out detecting for a few hours or a day just contact me. This is not to be confused as a training session.

Thanks all, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Interesting story and subsequent clarification, a great service provided by Ray. How I wish I could have found something similar back 30 years ago... so help me I would hopped into my truck and headed for Redding, CA!!!

Thanks for sharing your outing with us Ray, your articles are always an enjoyable, informative read.

Jim.

 

[Oakview2]

Someday I would like to take you up on that, for now, it is great to have the pictures and discriptions.Next best thing to being there.