Sunday October 4, 1998 was a mighty fine day for nugget shooting. It was clear and cool as dawn broke over the Rincon Mountains. Ron M. arrived at my house around 6 a.m. and we were shortly on our merry way. By the time we arrived to our destination, the sun was well above the horizon and a slight cool breeze was blowing. George V. and John B. were already in the hills swinging their detectors. Ron took off for parts unknown and I headed up the wash to a known nugget producing area.
Shortly thereafter, I met up with George and then John showed up. We discussed the situation for a while and soon were swinging our detectors, wondering off in different directions. Finding only trash after an hour of detecting, I decided to head over the hill and try another area which might produce one of those elusive golden nuggets. Swinging my detector as I walked, I ran into an old dumping area. Tin cans and broken bottles galore. I moved away from this area fast. Soon I arrived at the edge of the next wash and found the area to be covered with hot rocks. Remembering the old adage "iron and gold are good friends" I slowed down to work the area carefully. Nothing showed up so I began to wonder around as I usually do while nugget shooting. I could see John working an area across the wash but I haven't seen Ron or George for quite a while. It was getting around 11 O'clock and the breeze was really starting to pick up.
Finally, I heard a good sounding target. Down on my knees I scrapped off the first layer of dirt which usually moves the target. This time the target was still in the same place but louder. Moving another layer of dirt produced the same results. On the third dig, the target came free. A beautiful 3.7 dwt nugget. I gave thanks and began to check out my new found friend. Time to come back to reality and swing that detector. Within the next 10 minutes I got 3 more good targets, all pieces of lead. Not to give up I continued the hunt. About 20 feet away I got another target and it reacted exactly like the first nugget. After my second dig, there setting on top of the dirt pile was the most gorgeous nugget. An 11.3 dwt beauty. I could not believe my eyes.
Soon there after John, George and Ron showed up and we began to nugget shoot in earnest. John found a small .7 dwt nugget almost right away. The breeze began to turn into a steady wind. After an hour of detecting, no more nuggets were found so we broke for lunch.
Back from lunch, the four of us were more determined than ever to find more gold. It did not take John very long to find two more nuggets. One at 5.4 dwt and the other at 4.3 dwt. The wind really began to blow and I had a terrible time hearing my threshold sound. George finally found a 2 dwt nugget hidden amongst two pieces of iron. As the afternoon wore on, my batteries became very weak and the wind became unbearable. Just about the time we were ready to call it a day, Ron found a small .2 dwt nugget. Everyone had found gold. The total take for the day was 27.8 dwt in gold nuggets. A pretty good day indeed. There were four very happy campers wearing big smiles all the way back to Tucson.
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