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I have used many brands and models of detectors at Ganes Creek, AK and the White's MXT is certainly one of my most favorite detectors. After all, when you find Gold Nuggets like these, what more can you say. Thanks Again White's. photos by author
Gerry |
This past March I was fortunate enough to attend an organized relic hunt for more than 300 people. I had a great time, and met a ton of wonderful people. The thing that stood out to me more than anything were the ground conditions at the hunt site. As most people already know there are some areas in VA that most detectors can't hunt. I saw evidence of this first hand, and I'm here to tell you the MXT did not have this issue. You know you're hunting with the right machine when 70% of the attendees are using MXT's. That makes you feel good about your machine and gives you the confidence to get out and hunt hard. My finds for this hunt were awesome. My very first buckle, and a Confederate one at that. A really nice fork tongue buckle. I also found a rare Sharps and Hankins bullet. I wanted to thank White's and say keep up the good work.
Thanks, |
Cape Cod Sparkler I spend most of my time now in the quaint locality of Cape Cod, MA. As I write this article the seasonal harvest of the cranberry crop is taking place right behind my cottage. The normally desolate bog is interrupted with a temporary burst of human activity, as water is flooded in to float the fruit to the surface. It is fun to watch just a little as the berries are herded by hand towards a waiting conveyor and truck. Cranberries are a colorful necessity for our tables at this time of year. I don't languish though when I stop for a minute to snap an opportune picture. I try not to let the beauty of my area distract me from my mission for you see I am a totally dedicated treasure hunter. My true passion is gold nugget hunting. Unfortunately I live on the wrong darn coast to indulge my passion as often as I would like! This is a pretty little chunk of gold I found in Ganes Creek, Alaska this June with 3 other like nuggets while treasure hunting with my mentor Gerry McMullen of Boise, ID. For me, this is living large! I am retired now. The freedom to live this treasure hunter's life is what I worked 35 years in the grueling Information Technology profession to achieve. Sadly, I am located so far east of gold country that my cottage is in fact 25 miles out in the ocean on the sand spit named appropriately Cape Cod. This is very frustrating for a nugget shooter indeed. I try to keep myself sharp for my biannual trips to gold country by beach detecting. It's just not the same! I try to hit a different beach each dawn. My only company is gulls and an occasional beachcomber. We pass with maybe a quick head nod. It is downright gorgeous here. There must be hundreds of beaches within 25 miles of my cottage. It's not the same for you see Gold Fever has truly taken over. Just ask my normally patient and supportive wife, Donna. Her patience does sometimes wane a bit and she exclaims in frustration with me, "You're Obsessed"! From my point of view, when there are no gold nuggets to be had, any other endeavor is just biding time until I can arrange a trip westward. Up until now I have only found mostly pocket change each time I hit the beach. I try very hard. I use my White's MXT 90% of the time and love it. I also own Minelab GP Extreme and a Fisher Gold Bug 2 for my trips out west. I have even taken several detecting classes from buddy Gerry who runs Gerry's Metal Detectors. Gerry has me finding gold now but I often call him up often for extra coaching. He too is patient with me. Gerry says the same thing over and over, "Get into the water, turn your discrimination almost off, gold rings will usually ID around nickels/pulltabs range and use your MXT in Relic Mode". I know most valuable beach finds come from the water and I have tried over and over again to master the salt interference but I always wind up detecting the fluffy sand. I try my luck mostly at low tide figuring that just a couple of hours ago this still moist land WAS actually pretty far out in the water. Two years of pocket change! Nothing seemed to work. Most importantly Gerry always said, "Stick with it, Dan...someday it will be your turn" Gerry was right. My time had come! A second bountiful harvest occurred on November 1st on Cape Cod. More than cranberries were being harvested that day. I believe this harvest originally came from the ocean. With detector in hand, I stumbled onto Barlow's Landing near Falmouth on Buzzard's Bay. It is a tiny little speck of a beach and was very peaceful now during to off- season. It is only about 100 feet in its entirety. I had not ever detected it before. I did not know it even existed! It was simply on my researched hunt route as I was hitting all six little beaches along the way. The previous week I got a little extra help from Mother Nature. Ninety mph winds whipped up into a North Easter while churning up the bay's floor and most surely tossed up this beauty. I named it my Cape Cod Sparkler. According to the Certified Appraisal, the ring's diamonds weighed in at 1.74 total carats and its brilliant 1.30 center diamond has SI1 clarity. It has a color rating of HI. An astonishing retail value was established at over $8,800. It has a 2-tone 14k gold setting with smaller diamond baguettes on each side. I found it in the moist sand after all with my White's MXT and stock 9 1/2" loop. It was just an inch down. I am sure that before the storm this brilliant stone was out cozying up to some clam out in the bay. It had been there for some time since there were minor signs of sand abrasion to the setting. When my Cape Cod Sparkler exploded in brilliance from its hiding place in the sand, I leaped for joy in absolute jubilation and did a poor rendition of an Irish Jig. The gulls could care less. I had found the Holy Grail of beach detecting! The 1 1/4 carat diamond ring is very fulfilling. The find gives me instant vindication against all the naysayers. You know the type well. They're the ones who proclaim your nuggets as, "Fools' Gold". They're the ones who "Don't believe" in our quest. Dan |