Dry Sand Hunt Yields First Gold of 2011.

[Goldak]

I was going to head for the lake yesterday but, on a whim, decided to hunt a sand dune along the coast. I have hunted this spot many times before and have always found a number of coins but never any gold. This was the first time I used the Excal II there. I hunted in "disc" the whole time and never even switched to "pinpoint".
It turned out to be a picture perfect day with warm temperatures and non-stop targets from the moment I got there until I dragged myself back to the car 7 hours later. This sand dune lies at the base of a big cliff and slopes up steeply against it. It is physically challenging to climb and hunt without losing your balance. I think that is one of the reasons why I always find plenty of coins here- the terrain is just too irregular and precarious for anyone to do a thorough search pattern.
I wound up with 3 rings including my first gold of the year. It is stamped "18K" but I have my doubts because it was a bit tarnished when it came out of the ground. Of the more than 100 coins that I found, 15 or so were laying on top or partially uncovered by the wind or rain.
Dry sand hunts are not something that I've done much of recently. I usually prefer the water or wet sand but using the Excal II in the dry sand has been a real pleasure. Unlike my DF, it has true discrimination and it gets much better depth and coverage than my Fisher Aquanaut. HH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FW1qZqxHtk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

 

[mudpuppy]

I like hunting the high sand too, for the reasons you mentioned...Its physically very tough, so you know it hasnt seen the coil too often...we have big sand dunes here in west Mich, that have been camped on and picnicked on for years..all sorts of weird stuff up in there, found a 1959 Australian penny on one, very challenging way to metal detect for sure..!
Good on ya' Goldak!

 

[MANDAD76]

Great video and excellent finds!! Thanks for posting. What ste are you in?

 

[Ron Lord]

You are doing better than we are in FL. WTG !!

 

[John(Tx)]

Very nice finds, just go to show that the Excal will do just fine out of the water also. My friend, Jaime, and I also use the Excal at the beach and do real good. Jaime went this morning, I stayed home to cook for my grandsons, but he called me and told me he had found some coins on the wet salt sand and then moved over to the dry sand and BINGO....a nice heavy man's 14k gold ring with 3 diamonds, about 1/2 karat on top and two smaller ones on the sides, he said it's a little big for his finger but he was still keeping it....lol Enjoyed the video, you need to go back and work that area some more, got to be more rings in there. Keep us posted. Congrats on your finds. John

 

[Goldak]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. One great thing about metal detecting in California is that there are quite a few options on where to hunt. Now that I have the Excal my options have increased even more. HH!

 

[seeker41]

congrats on the gold!!!!!!!!! that hill looks very steep!!, how is it used???

 

[bigfatcha]

very nice video its making me anxious because threes a foot of snow over all the dry sand around me and i wanna go real bad lol

 

[Dig]

Great video Goldak... I enjoyed it. You know if your arms are getting tired you might try hip mounting that excal. That's what I did. My first year I used the crazy shaft that minelab send you with the unit attached and then I got tendinitis really bad from using it so much in the water. I'm too stubborn to stop hunting so I hip mounted the unit on my finds bag belt using a 7/8" PVC pipe section to hold it on. It works great and the only weight you have to swing is the coil. If you decide that sounds like the ticket message me and i'll send you a picture if you need any help building one. Keep up the great finds and I hope we can look forward to another video soon!

 

[Goldak]

Thanks Dig, I really appreciate your offer. I understand what you are saying because I hip mounted my 1280x Aquanaut years ago. That setup worked great but eventually led to a broken wire in the coil cable. From what I am hearing I would rather risk tendinitis than risk having to send my detector into Minelab for repairs. Seriously though, I will probably look into converting to a straight shaft sometime this year. Thanks for the feedback on the video, I enjoyed putting it together and plan on doing more. HH!

 

[Goldak]

congrats on the gold!!!!!!!!! that hill looks very steep!!, how is it used???

Thanks. It is used in a number of ways but I think the most common reasons are:
1. Hiking to the top for the view.
2. Exercise.
3. Sliding down on cardboard.
4. Picnicking.
While I was there I saw several people running down the dune and even a couple kids rolling down the hill like logs. I'm sure if they had any loose change in their pockets they would have lost it. HH!

 

[seeker41]

congrats on the gold!!!!!!!!! that hill looks very steep!!, how is it used???

Thanks. It is used in a number of ways but I think the most common reasons are:
1. Hiking to the top for the view.
2. Exercise.
3. Sliding down on cardboard.
4. Picnicking.
While I was there I saw several people running down the dune and even a couple kids rolling down the hill like logs. I'm sure if they had any loose change in their pockets they would have lost it. HH!

hmmmmm........yep!!, sounds like a great spot.

 

[Russ in AL]

n/t

 

[Jim Robertson]

n/t

 

[Gold Nuggets]

Congratulations on the gold and silver rings and an impressive amount
of clad. I can see why you were getting tired. The video was well done
and look forward to seeing more of them. Thanks for sharing.........
Gold Nuggets

 

[ToniSteve]

Great vid! Thanks a lot.

Steve