[meteorite-list] Some thoughts on Hunting in West, Texas and private property....

[Pete Pete]

Hi, Mike and List,
 
Would it be fair to say that Mr Enders was making ~ $3,500.00 a day; $24,500.00 a week from hunters? 
 
I think he may be taking this summer off!
 
CHeers,
 
Pete
 


----------------------------------------

> From: mikewren at gilanet.com

> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com

> Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 21:13:55 -0700

> Subject: [meteorite-list] Some thoughts on Hunting in West, Texas and private property....

>

> Hello All,

>

> You can simply assume that what does not belong to you, belongs to

> someone else. Private property is obvious. If it is not yours, it

> belongs to someone else. Getting permission to hunt meteorites on

> other people's property is an absolute must. Especially, in places

> like West, Texas.

>

> When my son and I first arrived in West, Texas, the first thing we saw

> was Mike Farmer coming out of one of the local bakery shops. We

> stopped and said hello. I asked him if he had found any stones and if

> I could see one. He showed me a real pretty ~30 gram one. We all went

> in and had coffee and kolanches and talked some. I then told my son it

> was time to go find this strewn field. My son Chris, said why don't

> you just ask Mike where they are finding stones. I said we could, but

> I want you to see how this is done from scratch, besides we might find

> something out that they don't already know. So we headed out blindly

> and we started to knock on doors and talk to people.

>

> It did not take too long (about 6 hours) to start to understand the

> lay of the land and where some of the strewn field might be located.

> We came upon Mr. Enders farm and saw him and his son driving over to

> their barn. His place really looked good for hunting and we really

> wanted to talk to him. I went up to his truck and introduced myself to

> him and told him what I wanted. At first, he was not wanting to talk

> to me and said he was not wanting any more "Meteorite People" on his

> property. He was afraid of all of these strangers roaming his property

> and afraid on being sued. We talked for a while and I suggested that

> maybe my son and I could hunt for the day and that we were really

> excited to be hunting meteorites and would appreciate the chance to

> hunt his land. I told him that to me it was worth $50.00 per day per

> person to hunt. I would give him a $100.00 up front for my son and

> me, for today's hunting. He asked me what these things were worth and

> for the next several hours we talked about meteorites, hunting, places

> I have been, what they are worth, why they are important, etc, etc. I

> told him that it was way too early to know what this particular fall

> was going to be worth, but probably more than $20.00 per gram. I told

> him I would pay between $3.00 to $5.00 per gram and $100.00 per day

> for Chris and I to hunt. He accepted. He told me he let some other

> folks hunt for a day, but they offered him only a $1.00 per gram and

> no base fee for the day. I told him that was way to low. I said, this

> is your land and just to be able to hunt meteorites on it is worth

> more than that to me. He asked me if I wanted him to keep the other

> hunters off his place since I was "leasing" or paying for hunting

> rights. I asked him how much land he had and he said 500 acres! I said

> there was no way my son and I could hunt all that land. I told him a

> lot of these hunters came from far away and that they would appreciate

> a place to hunt that had good potential. I told him to keep to the

> base fee of $50.00 per person and around $3.00 per gram, but he should

> maybe be flexible with all and do a deal with each person as he saw

> fit. He thanked me for letting him know what was going on and Mr

> Enders gates were know open for business! Over 70 people searched his

> land and they keep searching and finding stones. Over 100 individuals

> have come off his land and his place is huge and there is no doubt

> more there on his property.

>

> On days when my son and I did pretty good I always gave him a bonus

> above our agreed amounts. We had fun and we paid to play. Also, Mr

> Enders knows my ebay store and knows what I get for my West pieces,

> and regardless I am welcome back anytime!

>

> Mr Enders called me the other day and thanked me. He said he has done

> real well and appreciated how I helped him use his ranch to make money

> in these hard times.

>

> Some things....

>

> * Always get permission to hunt on private property.

>

> * In order to get permission, be polite, kind, respectful and take

> time to do a little educating about meteorites.

>

> * There are dollars $$$ involved with meteorites, so maybe share some

> of this in whatever way works with the private land owners.

>

> * $25.00, $50.00 or $100.00 per day to hunt potentially meteorite

> laden ground is a small price to pay if you love hunting. Yes, of

> course, if you can do it for free and the owner of the land does not

> care about a fee, well I guess that is fine too.

>

> * Work out some understanding about value and what you might be able

> to pay. Believe me, you would hate to find a 5 kilo meteorite and not

> have some discussion ahead of time about how you are going to handle

> this with the land owner.

>

> * Respect people's wishes if they don't want you on their land.

>

> * If you are traveling with several meteorite hunters, maybe only have

> one person go to the door to begin talks. Think about it, after

> hearing a knock, you come to the door of your quiet farm house, and

> there are 3 or 4 guys standing on your porch???

>

> * If you are in Bush country, don't pull up with an Obama sticker on

> your car!

>

> * Don't bring your dog meteorite hunting-dog's chase livestock.

>

> * Assure the land owner that your responsible. You will close gates if

> closed. You will not damage fences. You will stay away from

> livestock. You will NOT sue him or her if you get hurt.

>

> * After you have a relationship with one landowner, maybe you can ask

> them to call their neighbors and vouch for you. This opened up several

> closed properties to my son and I. These people don't know me, but

> they sure as heck know the land owner and have for 30 years! Make

> friends and allies.

>

> * Stay off of planted fields. Dude, if you walked on my plants in my

> garden-I would throw a rock at you!

>

> * Get Permission. Be respectful. Share in the riches $$$. Also, always

> (In The Nininger tradition) take time to teach about the wonderful and

> exciting world of meteoritics!

>

>

> Some Thoughts...

>

> Michael Cottingham

>

> ______________________________________________

> http://www.meteoritecentral.com

> Meteorite-list mailing list

> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com

> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

_________________________________________________________________
Share photos with friends on Windows Live Messenger
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9650734