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

[Pete Pete]

Disregard that - just got home from midnight shift - numbers all wrong - isn't 70 people a day hunting.
 
Duh!
 


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

> From: rsvp321 at hotmail.com

> To: mikewren at gilanet.com; meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com

> Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 04:09:49 -0400

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

>

>

> 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

>>

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