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

From: Pete Pete <rsvp321_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 04:11:32 -0400
Message-ID: <BAY141-W19696427BBFE2880FE9D95F8890_at_phx.gbl>

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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Received on Fri 03 Apr 2009 04:11:32 AM PDT