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

[michael cottingham]

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