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: mikew...@gilanet.com > To: meteorite-list@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@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list _________________________________________________________________ Share photos with friends on Windows Live Messenger http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9650734 ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
