how do you guys do it????

picnic42 · Mar 20, 2010

We went out today for a few hours... another big zero! :icon_scratch:

yesterday I went out hunting for land to walk, I found a nice bottom land next to a creek. I found the owner and he was very obliging to let me walk his land as long as I tell him each time I am on his property.
he had some plowed... and some left over from last year... we walked and walked and walked.
NOTHING... not even any chips or flakes.
I even walked along the creek bank for about a half hour or so.
Good Golly... you guys make it look sooooooooo easy!
I am not sour grapes here and I am not giving it up.... but how do you guys find all those nice artifacts

Signed... Lonesome and empty handed
Ralph & Peggy

Jonzer · Mar 20, 2010

You are doing it right. I logged hundereds of hours just looking for chert fields. When you find a good spot you just file it away in your brain. Pretty soon you will have several good spots which you can concentrate on. Always keep exploring new ground and adding spots to your list, but concentrate mainly on your known spots.
I happen to live on a village site so I already have great ground and creeks, but I also have many places besides there that are very productive. I love to explore new ground. I like to imagine the lay of the land back then and decide where to start.
Persistance is really the key. Keep it up.

Neogeo · Mar 20, 2010

It"s part of the process.You have to do what you are doing.It's like artifacting 101..lol
I am gonna send you your starter kit ,early next week.To help you train your eyes.Also some advice...
Try to search for Insitu arrowheads pics.Insitu pretty much means the person snaped a pik of the point before he touched it.Also pics of the general area where they found artifacts.I hope it helps ya out,& good luck.Neo :headbang:

Neogeo · Mar 20, 2010

That's the stuff!Great insiu's..

Dirtfan · Mar 20, 2010

Sunny days are a key factor also. High noon is best, A worked piece will stand out much better.JMO

Treasure_Hunter · Mar 20, 2010

Walking a field right after a rain is a big plus, chert pieces stands out better then, many times the pieces are sitting on top of a tiny pillar of dirt as they shielded the dirt below it from the rain, or they are washed cleaned and shines like a tiny light..

Many times you only see a part of the artifact, and will not know it is a piece till you pull it out, other times it is just sitting there in the wide open.

As others have stated, most times you litterly log a lot of miles walking in your search before you find something.....You have to just keep searching.....

Good luck on your hunt..............

whitetails1969 · Mar 20, 2010

i,m new to this hobby too. rest-assured once you find something you wont b able to sleep just thinkin what else might b out there,i ask others on possibly spots,amazing how nice some people r..good luck

picnic42 · Mar 20, 2010

Thanks guys for all your encouragement! :headbang:

I think when I started looking at this hobby... with all the videos on YOUTUBE and pictures on here... that they were laying all over the place! :icon_scratch:

LOL I even sent email to my buddies in town to get ready to go on some arrowhead hunts... just walk and pick them up! LOL I think they knew better than I did... that it is gonna take some work, because no one is taking me up on this new hobby of walking creeks and farms!
So here we are... reality set in... and these things are not everywhere! LOL
I am not giving up... I am gonna keep at it... I went to pick up an arrowhead that hasn't been touched in hundreds if not thousands of years. It just has to be thrilling! My wife (peggyg827) and I do some metal detecting and we are thrilled at finding a dropped bullet not touched in 150 years... so we can imagine the feeling of picking up something Paleo or Mississippian... or others!
Right now I only just got permission to walk one farm... pretty large farm at that... and it runs along a very historical creek here. Even Tecumseh mentioned this creek in the book written about him.
so I am gonna keep walking and keep trying. I sure wished I had a buddy here that knew what he was doing. :thumbsup:

thanks again for all your help! soon i hope to be helping other newbies in their trials.
Ralph & Peggy too

Tnmountains · Mar 20, 2010

Picnic

Listen if there is nothing in that area you may be wasting valuable time. Its like fishing in a pond that has not been stocked. I know of many may creeks/fields that have nothing at all in them. They look great have all the right things in place and nothing. Its crazy how picky ancient man was. Google is your friend. Study the history of the area or areas first. Networking is your best tool. Door knocking and Farmers Farmers Farmers(did I say farmers?) and other people that collect. Maps that show what counties produce what artifacts and where. Archaeological reports and surveys. A simple Google search with the words of the creek or river name or county with the words arrowheads or artifacts or Archaeological reports will most times turn out something.
Go where artifacts have been found before. Being a new hunter I would not try to discover a new spot but an area that has produced before even if its hunted heavily it will start you on the right path because that brand new un discovered spot is a very rare occurrence and somebody somewhere has hunted it.
I say back up do some research if possible try to hook up for a hunt with someone from your area that has some sites they are willing to share. We all have fields that we do not mind sharing. Keep in mind that when shown a spot you can not go back with out the person that took you or letting them know. Its very bad manners to take advantage of someone elses hospitality. :hello:

Some days a diamond and some days a rock, ha-ha You guys have what it take to be successful.
A old man told me once I would never kill a big deer if I did not hunt where big deer were.
He was right
So maybe someone on here is close to your area? That sure does help you get started.
Good luck and do not give up. Its out there.
HH
TnMtns :read2:

pickaway · Mar 21, 2010

Wait till you walk a field loaded with flint and find nothn while your buddy finds a handful, welcome to headhunting...

Twitch · Mar 21, 2010

Picnic - I understand where you're coming from. I literally looked for 4 1/2 years before I found my first point. As you'll learn finding arrowheads isn't that hard, it's finding the sites that are critical. I live around St Louis now but if you'd like some weekend we could meet in Paducah and I could give you an in field demonstration of what to look for. I've never hunted out near Frankfort so I don't have anything to offer locally.

Neogeo · Mar 21, 2010

I spent months in the T.X. heat followin flint to what I thought was a midden.I dug it for a couple of weeks & found nothing.While sniffin around after a day of diggin,I found the real midden just 50 or so feet away.There will be more misses then hits,but hang in there....HH.....Neo

Treasure_Hunter · Mar 21, 2010

Twitch said:
Picnic - I understand where you're coming from. I literally looked for 4 1/2 years before I found my first point. As you'll learn finding arrowheads isn't that hard, it's finding the sites that are critical. I live around St Louis now but if you'd like some weekend we could meet in Paducah and I could give you an in field demonstration of what to look for. I've never hunted out near Frankfort so I don't have anything to offer locally.

The St Louis area is rich in places to hunt for artifacts, just litterly follow the Missouri or Mississippi rivers and look for fields adjacent to them as well as creeks emptying into them. I envy you for the artifact hunting you can do, but not for the snow and especially the ice storms you get. I lived in Columbia Missouri for 20 years and that is where I learned to hunt for points.......

Captain Al · Mar 21, 2010

I think I told NeoGeo this when he was just getting started in this great hobby and seemed to be getting discouraged. If you're a fisherman and caught a stringer of eight pound bass every time you went out; or if you're a golfer and shot four or five under par every round you played, it would cease being fun real quick. The same holds true for artifact hunting. If, every time you went out, you found a pocket full of killer points it would quickly become boring. Stay with it. It will pay off, and you'll appreciate each and every find.

picnic42 · Mar 22, 2010

Captain Al said:
I think I told NeoGeo this when he was just getting started in this great hobby and seemed to be getting discouraged. If you're a fisherman and caught a stringer of eight pound bass every time you went out; or if you're a golfer and shot four or five under par every round you played, it would cease being fun real quick. The same holds true for artifact hunting. If, every time you went out, you found a pocket full of killer points it would quickly become boring. Stay with it. It will pay off, and you'll appreciate each and every find.

THANK YOU.... I totally agree!
look for my update!

Treasure_Hunter · Mar 22, 2010

Captain Al said:
The same holds true for artifact hunting. If, every time you went out, you found a pocket full of killer points it would quickly become boring. Stay with it. It will pay off, and you'll appreciate each and every find.

If I found a pocket full of killer points every time I went out I would not get bored :laughing9:

, and I would just have a great collection

......I use to hunt in some very nice areas in Missouri, many days I found many points, and never got bored.....

.......Sorry couldn't resist... :laughing9:

They are right picnic42, just keep looking and don't get discouraged.........

dblski · Mar 22, 2010

I walked two months and never even found a broke. I use to go with dad as a kid, but i didn't realize all the mistakes I was making in the beginning. But the feeling I got when I found the first broken one was amazing, then the high of that first whole one, and I was completely addicted. I have found quite a few nice ones and still get discouraged. But if I have learned one thing it is: just keep educating yourself on spots and learning as much as possible from people you meet in this forum, and people you already know. And the more time you put in the better payoff you get. Good luck and keep hunting them, that feeling you get when you find a good one, is something you'll never forget.
Jake

Treefrog · Mar 22, 2010

Everywhere i walk if Im on a hunt or working, My eyes are always on the lookout for shapes/colors worked rock on the ground.
Ive been given permission to fields that I walk in for a few hours and decided its not worth the time to go there. Then walk into another and see so much flint it will take hours to cover a few acres good. Every piece of flint I see edges/corners anything sticking out of the dirt is touched with my stick and flipped out of the dirt. Some of the nicest finds for me was only a 1/4 inch corner or edge that I plucked up and wow!!!!
Do that a few times and you realize what you may leave if you not turn over pretty much every stone worth turning. You will get your own habits after you start seeing things all the time.
Keep the faith, it is all out there all over the place.
Good luck and happy hunting!!

Tree