Do you have competition in your hunting area?

[scotto]

Just wondering how many here have competition on their artifact hunting grounds?

Are you a lucky hunter who has exclusive access to private property, or after a rain do you try to be the first one out?

 

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[scotto]

Good replies all.

The spot I first started hunting at when I got into this hobby about a year ago is currently having some construction there. They are putting in some new road areas, and I was told I should hunt it by some employees. They do on again/off again construction here, and the employees told me the whole site sits on an old Indian camp, and I believe it as there are flakes everywhere. They also said they've seen people go out in the past after a rain and pick up whole coffee cans of great points. Problem is, a lot of people know this.
We had a couple month drought here early this summer, so I've been heading out lately after rain on Sunday (the only day nobody is working) to see if I can find anything. I've got quite a few heartbreakers and pieces of novaculite. But I'm waiting for them to get the topsoil spread out when they are done, that's where the points are and I hope to get lucky. And I hope I'm alone.

But the past few weeks I've got close to 1,000 acres totalled up from different landowners all along the river here, which I'll have exclusive rights to hunt. Now I just have to wait for some cooler weather so the grass can die off some.

 

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[jaron3]

Richpa is right about our neck of the woods. There are still people out there looking and all of the places I have to look diffinitely have other people on it. However, there's still a bunch of artifacts to be found. The last time I hunted I found a really cool little bird point about three feet from someone else's foot print. The competition in our area is not as much it once was but there still is some.

As far as Richpa being my competition I don't look at it that way. He's a good guy and has helped me out with questions that I've had. We've went on hunts together and have built up a little trust between one another. I respect him and his places and I'm sure it's the other way around as well. To me he's not competition but someone with like interests that I can share knowledge and experiences with.

 

[dognose]

I live in the country of Indiana, and in the small town I live, there are at least 20 people I know of, so I would guess there has to be twice this number, maybe three times. I have met many of them when they hunt the field by my house. Which I can not even hunt anymore since there are always so many people in it.

Used to be in the 80's I would go for months, sometimes a few years before seeing another person in the field. Not anymore.

Due to this finds are way down. Used to find 20 to 30 nice points and bag of broken relics. Now if you find one, even broken to many thats a good day.

 

[jeff a]

most of the places i hunt i never see a track,i dont have a problem with other hunters as long as they have permission to be there. i have run a few people off one site only because the landowner only wants me there, i have one field that 3 people hunt at the end of the year we all get together to share finds and to see if we can match up pieces,its fun to see what all we have found

 

[Airborne80]

Until a few months ago... I had to leave the House at the crack of dawn to be first on site. If I went and saw footprints i felt violated hahaha. But as Simone else said, when its meant to be found, it gets found by me or Simone else. Also... I notice that when there are lots of footprints, I find more.... as though the activity stirs up the ground and helps the last guy on site find more Now.. Thank God... I own my own site. Its 12 acres and is loaded with pints. Its way way up in the mountains and there is no trespassing in that area. people up there take tresspasser serious and it would be a danger for Simone to go onto anothers property. I posted the heck out of the property with no tresspass sigh=ns and now hunt in peace.

 

[RGINN]

Never had much competition in Western Oklahoma. All the old guys had found all the good stuff and retired from the field. One guy in Wash*ta county, who was the end all and be all to arrowhead huntin, was our nemesis. He always beat us to a site. He had a methodical method to a search and we came to recognize his boot tracks. We almost gave up when we saw he was there, but one day we found a point right in the heel print of his boot track. The majority of folks thought we were crazy and it was a waste of time to look for arrowheads. The best thing I did, was stay away from the known sites, do some research, and just look the land over and decide where I would camp, and look there. It's hard to go wrong in Western Oklahoma. Find a major water source, go back to the second terrace beyond the creek, and that's where they lived. There's no estimating how many occupation sites are along Deer Creek or the Wash*ta River. I could go anywhere in those days, but now a lot of land is posted.

 

[Tnmountains]

Tons of competition in the easy places but when you figure in the rivers and creeks we have hundreds of miles of occupation and travel and camping routes, stuff can still be found if I get serious. I just have to get serious and am not sure I have the time to hunt arrowheads all the time like when I was younger,,,maybe when I get older?. Problem is no till farming shuts down a lot of good sites and pushes everyone to the obvious.
Good topic!

 

[Jonzer]

Around here, I am the competition.
I have to hit my spots early and often, even though my family owns the land.
I agree with tn, no till farming is making it harder.

 

[scotto]

It seems most of the farmers here have gone to making hay, raising chickens, horses or cattle. So the ground doesn't get broken up hardly anywhere.

 

[Lone Star]

I don't have any competition at all here. Years ago I used to bump into an older fellow who used to roam the bayou shorlines after a winter blow. ( when the tides were out) Haven't seen him or his tracks in several years.
Nowdays the huntable areas are concentrated due to developing. I have three that are 10 minutes from the office and take me less than 5 minutes walking , after parking the truck. I've never seen anyone or the signs of someone hitting the clamshell piles falling out of the banks. I've gone back daily after tide changes and have only seen my own footprints. To be honest I don't believe anyone else knows about these sites but me.
Thanks G.