Jason Snyder

People always ask me how to hunt for meteorites and let me tell you, it's a tough job that holds countless hours of looking and searching only to come up empty-handed. However, once you find one, the desire to find another is only limited to your availability, finances, and time. Most of which are my limitations.

 

The best way to search for meteorites is to do some research about where you live or the area around you. Many times, there are old reports, newspaper clippings, or the "odd" old neighbor who remembered seeing a meteor one time that leads to an old discovery or new one. If that doesn't work, search for a known fall and try your luck hunting there. With that being stated, it's not always easy to accomplish. Many old falls are on private property, or excluded land, where accessibility isn't the case. REMEMBER TO ALWAYS SEEK PERMISSION TO HUNT ON PRIVATE LAND, prior to actually hunting. Doing some much needed research is always better than sitting in jail because you didn't follow the rules. With the recent activity on T.V. about meteorites, and their "so-called" value, more and more people are searching for these visitors from space.

 

Once you have your research in hand, next is to decide the type of hunting. Are you going to use a metal detector or use a magnet cane (A stick with a neodymium magnet on it)? Actually both types of hunting are very valuable and have their place. Now, there are several different kinds of metal detectors to use for hunting and I am not endorsing any specific one. A good detector would be one that detects metal, of course, and usually gold too. Why gold? Well, if the meteorite hunting doesn't pan out, then you can always look for gold, coins, or buried treasure. Since the meteorites have nickel and iron in them, (most of them) a detector will sound off when you find one. Your specific location will depend on what kind of hunting you can do. Typical metal detectors in the $500-$1,000 dollar price range are well worth the money spent.

 

Some general pointers for using a magnet cane are to have a good magnet. I use a rare-earth type of magnet or a Neodymium and they are very strong. You don't necessarily have to have a big one, but you want to make sure it gets the job done. Something as simple as one on the end of a dowel rod or stick will do just fine. I have two separate setups. One is on a painter's pole, fastened to the end with some goo, while the others are stuck to a 5 and 7 iron gold club. The golf clubs can get pretty heavy at times, so I usually just hunt with the painter's pole.

 

Another good tip is to use the sun, always trying to keep it at your back. This helps to identify those rocks that seem out of place or not just right. Unless the meteorite is a recent fall, it will have a very distinct color from most of the terrestrial rocks (this is generalization, as there are meteorites that look exactly like terrestrial rocks). Recent falls are usually black with a nice, even fusion crust. However, with that being said, most meteorites that have been lying on earth for any long period of time, will most likely begin to deteriorate, oxidize, and begin the process of turing into terrestial rock. This is called weathering. The presence of moisture is the number one factor to ruin a meteorite. Meteorites in cold, wet climates will undoubtedly deteriorate much faster than those in an arid, dry climate similar to the desert southwest. More to follow...