Right after rain, or wait?

[Catscratch]

You guys like to look while everything is still wet, or wait a few days and not deal with the mud so much? Do wet artifacts "shine" so to speak?

[Claycald]

To me…yes. I think they stand out a bit more after a good rain. Happy hunting

[Hoss]

I used to love to go while it was still raining. As long as it was just a drizzle . No one like to be out in a toad strangler. Overcast with light rain was always my ideal time to go have a look.

[Jethro355]

I love to hunt in the rain. The sand hills I usually hunt are easy walking and the rocks shine like little Christmas lights in the rain.

[SDhunter]

I don’t really mind the mud. Seemed like you would hunt when given the opportunity.

[Catscratch]

I've been looking every chance I get. It hasn't rained much in a yr or so, but my favorite time to hunt for shed antlers is during a cloudy/drizzly day. Seems like arrowhead hunting would be similar.

[flintguy]

I go as soon as it starts to let up. Been out while the lightning was still flashing. Probably not the smartest thing to do. Sometimes I find fresh footprints that are not mine. Shows you how competitive my areas are hunted unfortunately.

[Mailman]

Fields: get out there asap, before the crackheads.

Creeks: 2 day wait, minimum. Gotta let the water go dpwn

[JEBMs]

When we were able to look (only field hunting) if we waited for it to dry up all we found was footprints.

[CMD]

Back in the day, the wife and I would walk a corn field in torrential downpours at times. I could never, nowadays.

[Catscratch]

Back in the day, the wife and I would walk a corn field in torrential downpours at times. I could never, nowadays.

How tall of corn would you walk? Or was it after harvest?

[CMD]

How tall of corn would you walk? Or was it after harvest?

I think of corn fields as three phases. When he plowed the field, but does not plant yet, it is usually 1 week on average, 2 weeks at the most before he returns to plant. If, in that 1-2 week window we get heavy rains, I try to get in there for that pre-planting phase. More surface area turned over in that phase, esp. when he plowed super deep. It replenished one field in particular when he did that. A played-out field began to produce again. Now, after 30+ years, it’s essentially played out once more, the farmer no longer plows much deeper than 1’ in the first phase, and has not done a deep plow since the 90’s.

But, you don’t always get lucky and get the chance to walk it before planting. Once planted, I know exactly where the seed is laid, walk after heavy rains. Once the corn pops the surface, you can see it and avoid stepping on it. Then, I’ll walk until the corn is too high, or rows too thick, to see dirt anymore. In that second phase, usually enough time and heavy rains to get walks in at the best time.

Third phase is after crops plowed under at end of season. If the cover crop that is planted is not too thick, can usually hunt the field in winter as well.

[Catscratch]

This field was disced for the first time in a couple of decades this spring. We had a good time finding artifacts. I'm hopeful it will be disced again this fall after harvest but I suspect it will be left in corn stubble until spring. Don't know that it will ever be plowed again.

I walked it every chance I could get until the corn got too tall.

[Tam]

In the rain !! Or right after . In sone areas in Georgia it’s sandy so no mud .
Nothing like a pedestal find . Sitting pretty like a Queen ready to be plucked off the thrown .

[Timberjack]

I love to go In the drizzling rain, welcome site for these hot summer days , besides you will spot more when its wet.