Minnesota Arrowhead Hunting

[BronzeBrother]

Hey all I am very interested in getting into some arrowhead hunting this coming Spring. Anyone have any advice as I am brand new to arrowhead hunting. Not looking for peoples hot spots, just a good place to start....

Thanks

[pureinsanity]

Hey all I am very interested in getting into some arrowhead hunting this coming Spring. Anyone have any advice as I am brand new to arrowhead hunting. Not looking for peoples hot spots, just a good place to start....

Thanks

Along the minnesota river. My buddy has land near the river, and there is an old Indian trail they use to use. We always find stuff. We dig up some of the ground and wait for a good rain and than it uncovers lots of treasures!

[BronzeBrother]

Very nice... Thank you for the info. I am about ten minutes away from the MN river so that is cool. Thank you again...

[pureinsanity]

I was thinking about this today and the layout of the land I am speaking off. At one point the river was rather wide, thus explaining why the trail is where it is today that the Indians used. Look at the landscape and think back many many years ago where the river might have been vs where its at now.

My buddies land is about 1 mile from the river. I think at some point the river was right next to his land way back in the day.

Just my opinion and assumption

[mixxedbagg]

Plowed fields (especially freshly plowed) near larger rivers (especially confluences and bends) are worth walking, especially after a rain, though if they were fall-plowed, you might have luck any time after the snow is gone.

I used to do this sometimes in Illinois when I was younger and it was surprising how arrowheads could be found in a random field. I had a classmate who's dad had displays of arrowheads all over his house that he had found by walking fields.

I only have a few left from when I was a kid. My mom found a "box of rocks" in my room when I moved out and dumped them! Kind of like the classic "baseball cards in a shoebox" stories.... I managed to refind a couple of them, but there was some damage done.

[pureinsanity]

That is what we do is plow up the field every so often. We will also drag it and sometimes use the chisel plow.

[BronzeBrother]

I still plan on hitting some areas on the MN river for arrowheads. Got sidetracked by agates and fish though. Is there anyone on here that can show a greenhorn a few tips?

[chanfish]

bronze--mixed bag is spot on..find water and especially high ground near water. you almost have to look as if you are looking for a good place to camp. i just started this after 30 years in corp world. reconnected with h.s. buddy. he took me out and i actually found one!! i was pumped..he has some nice stuff--pipestone etc that he found...whats kinda cool is when you get an arrowhead the rock definitely looks a bit different than the field rocks..like they had been quarried somewhere else. i know there are much more seasoned pros than me...now i look at fields very differently than i ever did. especially if i see a big hill or rise..i want to walk it!! I also looked at the historical society in that county and they had arrowheads for sale! they may know some spots where there were villages etc..

[BronzeBrother]

I am starting to think I am way to narrow in my researching online. I have been focusing on trying to find Indian trails, maybe I should start looking more on the maps section?

[BronzeBrother]

Chanfish, do you do most of your hunting in fields? I am also looking at walking small rivers and streams too.

[chanfish]

bronze, yes we were in fields.. you almost have to look at the terrain thru the eyes of natives 100's of years ago..find water--where would you camp if you were them? find a hill or rise so that you could spot your enemies from a distance etc. also to find relief from bugs and mosquitoes on that high ground..fields are good cause the rocks and artifacts rise to the top and are easier to find since the ground is tilled and exposed. otherwise with tall grass, it is pretty hard to find anything..again i am new to this but this is what my buddy told me..so i would start looking in tilled fields along the rivers etc. look for a spot where you have some above ground structure...(kinda like fishing). take a stick so you can easily flip over rocks etc so you dont have to bend over..let me know how you do. also look very closely at the rocks/chips you do find cause i didnt realize i had this head until i took it home and washed it up...good luck

[flyfisher03]

bronze, yes we were in fields.. you almost have to look at the terrain thru the eyes of natives 100's of years ago..find water--where would you camp if you were them? find a hill or rise so that you could spot your enemies from a distance etc. also to find relief from bugs and mosquitoes on that high ground..fields are good cause the rocks and artifacts rise to the top and are easier to find since the ground is tilled and exposed. otherwise with tall grass, it is pretty hard to find anything..again i am new to this but this is what my buddy told me..so i would start looking in tilled fields along the rivers etc. look for a spot where you have some above ground structure...(kinda like fishing). take a stick so you can easily flip over rocks etc so you dont have to bend over..let me know how you do. also look very closely at the rocks/chips you do find cause i didnt realize i had this head until i took it home and washed it up...good luck

Another place to look to see about where a river ran about the time of European settlement is here. http://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/glo/index.html It is a link to the Minnesota Geospacial Information Office HSOforum. It is really interesting to look and see where the historic wetlands were and are now drained.

[BronzeBrother]

Awesome info everyone. A big thanks to everyone

[DARK30]

I know a guy who has lots of indian stuff. He knows where to look and knows his history.

My points all came from Texas when I was a kid...

I did find one neat thing in Minnesota tho. I think its a bear claw. Maybe its from a costume or head dress.

[chanfish]

nice stuff dark. thanks for sharing...very cool shapes! that big one on the right in your first picture looks like the same stone as the one i found. same color and mine actually had some "transluscent"(sp)parts on it. kinda like dark stone with clear streaks in it..also most of these heads were smaller than i thought they would be..i am adding this to a new list of hobbies....you gotta think there are spots untouched with lots of this stuff although i guess alot of the sites were pillaged pretty good...oh well they didnt get them all!!

[BronzeBrother]

Nice stuff Dark! If the weather cooperates at all this week it will be time to start looking for them. Seeing as the river keeps flooding every other week...

[Zelmsdawg]

I don't know if it'll help at all, but I was doing a little searching myself and found this site

http://www.arrowheadology.com/

I can remember finding arrowheads as a kid along the mississippi. It might be something I try to get into some more though I would have to guess that I'd need to get a little ways out of the cities first

Zelmsdawg

[Henry Scotts]

I used to spend much time arrowhead hunting. This no till makes it tough, but they’re still out there.  I saw something online once where this old timer said “look east of water”  and went on to explain that he believed people would camp east of a water source because the prevailing winds are usually from the west, and they didn’t want to risk 

scaring away any game.  I never would of thought of that, but it sounds good.