I just do NOT understand how you go "dusty hunting"...

[BBQ+Bourbon]

This subject comes up over and over, and the original poster usually takes one of two directions. Either they give up, lamenting the 'fact' that they live in a dusty wasteland, or they spend more time reading the board, modify their search, and keep hunting. Successful dusty hunts don't come easy, and they don't come often. For every post you see detailing some amazing haul, that person has likely spend dozens or hundreds of hours in fruitless pursuit.

In my case, I was only successful when I was in an area of town where I had good cause to fear for my safety. I have Mexican friends who live in the Mexican ghetto, and they are afraid of the areas I hunt. Find a place like that, get out at 9 am (yes, they are open) and hit EVERY store you see. You also have to know how to identify dusty bottles through bullet proof glass. I suspect that many dusty hunters pass by good bottles for lack of knowledge.

Dusty hunting without a guide reminds me of bird hunting without a dog.

[imbibehour]

My favorite technique is to go into liquor stores with bars on the windows. They usually look at me like they can tell I'm in the wrong end of town, but those tend to be some prime hunting grounds!

This sounds like my neighborhood

Seriously though, I just haven't gotten around to doing this in my backyard but plan to..

[BBQ+Bourbon]

I meant to mention that I know of a few instances where board members have discovered such treasures as ORVW 15/107 in areas that were declared 'hunted out' by nearby residents. The guys who haul in dusties are guys who work at it consistently.

[imbibehour]

On another note, I actually just went in to a random store downtown... (not bars on the window type thing...)

I had heard the same techniques also from a cocktail aficionado whose book I read also saying similar things (go into an OLD store) cause I would love to find old bottles of not just Bourbon but gin, liquers, etc.. for cocktails or collectiblity. I'd probably never open those but anyway...

I had been in there several times, and finally one of the managers was about so I asked him.. "hey.. do you have any old.. liquor bottles?" figured why not I'll give this a shot...

He literally FROZE and turned and looked at me like I was nuts... As if I was asking for drugs or something...

"What... [pause] do you MEAN...????"

Oh you know old bottles of anything you haven't sold perhaps, unopened or even just an old empty bottle...

Hey then stood there looking at me completely stunned... for about 3 seconds..

Finally then he just kicked in and said "OH! no we don't have any of that"...

Somehow I knew I should have tried elsewhere...

[nor02lei]

I do my dusty hunting exclusively out on cyberspace. I do believe I am relatively successful, but I do put a lot of time on it. I seek E-bay, Kruger’s auction of cause but also bunches of small online stores were you can do the real steals in my opinion.

Leif

[silverfish]

... Kruger’s auction ...
Leif

I check this out each month. There are some nice deals
(low prices) if only the ship charges to USA weren't so
high. That said, you can sometimes pick up a bottle or
two at a low enough price to offset the shipping and it
ends up costing you a reasonable amount. Even without
winning, it is still nice to see some of the older bottles
offered and a good resource to keep track of "sold for"
prices.

[cowdery]

The Art of Dusty Hunting Pt. 1

The Art of the Dusty Hunt Pt. 2

To be consistent with his inconsistency, Greg should have designated the second one as "Pt. B."

[Gillman]

Any tips for Washington, D.C.? I will be there soon.

Gary

[callmeox]

I meant to mention that I know of a few instances where board members have discovered such treasures as ORVW 15/107 in areas that were declared 'hunted out' by nearby residents. The guys who haul in dusties are guys who work at it consistently.

That hurts, man...it really hurts.

[DeanSheen]

That hurts, man...it really hurts.

I dunno man, $39.95 seems a little high for ORVW 15/107.