Rock hound is a nice way to describe a rock collector. Rock hounding is the act of collecting rocks from their natural setting. In short, it means going out on hikes and trips for the express purpose of searching for and picking up rocks for your collection. Then perhaps putting them through rock tumbler kits for good measure. Although simply picking up stones from your vicinity can get you started, someday you might want to expand your collection and go out there. After collecting, classifying, and labeling the existing rocks in your area it will soon be time to develop a wider collection. A trip to another rich site for specimens is in the works.
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If an expedition of this nature is appealing to you, going with a group that shares the same hobby as you and who also enjoy rock tumbler kits, would make the adventure safer and more fun. Some clubs or local geology societies schedule regular field trips for this. If not, make it an outing for your family or a couple of like-minded friends.
When you have collected your specimens, you have to then know what they are before you can put them through rock tumbler kits. Identifying rocks is a skill of the hound. To help you achieve this skill you must have keen powers of observation. A chart or table or guide would not hurt either.
Many factors are considered in the identification of rocks. Composition and texture are the two things that may determine type. Details to look for are the size of the grains, color, hardness, and minerals or impurities present. This is why a magnifier is an important tool for a hound armed with rock tumbler kits. Determining where a specimen belongs from among the three main types of stone is your first step. This is easy to do. No tools are needed yet for this. Later on you will want a chisel or small hammer to chip off a piece of the stone. This will help you to check for its composition. The tool is useful in the field as well. And after that, if you decide that you have something worth shining, you may also decide to make use of rock tumbler kits.
For the meantime however, all that is needed is a general knowledge of what igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are. This is easily achieved if you keep in mind that the igneous were once molten material that has become solid, that the sedimentary as the name implies was formed from sediments and therefore consists of layers hence its second name of stratified rock, and that the metamorphic were once of the two major types only changed by intense strain, heat, pressure, or certain fluid interactions within. Meta morph means shape change.
A more detailed classification for labeling purposes then requires a deeper observation of the sample. Upon identification, they can now be labeled with their names. An igneous might be labeled as basalt, granite, gabbro, dunite, obsidian, pumice, scoria, felsite, andesite, syenite, diorite, peridotite, or pegmatite. A sedimentary, depending on composition, hardness, and grain type might be a limestone, sandstone, conglomerate, breccia, siltstone, chert, shale, coal, or dolomite. A metamorphic could be a slate, marble, schist, phyllite, gneiss, serpentinite, migmatite, or quartzite.
With experience and some research, the naming will come automatically for the devoted hound. The more specimens you come across, the more experienced you will become, and the easier it will be for you to pick out good candidates for rock tumbler kits.