Buy Your Own Damn Range

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perdurabo93

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One of the few things I don't like about living in Texas is the fact that there is absolutely zero public/BLM land anywhere where you can just load up all your stuff and go shoot whatever weapon you want in whatever way you want at whatever target you want (as long as you clean it up afterwards). Here in Texas, there are very few outdoor ranges and most of them are run by Fudd types who expect you to shoot slowly, off the bench and at boring old paper targets. On top of that they have all kinds of other least-common denominator idiotic rules and charge you out the ass for the privilege of being forced to follow them. I realize that a lot of these rules are just to cover their asses since there will likely be a lot of idiots on any given public range, but it really irks me to have to deal with this kind of BS which seems to be getting worse every year.

Basically, what I need is enough land to be able to have a 1000 yard range with a fairly large natural berm/backstop (like a hill) where I can shoot anything from pistols to .50 BMG rifles to shotguns to full auto NFA rifles at either steel or paper targets from any field position I choose. Landowners and ranchers around here are more keen on leasing their land for hunting (for big $$$) than for just shooting and for the most part have the typical Fuddy attitude that they don't want you doing a lot of shooting on their land, safe backstops and controlled bursts or no, no matter how much you pay them.

I don't happen to have any friends who are wealthy enough to own or have access to enough rural land to be of consequence so I figured the best way to get what i want is to just buy my own land. I am currently in the process of of looking for relatively cheap west Texas land with some like minded friends (where cheap in Texas is anything less than $2000/acre) primarily so we can go shoot our firearms in whatever way we choose rather than conforming to bull public range rules. If there were BLM land anywhere within a tolerable weekend road trip distance of Austin, I probably wouldn't have to saddle myself with HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of debt to do this, but I don't know of any other option.

I am looking at several properties down in Edwards county in the Rocksprings area, but even here there are issues relating to water rights and deed restrictions within the subdivided land communities. Has anyone here done something similar and have much advice/experience to offer apart from moving out of Texas into a state with more public land?
 
For your needs....

I would not feel comfortable with less than 80 acres, and that is if it is a rectangle. DO NOT buy into a planned sub division. If the restrictions look bad at first, they will get worse. The committee that oversees the restrictions can make changes at any time and you have no sayso. I go out to a ranch near Valentine in west Texas once a year with guys who invite me along. It is 540 miles one way from my doorstep in Fort Worth, not a short drive. On the other hand, I am a member of a private club, a fudd club says you, that is 20 minutes from my house. You can shoot paper up to 200 meters there and costs 75 bucks a year dues once you are a member. Seems a bit cheaper than spendind a couple of hundred thousand to shoot, plus the property taxes forever. I have 9 acres in the country where I feel safe shooting 22s, and it is paid for and will be my residence next year when I retire. Beats a big land payment any time, however some folks make way more money than I do.........chris3
 
Well one thing about it is the value of the land will go up.
My land cost $450 an acre in 1967 and can't be touched for less than $10,000 an acre now, if you could find any.

If you buy any land make sure that you get the mineral rights.
Within the last few years gas drilling and production has gone crazy all around the DFW area. Within the last year I've made more in gas royalties than I originally paid for the land.

I've had a shooting range on my place since I first moved here.:)
 
I'd check around the Hill Country in the Llano/San Saba area. I think you can find a 50-100 acre plot for less than $2K/acre. At least you'll save a lot of time/money not driving back and forth to West Texas.:D :D
 
Ive already done a lot of looking in the western/northwestern part of the hill country. You can't touch anything in the hill country for less than maybe $3000/acre, and even then you wont get that price with ~100 acre plots, only with huge properties near $1M or more. Too many damn Californians and oil money rich bastards from Houston coming in and buying up all the hill country land for their canned hunt petting zoos.
 
Another option

If money is an issue why not go into a deer lease somewhere? Most large deer leases I know of have at least one range with either no or very informal rules. If you work with the group or owner they might consider a longer range one as well.

Deer season is not particularly long and even though a lot of people in Texas hunt hogs there are plenty of times throughout the year when the properties are vacant.

Some deer lease can be quite expensive but I have seen a few in East and North Texas in the $1500 annual range with year round access.

The side benefit is that you can also hunt, camp, fish whatever there as well as target shoot and train.
 
When I returned to Texas in '96 I checked with the chamber of commerce to make sure there was a public range near town. A few months later the land was sold. If it wasn't for a couple of rancher friends I'd have been out of luck. Essex
 
Closing tomorrow

on 73 acres in Vermont. A lot of the issues raised here went into the decision.
Good luck.
 
I'd check around the Hill Country in the Llano/San Saba area. I think you can find a 50-100 acre plot for less than $2K/acre. At least you'll save a lot of time/money not driving back and forth to West Texas.
Click to expand...

We're getting ready to start building a lodge/B&B 9 miles west of Llano on the river.

I don't particularly want to live out of a hotel for four-to-six months, but at least I'll have a private range (for .22s at least) for a little while.
 
I just recently heard about this range:

http://www.spindlerarms.com/

Its waaaaay out in West Texas near Robert Lee, TX north of San Angelo, and has a 1000 yard and electronic targets that register your hits from a monitor setup on your shooting station. Really nice setup, however they want $35.00/hr(!!) to shoot there and do not allow full auto or .50 cal rifles on the range.

Nice, but not nice enough. I'd still prefer to setup my own range on my own land.
 
Wow, interesting to hear Texas has no public lands. Related to the way it joined the Union I suppose? I'd have thought there were plenty of places to shoot in great big ole' Texas!
 
There are plenty of places to shoot, as long as you own the land you want to shoot on. I think about 96% of all Texas land is privately owned.
 
Texas Land

5.7% is public of which 2.6% is Federal and 3% is State, the rest local. Most of the Federal is National Parks of which Big Bend is over 800,000 acres. The Padre Islands 130,000 and Guadalope Mountains 86,000 comprise more big chunks of it. Keep in mind that Big Bend Park is larger than some STATES.:cool:
 
all the old farts around where i live in NC dont like rapid fire either. one says the noise disturbs his neighbors. beats me as to why he opened up a gun range.
 
About 2 days before you posted this I had the same idea. Once my time is in done in the Corps, I'm going to move back to ND and try to buy about 100 acres, put a house on it and call it good. It's rather inexpensive compared to a lot of places and the only problem is finding a job with benefits.
 
Update: Last July I closed on 25 acres in southern Caldwell County TX (where you'll find the very best BBQ on the planet). I then had a fellow with a dozer come in and cut me some roads, dig out a stock tank, and build me a 200-yard range with a nice 6' berm. Nothing but cow pastures, post oak and mesquite forest for 2.5 miles beyond my berm (and my range slopes downward anyway). Its got big beautiful post oaks and plenty of hogs and deer to hunt.

I can now shoot whatever I want whenever I want in whatever way I want to shoot it. I've got my own 200 yard range with steel swinger and gong targets and I don't have to deal with any BS range rules, nazi range masters, stupid unsafe kids, wannabe vato gangbangers shooting their glocks sideways or ignorant inbred bubba Fudds with their 5-rounds-a-year deer rifles out on any lame ass public range. They can all take their BS Fuddy rules and shove em where the sun don't shine. On my range its FMJ and rapid fire from field positions ONLY (well, okay, I might build a bench for sighting in optics now and then).

Cost me a lot? You bet it did. Was it worth it? Every penny and then some. I plan on building a house out there in a year or two and kissing the hellacious traffic and elitist California carpetbaggers here in Austin goodbye once and for all. My only regret is that I couldn't afford even more land.

Freedom ain't cheap but its ever so sweet.
 
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SVTRUTH,

Wherebouts in Vermont are you? I'm in Georgia, between Burlington and St. Albans.
 
Perdurabo

Ahem-if you ever need a friend on the range ;) I live just North of Austin in Round Rock and would be happy to drive down to have some fun one weekend!
 
Look for 'texas acreage' on ebay. Found 168 acres in West Texas, near Terlingua for $45,000. My math calculates that to a bit over $250 an acre. That's quite a drive from Rocksprings area though.
 
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