How much land do you need?

[AK Caster]

I been looking at buying some land in northern Mississippi, Alabama, or southern Tennessee. Having never owned more than a house lot before has me thinking how much is enough? Our purpose for acquiring the land is for a retirement home, hunting, and shooting. I want to be able to hunt deer on the property and to walk out the front door and shoot up to 100 yards away on a safe range with a decent back stop.
Been looking at lots ranging from 40 acres to 160. Naturally the 40 acre size is less expensive but is it big enough assuming it all useable?

[novalty]

Not sure about how much hunting, but 40 acres would be big enough for a 100 yard range.

[John Allen]

It really depends on what is behind where you are shooting if you are backing a large hill you will be alright with a smaller lot as long as there is land you own behind the shooting range.

[bob208]

we have 5 acres I have a 200 yd. range. now there is no one near us. state forest is behind us. the trick is finding a place that will not grow up in houses about the time you get it the way you want. houses bring people . people bring rules and regulations.

[grumman581]

Different states have different regulations. Even though it might be entirely safe, the bureaucrats might have created rules that limit what you can do on your own land. For example, in Texas, you need a minimum of 10 acres if you are shooting a handgun or shotgun, and 50 acres if shooting a rifle. There's some other criteria also with respect to distances from residences / occupied buildings. The acreage requirement and distances change depending upon population of your county and whether you are in the city limits, extraterritorial jurisdiction, etc. The actual statute is here:

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/LG/htm/LG.229.htm

Convoluted enough that your best bet is to be far enough out in the boondocks that no one can hear you shoot.

One of the things to look out for is whether state law allows local law to supercede it in these matters. If it does, you might find yourself with a local municipality that annexes your property and you are then subject to their rules.

[unclogum bill]

I found 3 acres was plenty. But then it was an old mining Claim in the Helena Mt forest that allowed a house on it. My drive way was 3/10 of a mile long and I had no neighbors . I could walk out the door and hunt whenever. What you can do is go to Remax.com and put in the area code where you want to be . All for sale properties should pop up with their specs.

[texassako]

We have about 17 acres of recreation land that we may build on later. Checked rules, regs, and politics before deciding on an area to start looking. The biggest issue is the smaller it is the choices for hunting spots is slim and the more likely a deer can get over the property line before it expires. If it goes over the line here in Texas, then it is now the other owner's deer. Don't forget about small game and other interests that might come up after buying. It was not on my original list of buying points, but we have ducks on the pond and lots of squirrels and turkey since we have oak/hickory/elm forest.

[grumman581]

Our family ranch was 100 acres. Anything smaller than that just seems too small to me. We raised beef cattle and I never saw any deer on the property. There was one area towards the back of the property that was heavily wooded and there was a spring that ran through it. We would often go down into this area to shoot since the terrain made for a nice backstop. The majority of the animals that got shot were dogs that were running in packs and were after the cattle / calves. Well, that plus the armadillos... Come to think of it, probably more armadillos than dogs ended up being shot.

[Reg]

If you have or want to keep it all mowed, five acres is plenty !!

[quilbilly]

It all depends on your neighbors. If they are bunny huggers, 100 acres might be too small, but if they are good neighbors who shoot, 10 acres might be enough if managed for wildlife habitat. An acre or two of undisturbed bedding area with small open areas around it to maximize "edge habitat" for browse and you would be amazed how productive it can be. The deer won't care if you even set up a couple shooting ranges (they don't on our acreage) because the edge of the mowed narrow range has lots of browse to eat.

[oneokie]

One thing to keep in mind; areas East of the Mississippi river are surveyed by the metes and bounds method. Any tract of real estate will probably be very odd shaped.

[rockrat]

Have metes and bounds here in Colorado too.

[Lefty SRH]

I just bought a new house with 4.5 acres which 3.5 is wooded. I have ready see. Deer sign and plan to hunt. It's not much but it's mine and it's the most I've ever had.
Buy as much as you can afford!

[turmech]

I would buy all you can afford because they are not making anymore when its all sold

[RobsTV]

Different states have different regulations. Even though it might be entirely safe, the bureaucrats might have created rules that limit what you can do on your own land. For example, in Texas, you need a minimum of 10 acres if you are shooting a handgun or shotgun, and 50 acres if shooting a rifle. There's some other criteria also with respect to distances from residences / occupied buildings. .

Wow, that is crazy. I thought Texas was gun friendly? No way could I put up with those 10 acre rules.

As long as you do not live within a city limits here in Florida, none of those "Texas type" rules apply. A tiny 1/8 acre lot surrounded by houses a few feet away, in the heart of a subdivision, and shoot anything as long as you have a safe backstop, don't shoot into or over homes, or across public roads. No distance rules from buildings. Now just because we can doesn't mean we do. Normally shoot at friends house with 4 acres.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/all-curbs-lifted-on-backyard-gun-shots-in-florida/nT7gK/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/us/11guns.html?_r=0

[grumman581]

If you have or want to keep it all mowed, five acres is plenty !!

And if you are moving from a normal (i.e. postage stamp) sized suburban lot and only have a push mower, ONE acre is more than you want to mow. I bought a lawn tractor before the second mowing. :)

[grumman581]

Wow, that is crazy. I thought Texas was gun friendly? No way could I put up with those 10 acre rules.

As long as you do not live within a city limits here in Florida, none of those "Texas type" rules apply. A tiny 1/8 acre lot surrounded by houses a few feet away, in the heart of a subdivision, and shoot anything as long as you have a safe backstop, don't shoot into or over homes, or across public roads. No distance rules from buildings. Now just because we can doesn't mean we do. Normally shoot at friends house with 4 acres.

Well, your "city limits rules" are probably comparable to what we have. The statute that I quoted is actually a restriction on what the municipalities can do to restrict your rights. If you don't live in a municipality, it doesn't apply. It's actually a state regulation that protects land owners from the municipalities. The state is basically saying that if you own enough land, even if the municipality annexes your land, you can still shoot on it. If you just own a small piece of land and the municipality annexes you, you're probably screwed though. :(

[RobsTV]

Whew, that's a relief to hear.

[popper]

grumman581- that is for counties with greater than 750K population, municipalities >300K. Seems like they changed it again this time. It was 50 acres min. for counties with >750K (which was only Collin co., the developers wanted restrictions so soccer moms would buy). We need to get rid of a lot of Pols in Austin, too connected to big money.
I've been looking for ~ 50 in east or central Texas.

[Geraldo]

I have permission to hog hunt on a property that totals about 10 acres. That said, if I buy land it will be as big as I can afford.

[smokeywolf]

We are also looking and researching. During our first year of research I was almost sure we would end up in Texas. Now, in addition to getting pressure from my eldest son who lives in Missouri and seeing some scary libtard leanings in Texas politics, plus, seeing that we can get nearly double the property in MO for the same investment as we would be making in Texas; Missouri is has become the front runner.

We would like to have enough land to be able to insure that we won't become an annoyance to neighbors when I'm shooting the big front stuffers. Because of city taxes & assesments, plus the always present threat of libtard, tree hugging, animal rights clowns influencing municipal codes, we will not live inside any city's limits. If I could figure out a way to do it, I wouldn't even live in a county (county ordinances).

It would be great to have property adjacent to State or Federal Forest or Conservancy land (I think). We're hoping for acreage in the 60 to 140 acre range with about 75-90% in timber. Flat to rolling or slightly hilly terrain would be great as that would help muffle or redirect/misdirect sound. Because we'd like to, at least on a temporary basis, be able to sever ourselves from the grid and be completely autonomous and self sustaining, live water is pretty important. Aside from a conventional generator, I'd like to have the ability (within practical limits) to generate electricity from wind, water and solar. I don't have any misconceptions about producing all the power we will use, but it would be nice to be able to run all our outdoor security lighting and/or all or most of our refrigeration from home grown electricity.

We'd like to be able to run 3 to 6 head of cattle, a few goats and enough chickens/guinea to be able to eat our own chicken/guinea maybe once every week or ten days. If feral hogs are not present in sufficient numbers then we may want to add a few pigs to our menagerie. Would also like to be able to take turkey and 1 or 2 deer each year from our property.

smokeywolf

[unclogum bill]

Best way to get what you want is die and go to heaven cause that's pretty much what you describe. Since bullets will travel a mile plus, any neighbor where that cannon is pointed is going to call the sheriff no matter what the backstop. They hear it, they call. So the real question is can they stop you . Really that is the key, best back up to a National Forrest.

[PS Paul]

Smokeywolf, I sure did enjoy your post about MGM........
I'll be hoping you keep us abreast of your search in MO. On a whim, I've been looking at ranch property and land in MO too. Surprisingly affordable. A couple other fellas on the forum have done the same thing and found places in MO with property.

We are likely going to end up in AZ, but I have 300 acres in CO near the Eastern border. Maybe one day we'll sell that property and get something else......

I'm actually surprised you've waited this long to get out of CA, but I do understand what it is like to be attached to a place with friends and family and all.

Good luck to you and I'll be anxious to see what you find!!

Paul

[w5pv]

I think the ten acre rule is in a plots that are sub divided.Outside of that get your land next to a national forest with a stream running through it or near it with a lot of hard wood.Here in East Texas the large land owners have cut most of the hard wood and planted pine,the fast growing types.They come in and clear cut it deer and hogs do fine on it but squirrel,coons and other hard wood varmints get rooted out in the shuffle .Location is the key.

[smokeywolf]

We have few family attachments here. The only thing we're waiting for is my official pension age. This is probably the last time in my life that I'm too young to have something I want. Also, I have a rental property here that is in the middle of a 1 year lease.

I can't say that I'm the sharpest tool in the shed. In spite of the shift from film to video which had a dramatic effect on my work in the Motion Picture Industry, and the decline of our government and economy, the mass importation of foreign criminals, the mass exportation of skilled labor jobs; I didn't see the handwriting on the wall. All these things came together to create a perfect storm situation for our economy. It wasn't until about 2 years ago I realized that the tin foil hat crowd may not have been completely crackers.

California is the last place someone with conservative, Constitutionalist, Libertarian leanings should be forced to ride out the confusion, confiscation, violence, sickness, starvation, imprisonment or possible conscription when the economy crashes and our fearless leader starts ordering the execution of executive orders and of any citizens who offer resistance or argument to his plans and his new position as dictator.

smokeywolf

[starmac]

The older I get the less land I want to take care of, the key is location. Find an area where most neighbors have the same values. There are plenty of places where pretty much all neighbors also shoot from their back porch.

[Artful]

Do check the laws - in AZ you can only shoot provided your 1/4 mile away from a habitable structure - this includes things like travel trailers and shacks someone built that they might sleep in.

Then there's zoning laws - someone in the 1920's or 1930's built a home with an underground range inside Tucson city limits but it wasn't legal to do so - used it for many years safely.
When the family put it up for sale it was discovered by the .gov and then the Ship hit the fan.

[dragon813gt]

Buy as much as you can afford. And clear only as much as you can easily manage. I'm watching farms disappear daily and McMansions built on the land. It's really depressing. My personal minimum would be 8 acres because that's where I can apply to be a Farmstead for tax breaks. I have to keep a goat and some other animals as well. I'd prefer 100+ so I don't have to worry about any neighbors. But that land alone is $2.5 million by me so I don't ever see it happening.

[PS Paul]

It all depends on your neighbors. If they are bunny huggers, 100 acres might be too small, but if they are good neighbors who shoot, 10 acres might be enough if managed for wildlife habitat. An acre or two of undisturbed bedding area with small open areas around it to maximize "edge habitat" for browse and you would be amazed how productive it can be. The deer won't care if you even set up a couple shooting ranges (they don't on our acreage) because the edge of the mowed narrow range has lots of browse to eat.

Sounds like your "edge browsing" area might need an apple tree or two. He he

Now you don't have any of those silly PT tree/bunny huggin' types near your place, do ya, Quil?:kidding:

[kenyerian]

Can't have too much land. Make sure you get mineral rights with it. having your own gas well really saves you alot on the heating bill. I've got 90 acres and am looking at buying one of my neighbors out.

[savagetactical]

Just remember when you own more acre you have more work. My lawn is 2 acres. Food for thought.

[kenyerian]

I mow 4 acres and the rest is woodland.

[AK Caster]

Have no intentions of mowing anything that a riding lawnmower cant easily knock down. More for the critters to eat.

[Gator 45/70]

We have 10 acres in a parish, Don't know what this county is that has been mentioned ?

At any rate, Surrounded on 3 sides by D-MAP protected, Which means you will not cut any timber/hardwood with in so many feet of a natural water drainage, We have pines that would take 2 people to reach around in order to touch finger tips.

[Gator 45/70]

We have no counties, A parish is considered a whole district here defined by the catholic church and we operate by the Napoleonic code law, Someday the rest of the U.S. may catch up with us, But i'm not holding my breath !

Gator,
You call em parish, they are counties in the rest of the US.
LOL.
Parish is a church around here.

[starmac]

We don't have counties either, we have boroughs, and if you live or own property outside of the borough, their is no taxes, property or sales. Maybe someday the rest of the country will catch up with us. lol

[Gator 45/70]

Now you see ? We without counties get along just fine !


We don't have counties either, we have boroughs, and if you live or own property outside of the borough, their is no taxes, property or sales. Maybe someday the rest of the country will catch up with us. lol

[starmac]

Bill if your asking me, no we do not, most boroughs have no enforcement powers. The North Slope borough does have a couple of borough police, but so far we have voted that power down here, when it has come up on the ballot.

[starmac]

Bill there is probably not over a dozen towns in Alaska that even has city police.

[gmsharps]

I started out looking for a 40 acre plot. I felt that would be small enough to maintain and still large enough to hunt and shoot on. Problom was finding a 40 acre track. In Texas 40 acre tracks are at least in Central Texas were pretty scarce. 100 to 1000 were easy enough to find but the budget would not permit the large amounts. I settlled on a 80 acre piece that was 1/4 mile wide and 1/2 mile deep. It had goood fences and 2 stock tanks and that was it. I had to have a barn built, I could only afford a 50x50 with half enclosed. Then I had to build a half mile of road. 70 dump truck loads of gravel later I had at least a road base to start with. Now to start working on the property you need equipment. I got a 50hp tractor with bush hog and bucket loader. The bucket loader is one of the most useful tools you will ever get. One issue in Texas is you have a lot of Mesquite and the thorns realy like rubber tires. I spent most ofthe first two years fixing broken stuff. I finally gave up and put foam in the front tires of the tractor and now no more flats. With 80 acres you need a gator type vehicle to get around the place on. It serves as a vehicle to transport more than one person and the bed in the back hauls stuff to work on a project. One of the stock tanks is just about filled in with sand so it needs to be dug out hopefully next summer that will happen and the excess dirt is to be used for the shooting range burm. I can get 600 yards actually 800 if I really had to have it but 600 will do what I need for now. The wife retired from her job last year and has been supervising the building of our house which should be done in the next couple of weeks. We built it on the back 40 so we have the privacy we want. As you can see this is a money pit with no equal. If you are young enough to start early in life you can piecemeal the required things as you go. But if you wait to long it takes money right now and lots of it. Those that are lucky enough to inherit the family farm the infustructure is already there and you just build to suit your self. As you start to do things you will go over budget. Things cost way to much these days. I hope you are mechanically inclined as you need to be able to do as much yourself as possible. I'm not trying to discourge you but it takes a lot of money, blood,sweat and tears to make it happen. The dream is there you just have to reach for it and keep reaching for it. It will not be easy but the rewards are fantastic. Sorry for the long post.

gmsharps

[trochilids]

Bill there is probably not over a dozen towns in Alaska that even has city police.

Wasilla and Palmer have enough city police for the rest of the state. We will gladly share.

We are in the process of building a house on 20 acres outside of Palmer city limits. The more time I spend on the property the smaller it becomes. My parents had 3 acres in Idaho when I was a kid and it seemed huge. All a matter of perspective, I guess. But I second the advice to buy all you can afford.

[starmac]

No thanks, we have plenty here, and North Pole has way more than it's share. lol In fact I was pulled over a couple hours ago for a headlight out. groan.

[smokeywolf]

Great post gmsharps! Very useful info for those of us who have not yet reached your point.
I'm hoping to find either a turn-key property for about $350,000 give or take, which will leave us with another $200,000 give or take, for equipment, improvements and livestock. Or, a piece of ground with a small house/hunting cabin in place for $175,000 plus or minus, and build to our own specs.

I have investments which provide a small monthly return and have grown to enjoy those month/quarterly checks. However, if the economy tanks those monthly/quarterly ROI checks will either cease or become worthless. Not wanting to be without some form of investment that can either produce money or become valuable in a barter situation, we are thinking of planting a small orchard of possibly apple, peach and/or whatever. Would also like to vint my own wine.

We found a 100+ acre parcel in the Southeast quadrant of MO that we really took a shine to, but with 2 boys going into high school very soon and one of those boys with an IQ that's in the stratosphere, the high school choices weren't so good and the colleges too far away. The down side to finding good schools in MO and probably most other States is, there is a correlation between schools having higher rankings and property tax rates being higher.

We're also trying to come as close as practicality permits, to having the house we've dreamed of since we started this journey to escape Kali, find some semblance of America as it's supposed to be and then work our tails off to build something that may offer our children, grandchildren and so on some sliver of independence and their best shot at surviving what the future may bring.
Everywhere you turn, internet, radio, books and TV, the one thing that nearly everyone agrees on is that the people who will suffer the least in a socio-economic meltdown are the folks in the more rural, removed, remote areas who have the infrastructure and resources in place to be self sufficient and self sustaining.

Being a machinist, it occurs to me as I write this, that those of you who have older flat leather belt drive lathes, mills and drill presses may be in a much better position than I am to keep machining should electric power become scarce or impossible to get. In that event I would have to do some major modifications to my lathe, mill, grinders, table saw, disc sander etc.
Back to overhead belt drives.

There is much to learn and this forum has proven to be a great source of information; provided by people who have already "been there and done that".

smokeywolf

[Ramar]

I got lucky 13 years ago and found 150 acres in MO's Ozark mountains. 70 acres of flat pasture and the rest wooded and rolling. If I were to tell someone the price I paid I would be called all kinds of names and wouldn't find a believer. I've got running water and 3 bass ponds and plenty of Black Walnut.

I searched for property for 3 years and relied heavily on the internet searches and the online realestate companies. Google earth really lets you see what the property really is and what the adjacent area is all about. Water on the property was my first search criteria and don't limit yourself to small acreage. The best price per acre is always the bigger parcels and most sellers will always deal and even talk mortgages with you.

Leaving family behind is hard but if you get enough acreage you'll find they visit often and will start working on building their own home and when the land is free more house can be built.

The greatest thing about my property is I've got kids and grand kids right there!
Ramar

[smokeywolf]

Ramar, that's grand. This is kind of what I've been thinking. I have 4 sons and although one's a city boy and lives with his extremely well fixed mother, my oldest is up in the Northwest quadrant of MO already and the other two are gun enthusiasts and still young enough to stay with mom and dad for quite a few more years. I'm also hoping that once they have their degrees, the boys can find work in their chosen fields in the vicinity and build on the family land. If their careers make that impossible, maybe they'll be of a mind to retire back to the family farm.

smokeywolf

[Ramar]

smokeywolf - I like your thinking. Running some cattle can be profitable and help is always needed by the young. It starts out as help and can quickly become a partner full time or part time.

A neighbor's 425 acres was up for sale a year ago. A house and 4 out buildings, bad run down, I really wanted it but couldn't afford it. I didn't need it and it was on the other side of the road but I thought it was a steal. It was sold for well under $300K and on the market for almost a year.

It's a buyer's market but you got to put in the time and search.
Ramar

[smokeywolf]

Been looking and learning for a year & a half now. Will continue looking for at least another year & a half, and learning hopefully until the day I become fertilizer; hopefully also on my own land. Kind of fancy the idea of having a family cemetery on the land. I'm hoping that, because land will continue to become more and more difficult to buy, our proposed family farm will, like a good book or a good gun, never be sold.
Once I'm laying in the ground instead of working on top of it, I won't have any control over what the kids do. But maybe if I lay the right foundation, create the right memories and sow the right seeds in their minds, my dream might become their reality.
Most of the time kids don't end up doing what you want or expect, but if I can get the Mrs. and I set up with what we want, while at the same time affording the kids and grandkids this option, I can go to the Happy Hunting Grounds feeling that I fulfilled one of my most important responsibilities to them.

smokeywolf

[dragon813gt]

A neighbor's 425 acres was up for sale a year ago. A house and 4 out buildings, bad run down, I really wanted it but couldn't afford it. I didn't need it and it was on the other side of the road but I thought it was a steal. It was sold for well under $300K and on the market for almost a year.



I need to move by you. That would be a $10.5 million dollar purchase by me. That's less than $1k an acre and I've never seen that price anywhere close to me :(

[winelover]

I been looking at buying some land in northern Mississippi, Alabama, or southern Tennessee. Having never owned more than a house lot before has me thinking how much is enough? Our purpose for acquiring the land is for a retirement home, hunting, and shooting. I want to be able to hunt deer on the property and to walk out the front door and shoot up to 100 yards away on a safe range with a decent back stop.
Been looking at lots ranging from 40 acres to 160. Naturally the 40 acre size is less expensive but is it big enough assuming it all useable?

Sounds a lot like my place, however, I was able to accomplish your goals on a mere 26 timbered acres. My initial intent was, nothing smaller than 40 but after walking the property I saw it was workable. My land was originally part of 60 acres that was to be sub-divided into smaller tracts. Then the recent economic down turn got in the way. A gravel road was built splitting the parcel in roughly two halves. The developer then gave five acres, with road frontage, to some of his kin. Some other guy bought 29 acres and re-listed it six months later!

Then I stumbled on the property and had expectations of obtaining all 55 acres. Had to deal with two owners and only the developer would come around. I knew what the other guy paid and there was no way he was going to even break especially after the "bottom fell out". BTW, three and a half years later, he still hasn't sold it.

As it turned out, I'm kind of glad I didn't buy all of it. The house build was more expensive than planed, so the monies came in handy for the build.

I've been living here a year now and am totally satisfied with the place. Beautiful house, a 100 yard range, a small food plot for the deer (saw 6 does in it last evening) and took a nice 8-point during last years bow season. Hard not to like!

Good luck with your quest.

Winelover

[savagetactical]

Wasilla and Palmer have enough city police for the rest of the state. We will gladly share.

We are in the process of building a house on 20 acres outside of Palmer city limits. The more time I spend on the property the smaller it becomes. My parents had 3 acres in Idaho when I was a kid and it seemed huge. All a matter of perspective, I guess. But I second the advice to buy all you can afford.


I empathize, Oklahoma has way more people than I want it to have compared to when I was in my youth. More people is never a good thing.

[AK Caster]

Great information from most of you. We decided that 40 acres is doable as long as the parcel is basically a square or rectangular in shape. If it isn't then we will go for a bigger patch.
Not to worried about it being a money pit as this will be our retirement place and will only build a modest home with garage and basement.
A place to shoot after walking out the front door, within 30-45 minutes of reasonable shopping and the occasional deer and squirrel and maybe a turkey or two will keep me happy.
Counties? Parish? Boroughs? All I can say is they are all a total waste of resources. Once you live in a state there is no reason to segment it down even further. All it does is create more rules and more government and higher taxes.

[grumman581]

Texas land prices vary quite a bit. Out west, you can find land for $500 (and sometimes less) per acre. $1K to $2K is not too hard to find for rural land that has some trees on it or if it might be somewhat in the floodplain. The closer you get to a metropolitan area, the higher it goes and $30-60K per acre would not be uncommon.

Texas has the concept of an "agricultural exemption" on land so that you are paying taxes on a small percentage of the land's actual value if you meet the requirements of the agricultural exemption. You could be raising some farm animals on it. You could be raising timber. You could be managing it for game. As such, what you tend to see when someone builds a house there is that they put the house on the property and have an acre or two around the house that is their lawn and everything outside that area is part of the agricultural exemption.

[starbits]

In 1970 my Dad bought 40 acres north of Tucson for $24k. When the house was built in 1973 the nearest house was 1 1/2 miles away. We had a 100 yard range in the wash and used to hunt quail and rabbits all around the house. Then the town moved in, housing developments were built on three sides right next to the property line. Property taxes for last year were $39k. My Dad died in 2010 and left enough to cover the taxes for a number of years, but so far the three years of taxes amount to over $100k that won't be split between my siblings and I. We had an offer on the property 18 months ago and it looks like it will be another 18 months for all the city's hoops to be jumped through before we get to closing. Moral of the story is what is good enough today may not be in the years ahead and the closer to town you buy the less likely you will have full enjoyment in the distant future. Keep that in mind when you purchase.

Starbits

[grumman581]

Our family ranch was near a bayou / creek / river. My great-grandfather had originally purchased an entire section (i.e. 1 sq-mile / 640 acres). The state decided to create a dam on the bayou / creek / river to flood the surrounding land to make into a lake. They paid the landowners pennies on the dollar for their land. From my understanding, we lost about half of the land to the legalized thievery of the state.

[rondog]

My own land? I can only dream.....

[grumman581]

My own land? I can only dream.....

It's all about compromises... I suspect that you could afford some of the land out in West Texas. You don't mind a 300 mile round trip to the nearest Wal-Mart, do you? :)

[savagetactical]

It's all about compromises... I suspect that you could afford some of the land out in West Texas. You don't mind a 300 mile round trip to the nearest Wal-Mart, do you? :)

Here is the thing about living in the country, you do not make regular runs to the store all the time. You buy in bulk and at best make trips once a month or once every two months if you can get away with it. 300 miles aint that bad assuming you make sure and get what you need while you are there.

[starmac]

I lived for years where it was 95 miles one way to any stores that you would actually shop at. It was never a problem. There was actually fairly major stores 65 miles away in another direction, but it was handier and cheaper to drive the 95 miles, 190 round trip.

[quilbilly]

Sounds like your "edge browsing" area might need an apple tree or two. He he

Now you don't have any of those silly PT tree/bunny huggin' types near your place, do ya, Quil?:kidding:
My neighbors use one of my shooting ranges more than I do and occasionally borrow the chronograph. One even said I would be the only one he would allow to hunt the backside of his place. As for apples, our trees are still pretty young but they have grown enough to get passed the deer. We got our first honey crisps this year (wooo hoo!) When we bought the land, I knew that we had a patch of old growth that was an important winter bedding area for a portion of the deer herd coming out of the Buckhorn Wilderness so when we selective logged, we maintained that acre or two as is. We manage our lands and gardens to feed both ourselves and the deer. This summer, our habitat was so attractive, a young female cougar had her litter of kittens only a few yards from our back lawn (didn't have to fence the deer out of the vegetables as a result - nice of her). Our trail system not only provides a buffet for the deer with the edge browse but gives us access to the maples that provide our syrup in the winter. All this and we only have 8 acres.

[lancem]

It's all about compromises... I suspect that you could afford some of the land out in West Texas. You don't mind a 300 mile round trip to the nearest Wal-Mart, do you? :)

200 acres, nearest neighbor over a mile away, Wal-Mart ships free on orders over $45, then there is Amazon Prime (free shipping), so it's not so bad :) Yeah it's 300 miles round trip to Wal-Mart, but the view is to die for!!

[AK Caster]

How much land do you need?

Buy as much as you can.
The importance of owning land/private property is damn near everything.

Right now it's better then money in the bank. Rich people from foreign countries are buying our ranches at inflated prices because they can't find a better place to put their extra cash.
There is no way they will ever break even selling the cattle they raise off the ranch or selling expensive big game hunts, combined.
It's owning the land.

Well, after watching land for over a year I'll have to disagree with some of your points. I would say at least 90% of the plots I have seen for sale in Tennessee and Arkansas a year ago are still for sale. But I do think that buying the land is a smart move with prices down and we hope to buy something by Jan or Feb.

[rick173]

I think those Texas land use rules have a lot to do with where in this great state you are. I spent the last four decades of my 68 years living here and never had anyone bother me about shooting. I live on 12 acres. Their was an elderly man who lived here right on the edge of the town proper, a good stones throw from nearby businesses. He fed a herd of about 30 deer all year long and once a year he walked out in the front yard with his pistol and killed the one he wanted for the freezer. He would drag it around back to butcher it and within five minutes the herd was back dining on his corn feed.

[rondog]

It's all about compromises... I suspect that you could afford some of the land out in West Texas. You don't mind a 300 mile round trip to the nearest Wal-Mart, do you? :)

Um, no thanks. I've BEEN to west Texas! And no matter where the land is, there's still that whole "making a living" thing. I can't even find a job here in Denver.

[gmsharps]

Living in a rural area even if it's 30 miles to town makes you think before you just run down to the store. Fuel prices can make that dollar loaf of bread quite expensive. We've learned to have a to get list and usually waste at least half a day when you go to town running errands. But you know when you finish you go back home to peace and quite.

gmsharps

[grumman581]

Um, no thanks. I've BEEN to west Texas! And no matter where the land is, there's still that whole "making a living" thing. I can't even find a job here in Denver.

Like I said... compromises...

[km101]

If you are planning to shoot and hunt you will want to have enough land to ensure that you are not bothering any neighbors! You wont know about their attitudes toward shooting/hunting until after the fact and you don't want to be saddled with an ANTI as a close neighbor who will constantly complain about the noise or potential safety hazard. Keep a good buffer zone if possible.

But all that you can afford, for the reasons stated in other posts above. Too much is not enough!

[John in WYO]

64,000 acres in a 10 mile by 10 mile square with high fence all around and gates at the compass points with the HQ in the center on a hill, five miles to the property lines in any direction seems about right.....

[grumman581]

64,000 acres in a 10 mile by 10 mile square with high fence all around and gates at the compass points with the HQ in the center on a hill, five miles to the property lines in any direction seems about right.....

You forgot the moat...