Thread: Buying land just to shoot on?

Hey all, I am giving strong consideration to buying some land so I have my own place to shoot and such, and then maybe in the future possibly plop down a cabin or maybe even build a house.

Does anybody have any good resources for this? Everytime I try to look for land I get these sites trying to sell me a half acre in Klamath, lol.

I want like 1-5 acres depending on price of decent land where I can shoot. Ideally I would like it to be within 1-2 hours of portland metro.

Ideas? Resources? Land ?

Try Land for sale, acreage for sale, lots for sale, farms for sale at LandWatch.com and Country Homes, Farms, Ranches for Sale, Recreational Property & Land - United Country Rural Real Estate

You can plug in parameters-state,county,city,size,type,etc.

Good luck with your search!

County by county, check the chamber of commerce websites. Most local realtors will be listed with the chamber and have a link to their website where they have listings that you won't find on the RMLS or your typical listing service.

Keep in mind that there is a big difference between "land just to shoot on" and "possibly plop down a cabin or maybe even build a house." A lot of counties have adopted horribly restrictive building and land use rules. 2 examples -- Klamath county, no power to the property = no well = no septic = no building, and best yet, NO CAMPING - even on your own property, no joke discussion if the link works. Crook county uses what I believe to be state laws that prevent building that impacts livestock and grazing, juniper acres website is worth checking out for some of the red tape they run into when trying to build.

RMLS.com™ Regional Multiple Listing Service - Home check the mls pages, same pages the real estate agents look at. Its free, easy, no sign up. Just do a quick search, plop in your requirements (ex. 1-5 acres, 1000-25000 dollar range depending on your budget, choose county) and search. Really easy.

Originally Posted by mh34444

County by county, check the chamber of commerce websites. Most local realtors will be listed with the chamber and have a link to their website where they have listings that you won't find on the RMLS or your typical listing service.

Keep in mind that there is a big difference between "land just to shoot on" and "possibly plop down a cabin or maybe even build a house." A lot of counties have adopted horribly restrictive building and land use rules. 2 examples -- Klamath county, no power to the property = no well = no septic = no building, and best yet, NO CAMPING - even on your own property, no joke discussion if the link works. Crook county uses what I believe to be state laws that prevent building that impacts livestock and grazing, juniper acres website is worth checking out for some of the red tape they run into when trying to build.

Thanks for the great info, lots to consider. I will check out those links.

I had no idea it was so in-depth. I'm originally from Wyoming, and you could buy a few acres with some cash a handshake and a single piece of paper. Didn't even think there was such a thing as someone being able to restrict what you do on your own land. Thought that was the point of owning your own property, ha

This is gonna take some research

Ahh Wyoming... I loved that place!
My wifes aunt lives in Pinedale. I remember walking back after fishing a creek. In two blocks, I had 4 people do the honk and wave thing. Kinda wigged me out at first, then I remembered... small town, they do that stuff in small towns...

Take the money and Join a Club for the shooting part.

Keep in mind an Acre is only 208 feet 9 inches (63.63 metres) on a side So unless you have a pretty good backstop and no neighbors your going to be shooting on your neighbors land real quick. figuring 20 ft from you property edge on the fireing line end and 20 ft for a berm. Your looking at a max range of 56 yards. If you bought 5 acres in a line you could get a range of 333 yards But safety would be a BIG factor.

Originally Posted by Mark W.

Take the money and Join a Club for the shooting part.

Keep in mind an Acre is only 208 feet 9 inches (63.63 metres) on a side So unless you have a pretty good backstop and no neighbors your going to be shooting on your neighbors land real quick. figuring 20 ft from you property edge on the fireing line end and 20 ft for a berm. Your looking at a max range of 56 yards. If you bought 5 acres in a line you could get a range of 333 yards But safety would be a BIG factor.

Damn good point Mark, I think I'm going to join the Tri County Gun Club instead. Thanks.

Why not look around for a landowner that has a suitable hill or "cliff" for backstop on his thousand acre farm/ranch and just get permission to use it. Maybe even offer a couple hundred dollars per year for the privilege. Who knows, the landowner may also be a shooter too.

Excellent point Mark. My Brother has 17 acres and a perfect spot to shoot. Pasture and mountain side. The Wife and I have 40 acres and I would be hesitant to shoot a BB gun on it. The 40 happen to be in Christmas Valley and flat with absolutely no backstop. Unless your shooting towards the neighbor's barn about 2 miles away.
Mike

I did exactly that. I found 120 acres about an hour from my house, it is about three miles from any other houses and is a flat chunk of desert, perfect for shooting anything and everything I ever wanted to shoot.

Check rural/small town realtors in the area you want to shoot.

Check the county you want property in for shooting ordnances, mine has a 5 acre minimum piece of property, no shooting in the direction of roads and homes and the usual stuff. I even stopped and talked to the sheriff, we had a nice chat, he asked if his guys could stop by if we were out there shooting something exotic, I told him they were always welcome. To date we have never seen them, they like guns too.

Check the neighbors, I met mine and reassured him that no one would be shooting in the direction of him on his tractor or pulling his plow.

Think strongly about fencing and barbed wire, I have two miles of it to work on these days, posted signs and gates are awesome.

Backstops and access, make sure you have deeded access or an easement on the deed, all else is worthless.

Property costs more the closer to people and the more trees it has, the more neighbors the more misery.

I bought an old tax sale of marginal farm land, it is perfect for almost nothing other than shooting.

Originally Posted by lonegunman

I did exactly that. I found 120 acres about an hour from my house, it is about three miles from any other houses and is a flat chunk of desert, perfect for shooting anything and everything I ever wanted to shoot.

Check rural/small town realtors in the area you want to shoot.

Check the county you want property in for shooting ordnances, mine has a 5 acre minimum piece of property, no shooting in the direction of roads and homes and the usual stuff. I even stopped and talked to the sheriff, we had a nice chat, he asked if his guys could stop by if we were out there shooting something exotic, I told him they were always welcome. To date we have never seen them, they like guns too.

Check the neighbors, I met mine and reassured him that no one would be shooting in the direction of him on his tractor or pulling his plow.

Think strongly about fencing and barbed wire, I have two miles of it to work on these days, posted signs and gates are awesome.

Backstops and access, make sure you have deeded access or an easement on the deed, all else is worthless.

Property costs more the closer to people and the more trees it has, the more neighbors the more misery.

I bought an old tax sale of marginal farm land, it is perfect for almost nothing other than shooting.

If you don't have a suitable hill to shoot into, a relatively cheap solution is to build a berm out of used tires and dirt scraped off the surface. I saw one built in Idaho that was just the ticket. A retaining wall was constructed of tires that were interlaced and filled as the wall grew. Then the person rented a dozer and just scraped a few inches of soil against the berm. It's about 12' high and about 6' "thick" at the top of the slope.

If you're ever driving along the interstate just east of Boise one can see it off to the right about 1/4 mile away. Usually the old tires are available for the asking at any large tire shop. Larger ones of course make the best walls.

Of course everyone wants property to own and have.

Another thought might be to do so door knocking and internet searching to see if someone already has land they will let you shoot on. Offer a small fee to them (even people that own their property still have taxes and stuff to pay). Offer to do some kind of maintenance or work on the property. Offer to build/maintain the range its self. I know I would take an offer like that on mine.

Just a thought for another option

Originally Posted by Nwcid

Of course everyone wants property to own and have.

Another thought might be to do so door knocking and internet searching to see if someone already has land they will let you shoot on. Offer a small fee to them (even people that own their property still have taxes and stuff to pay). Offer to do some kind of maintenance or work on the property. Offer to build/maintain the range its self. I know I would take an offer like that on mine.

Just a thought for another option

You might like to talk to your Attorney and Insurance Carrier before you sign any agreement(s). It's one thing to do that for yourself but totally another if you enter into an agreement, especially for any remuneration, with someone else.

Never even thought of signing anything. In this neck of the woods things work on a handshake.

I do see your point though.

I know of some land in N.E Portland that would be good to shoot on. Moving targets too. J/K.

Originally Posted by husker

I know of some land in N.E Portland that would be good to shoot on. Moving targets too. J/K.

That wouldn't by chance be around NE 82nd would it? It used to be NE Union but I guess it went "Up Market" when they renamed it.

In Seattle they already have a shooting range, rather a "free fire zone". On the map it's called Rainier Valley.

If you end up buying land in Washington county, I'll give you $5.00 and clean up to shoot too!

A friend for years had a perfect shooting spot on his property that I was welcome to enjoy. A beautiful spot 150 yds into a box canyon with a creek and small pond. Then neighbors started moving in, city folk who called the Sheriff each time that they heard guns going off. The last time that i used the property, a deputy hiked in and asked to please save him the trouble of responding to a call each time that I went up there. I have complied but miss my spot.
Keep this in mind if you look at property.

Originally Posted by Klondike

A friend for years had a perfect shooting spot on his property that I was welcome to enjoy. A beautiful spot 150 yds into a box canyon with a creek and small pond. Then neighbors started moving in, city folk who called the Sheriff each time that they heard guns going off. The last time that i used the property, a deputy hiked in and asked to please save him the trouble of responding to a call each time that I went up there. I have complied but miss my spot.
Keep this in mind if you look at property.

Before I fell to my knees and groveled to some random deputy, I'd ask a few questions.

Is it legal to shoot on private property in that area? If so I'd thank him and ask him to leave the property, especially if there is a safe back stop.

Neighbors do not have the right to enjoy your property as their own. That being said, I'd ask who was complaining especially if they were a considerable distance away. Chances are they will be offended with anything gun related.

My buddy has 30 acres and the person who complained constantly about the noise lived nearly 3/4th of a mile away on property that was not joined to his property. He was shooting the other direction and into a solid back stop, the deputy stopped by and had no problems with it.