I’m not a big fan of leasing or renting anything. So I’ve been thinking about buying land in the Rocksprings area. My wife and I have 4 boys (ages 15, 10, 9 and 1) and a girl who is 8. All the boys love to hunt so it would seem to make sense to buy something for all of us to use for many years to come.

My budget may only be $100,000 and electricity/water is a plus. I’ve seen 50 acres in this price range and I know the general rule of thumb is 100 acres per hunter but depending on the terrain and cover, I think I could get 2 stands on 50 acres for when my oldest is old enough to hunt by himself. My main concern would be a place to sleep but I could take our RV out there.

I’ve noticed thousands of acres are being divided into tracts of 50-100, are these worth it? It’s kind of like the YO Ranch where people can buy tracts of land. Would I be surrounded by too many hunters and it sound like a war zone?What about illegal immigration problems? For those who hunt out there, are there areas of the county that are better? Is the terrain flatter on the north side of the county? I don’t want acreage that isn’t useable because of cliffs.

I’ve also noticed land in Menard going for about the same price, would this area be better?

Just want a place to get away to hunt and a place to build for the future. We could build a little cabin and maybe even buy more land adjacent to us in the future. Or maybe I can flip it in 10 years and buy better property closer to Fredericksburg.

Just want some opinions and advice.

in those subdivisons and acreage range sometimes it pays off sometimes not. In that price range I would except a rough road to access the property, no water well and electricity may be a ways off.


I like the area, it does have its issues ( illegals, anthrax, overhunting, etc.)


My wife sold a place to a guy about a year ago, 50 acres in a subdivion type deal and he has had good luck bowhunting it he says. but, the access was via a rough caliche road

I have 100 acres in Edward's County, SW of Rocksprings, in a "subdivision" Ranch. We've been there for 15 years and enjoy it. The terrain is more hill country but it allows for the 100 acres to feel larger. We have 4 different rifle spots and 5 bow spots, a cabin and shop. And that is with about 1/5th of the 100 acres that we never access. We've been VERY lucky to have good neighbors which makes things better!!

Best of luck!

I own property in SW Edwards County also. Take into consideration that in that country it takes approximately 80 acres to support each "animal unit". So with 100 acres, trying to manage the property at all for the whitetail, you should take a maximum of one whitetail per year. That's not even factoring in the competition from the exotics and hogs. Then how your neighbors are managing their property factors in also. Generally speaking, busting up the large ranches into subdivisions leads to extreme over harvest. There is a reason those ranches originally consisted of tens of thousands of acres. They had to be that large to support a healthy herd of livestock. Another thing to really be aware of are the
"property owners associations" or POA's. They can really end up being a PIA! Check all the rules/dues before you commit.

You mean that there are still ranches big enough in the Rocksprings area to subdivide?
I remember 20+ years ago guys that I worked with bought property there to hunt.
They had great hunting for four or five seasons and then they couldn't figure out why they weren't seeing many deer as before and the bucks were all small when they did see one.

One of the guys filled his tags and then took friends and relatives out there to hunt, and he bragged about how he and his friends killing 7 bucks off his 30 acres.

Menard area is all shot out.

I’d look in a closer area, like a rough circle within 2 - 3 hours.
That might mean putting it off or starting a new search to find a suitable place, and or increasing your budget.

You're talking about spending 8 to 9 hours in a vehicle every trip to the Menard Rocksprings area, with the possibility of up to 5 kids.
Say you want to make just 5 trips per year, 40 - 45 hours or more, without figuring in pitstops for the kids, traffic or weather delays.

Like others have said, gotta watch for POA's, elec & especially water can be very sparse in the general area, cost to bring in both can be high.

Just me, I wouldn't even consider the area at any price per acre, other folks love it.

If your goal is to end up somewhere nearer Fredericksburg thats where I'd search, hard, like it was another full time job.

I was shocked to learn a 44 acre place in Blanco county sold recently, $3680 ish per acre,,, $162,000 in an area that ranges from $7,500 to over $10,000 per acre.
Run down small old house (in need of full redo at least) functioning water well, electricity, 24x30 covered parking, small enclosed shed about 10x14, falling down dilapidated useless 3 stall horse barn with 30x80 horse runs for each stall in good condition.

Never hit the market, owners were out of state heirs, place had sat basically abandoned for 4 years I know of.
I know for fact you, your wife & all kids could tag out every year and never make a dent in the deer population.

Deals are out there but you have to dig hard & many times have competent help doing it.

Rustler, that was a steal of a deal in that area!!!

I've waited 10 days so far for a return call from the daughter of the former owners, I was one of the 4 their dad gave ' first shot' at buying the place before he passed away.

I'm certain there's more to it than I understand right now.

I would look to youth hunting programs/drawings, public land, and leasing. I do not think your price range and number of hunters is going to yield a favorable outcome for anyone. Wish I would have done more of the public hunt programs when I was eligible.

May also find a MLD property looking to take does, good opportunity to put them all on a deer. In years past we found several in the paper.

Lots of ranches a little further South and West in Val Verde County. A couple smaller parcels could put you in roughly the same
price range.