Years ago folks had a single room shack with an outhouse out back. Coleman lantern and can goods for food. No electric. Now a days it seems you have to essentially build the equivalent of a small house with a septic system, well or cistern, etc, etc, and that pushes the cost out of site. BUT I COULD BE WRONG, been known to happen. It there any place left in Texas you can just build a one room hunting :shack" ? If it needs a chemicasl or compost type toilet okay. I figure haul in drinking water for a couple of weeks. What do other folks do? Thanks.

If you owned property, would you want a buncha broke-dick cheapskates to set up a lean-to or shanty (like homeless people), & crap outside leaving TP everywhere?

Of course most hunters nowadays expect a house or cabin with electric & water as part of the lease, they just don’t wanna pay for it (“muh granddaddy had a lease for $20 & a goat”).

I think it’s absolutely insane that hunters pay to lease someone else’s land for these outrageous prices for 1 year then do improvements on the land that is for someone else’s benefit in the long run. That’s part of why I don’t lease.

I was talking about land you own. I realize if it is close to other people you don't want an out house, I was thinking of very remote areas.

If its land you own, you will want ( in most cases ) to do it right. I've seen some shacks built way out in the middle of nowhere before though.

I have two small cabins on my place, put their by the original owner. Both are in good shape. one is a 2 bedroom job with a living room, kitchen and 3 closets ( 1 closet is going to be converted into a bathroom ). The other Cabin is a 1 room job with 3 bunk beds in it....its the kids/guest cabin. There is a separate bathhouse with outdoor shower/indoor toilet. I kinda like it.....its comfortable enough to stay in for long periods of time but still has that cabin in the woods getaway feeling. My wife, however, is already talking about building a barndo in the future.

I personally would not want a shack on my property. Hauling water in sucks. Compost toilets/outhouses suck. I have stayed in crap hunting shacks enough in my life. I got used to staying in nice, site built cabins and then a bonafide house on the ranch. I sleep in a tent/travel trailer on out of state trips so i get my fill of roughing it after 7-10 days out west.


We had a lease as a kid where we hauled in a old jobsite office trailer, scabbed together some bunk beds and a makeshift kitchen, built a outhouse and dug a hole in the ground. No electricity, we ran a few lights off a car battery hooked to a solar charger, water was brought in, it didn't have a kitchen and was cramped. To be honest it was ok for a night or two but it really wasn't comfortable. I have a lot of fond memories of hunting as a kid but staying in dilapidated buildings wasn't one of them, they were just a means to an end.

I had A 8x16 old job office trailer I converted to a hunting trailer. Had two bunk beds, cabinets, propane lantern, propane cook stove, battery lights and an outhouse, campfire for night relaxing, coolers for cold food. My buddy had an old army tent with a wood stove inside. We thought we had it made for comfort. It was on a lease for 3 years.
It suited us and our wives, good sleeping bags and blankets kept us warm enough.
This is hunting and relaxing.

all you need is an 8x20 cargo trailer

I have 2 of those that I convert into living shack
AC/Heat, microwave, oven, shelves , cots

complete with whatever you want to put in it

when youre tired of it , drag it, sell it, convert it

sleeping in houses while hunting doesn't feel right to me

I like to have a little bit of roughness with a slice of creature comfort

They actually make very nice mobile camps.

We used a goat shed on a friends family ranch near Mason. The goat shed's roof was only about 4' high, but at least it had no water or electric.......:)

Heres our 20 container cabin. a/c, heat. stove, toaster oven, microwave, satellite tv and two twin sized beds. Let me dig up a pic that shows inside and i'll add it in a few.

Is the green bldg the shower house?

No that's a pump house. Supplies water all through the ranch. And water for camp. We do have an instant hot water heater hooked to an outside sink.

if you own the property, for about the cost of building a cabin, why not merely put an older used travel trailer. Doesn't have to be anything fancy but offers most conveniences. Most of the stuff can be run off battery or propane power if you don't have electrical on site. even a small generator can be run during your awake hours that should also charge the onboard battery. Water can be hauled in food grade barrels and gravity transferred into the onboard fresh water tank. As for septic, use the chemicals and a wheeled tote every so often for the black water. There are fairly inexpensive carports that can be built onsite to insure no roof leaks and give outside coverage for gas grill/picnic table.

but to your original point, most places I have hunted (years ago) had some form of camp set up with minimal amenities. One place the LO built us a small (16x16) pole barn that, over time, we built out into our camp house. We brought in an old propane (it was likely butane actually) refrigerator and stove. We found old army metal cots (bunked), table and chairs, carpet remnants for flooring, lighted by Coleman lanterns ... it was fine for the length of time we needed dry shelter for eating/sleeping.

I think a lot of it depends on how long your stays are out there and whom is out there. If it's just me for 1-3 days, 2 night max, I have no issue "roughing it some", if I'm looking to be out 3+ days and 2+ nights, I more prefer a "refined" accommodation stay.

This^. Get a used travel trailer. It is a completely self contained "home" and with a generator you can have AC/microwave along with powering anything else you want. Haul water in for showers, etc. We have a waste hauler tote that once or twice a season I empty the black tanks in and go to town to dump at a dump station. Easy enough and when the season is over the camper goes to the beach all summer.

Thanks for all the honest opinions. My buddy has a trailer on his land but a neighbor keeps an eye on it when he isn't around. That's my main issue, vandalism. There is obviously more to the matter than I was thinking.

There isn't. You can get a shipping container and composting toilet and you are good. Eventually a rain catchment or water cache for showers.

It's simple and secure. You can make it as plain or fancy as you want.

I've built out both a 20’ and 40’. PM and ill give you my number and I can walk you through a build out.

This was it on our 200 acres for the first 20 years...no water(windmill) or electric and in middle of the pasture

I think the female aspect has become more common in hunting camps has lead to an increase in the quality of camp house digs

Why mine is finished out so nicely. Wife and two daughters

We've done upgrades to the cabin on our place every year since we got on in 2014. It's a 60X20 cabin, full kitchen, bunks, and a full length covered porch out front. Added on a shower and toilet over the years and upgraded the plumbing to 3/4" stainless tubing

The cabin is for offseason use and Thanksgiving/Christmas dinners only. Everyone must use a camper during season (septic hookups and 30/50amp poles already setup). There's a decent amount of time and money involved with this deer lease upkeep, but it's worth it to me knowing all is good every time I make that 7 hour trip

Agreed that females are coming to deer lease much more than they ever used to and probably has led to some lodging improvements. I also think that hunting has become so expensive(in many cases) that the type people that can afford to hunt can also afford and want nicer accommodations. I assume it would be rare for hunters to pay 10k to 20k(and more) in STx to hunt and then stay in a tent instead of paying $3000 for a used RV. Not saying thats good/bad, right/wrong, but it is what it is.

I don't know anyone who hunts in Texas period that stay in tents on a lease. We do in other states but thats out of necessity...if we can drag a travel trailer to a spot we certainly will.

The only argument I find in staying in very spartan lodging on a lease is spending money on a place you don't own, is pretty much a waste. You don't recoup cost it if you lose the lease and hauling it off can be a pain. I do know people who lease large south texas places though who stay in travel trailers/old singlewides and have shanty towns for Camps.