My name's Gregory. I'm new to the forum and have only been living in Texas for 4 years now. I live in Johnson County and I'm looking to buy hunting land and wondering what areas to avoid. Like, certain ranches or towns altogether? Driving several hours to the property is not an issue.

Thank you in advance.

someone will be along with comments pertaining to your comments. Welcome to the forum!

What I did 40 years ago.

Figure out how far you will drive and your budget. Start calling realtors in that/those distances.

Enjoy the search. Being willing to drive several hours will improve your chances of finding exactly what you are looking for. It really kind of depends on what type of terrain you'd like to be on. One thing I should have done when I was looking is tell your realtor you're outa there the first inkling you have that you're not gonna buy a place. Don't waste any more time than you have to at a place that isn't for you, or, as happened several times to me, the seller has a cockamamie idea about something he expects you to accept, i.e. he'll "make you a deal" on water they're keeping, or you're gonna have to drive within feet of his @$$hole brother's house to access, etc., etc. Good luck!

I would want nothing to do with East Texas. Around here, water is king. A well to drinking water is 850-950 feet down and much of the drilling is through limestone bedrock. It would add a lot to the price to have a well drilled. I ran a long line and got co-op water. The well was a constant PITA. Just adding in that aspect for your search. Good luck.

Thanks for the info gents. I'm originally from West Virginia and looking for land to do some deer and hog hunting. Any other animals are a bonus. I'm not worried about water, right now as I'll bring my own for the time being.
Right now I'm looking in Menard County and South of there. I don't want to get too far south and have to deal with any border crossing issues. I've heard about staying away from certain ranches due to being completely hunted out but can't remember this ranches names now.
I'll start contacting realtors about places available.

Panhandle. If something happens that I can no longer hunt there I'd probably stop hunting all together. I hunt mule deer, white tails and everything else on the same ranch.

Welcome!

Welcome to the forum!
You definitely want to check water availability. You are saying it doesn't matter now, but it will in the future. Is water available underground? May not be & then if you have to rely on city water ,it may not be available either. When My neighbor bought, they didn't check ,ended up being too expensive for them to get it. Water should be one of your main things. Electricity too. Some places it will cost$$$$ to get a line run. Definitely hire you a GOOD realtor that will make sure you understand everything. Don't be afraid to tell them you need help with the in's & out's of buying land. Good luck with your search. Nothing like owning your own place!!

That's where I am. Let me know if I can help in any way. txtrophy85 on here has one or two places for sale in the area.

... hope you have deep pockets too. The prices these days are shocking to me growing up in central TX years ago. Similarly the prices of leases have gone to unimaginable prices. Supply and demand ...