I've finally got my sites on purchasing some hunting land end of Q1 or beginning of Q2 2026. I've hunted on a lease in NW oklahoma the last 5 years and its getting more and and more frustrating driving through dfw to get to it.

I've narrowed my search to South of Tulsa to the red river where I want to be 3 hours away from Tyler and in. That being said, are there any other places in Texas I could be looking that are on the more "affordable" side. Im not even sure thats a thing anymore in Texas. I am currently looking in the area of Oklahoma because of quality deer and some bear and elk populations live in those areas too.

Goal is buy at minimum a quarter and would like to maximize that within budget.



Any recommendations are greatly appreciated

We have a six month old right now too. Closer trips will make hunting "commutes" a bit better for all of us

TarponChaser said:

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Search obituaries for rich guys leaving behind widows.

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Solid advice here.

We have hunting land about 1-1.5hr away. I use to get down there every 2-3 weeks to shoot, tinker, fill feeders, change batteries/SD cards, etc. Now with 2 young kiddos I get down there about once a year. Distance is the limiting factor. :-( I can't find the time anymore to be away, 3hrs on the road, 2-3 hrs minimum on the land. There's something to do every weekend these days with the kiddos.

highvelocity said:

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I wasn't even a thought in my dads mind in 1985

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Mine either.

cevans_40 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Search obituaries for rich guys leaving behind widows.

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Solid advice here.

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Be careful, a lot of these widows are second wives accustomed to the trophy wive lifestyle and are pretty high maintenance. The daughters are likely the same age and better adjusted.

Oh and scour every 'for sale or rent' board in the lobby.

We looked at that area a lot before going to the Ozarks. We mainly looked around Mc Allister, Antlers, Stigler, Broken Bow and Idabel. There are good deer in that region. Prices per acre have tripled in the last 15 years. Half of what you find will have something wrong with it in the way of mineral rights, deeds, easements etc….so caution on that.
Make sure, if you find a place with a creek or river on it, that you get a definitive answer in writing to find out if it's considered public access or private.
We probably looked at 20-25 places in that area. We were looking for something in the 900-1000 acre range.
We found some places but many had baggage and issues I didn't want to live with.
Oklahoma is a weird state to buy land in due to all the Indian land that once was and how they wrote deeds.
Mineral rights on some are very hard to find out true information instead of speculation.
I attended horse and cattle auctions and sales and just was outgoing to meet folks and ask questions.
I contacted the game wardens and local sheriff offices and ask about landowners that might be selling.
I joined two county farm bureaus and went to meetings and talked to folks.
I also searched out real estate agents that specialized in recreational land. Mossy Oak property agents are usually very knowledgeable as to the whereabouts of hunting land.
Main thing is take your time and research. Lands of Oklahoma is another good source of places for sale.
I have some contacts of ranchers/landowners in that area that I can see if they know of anything.
PM me your particular wants and desires and I'll try to put the word out for you over there if you want.
Enjoy the journey to find a place.

Appreciate the recommendation!

I just went through this process and found Zillow extremely useful. I was able to set specific filters for areas, size, and overall price and get daily updates with new properties on market.

Gave me a very good sense of the market and could quickly identify new properties as no go or potentials.

Look up Bryan Glass of Glass Land and Home, he also has an outfitter service in NE Tx/SE OK if you want to get on a duck or goose hunt.

Gunny456 said:

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We looked at that area a lot before going to the Ozarks. We mainly looked around Mc Allister, Antlers, Stigler, Broken Bow and Idabel. There are good deer in that region. Prices per acre have tripled in the last 15 years. Half of what you find will have something wrong with it in the way of mineral rights, deeds, easements etc….so caution on that.
Make sure, if you find a place with a creek or river on it, that you get a definitive answer in writing to find out if it's considered public access or private.
We probably looked at 20-25 places in that area. We were looking for something in the 900-1000 acre range.
We found some places but many had baggage and issues I didn't want to live with.
Oklahoma is a weird state to buy land in due to all the Indian land that once was and how they wrote deeds.
Mineral rights on some are very hard to find out true information instead of speculation.
I attended horse and cattle auctions and sales and just was outgoing to meet folks and ask questions.
I contacted the game wardens and local sheriff offices and ask about landowners that might be selling.
I joined two county farm bureaus and went to meetings and talked to folks.
I also searched out real estate agents that specialized in recreational land. Mossy Oak property agents are usually very knowledgeable as to the whereabouts of hunting land.
Main thing is take your time and research. Lands of Oklahoma is another good source of places for sale.
I have some contacts of ranchers/landowners in that area that I can see if they know of anything.
PM me your particular wants and desires and I'll try to put the word out for you over there if you want.
Enjoy the journey to find a place.

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Yeah, don't want to be dealing with the Osage (split mineral estate).

Also talk to the county's extension agent.

Affordable hunting land is unfortunately becoming more elusive as each year passes. It is way more economical to just save up and pay for whatever kind of hunt that suits your needs.

However, I absolutely understand the need to have your own place to manage as you see fit. Have you considered purchasing a forever home type of property that you could also hunt on as well? You could get some type of wildlife exemption at first and then build later on when you're ready.

TarponChaser said:

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Search obituaries for rich guys leaving behind widows.

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problem with these situations is that there are often several grown adult kids who are licking their chops for the day they can sell the family land and cash in. At a much inflated price

As an above poster said, unless you are going to go a ton and shoot a ton of deer each year, it's almost more sensible from a money standpoint to use day hunt or weekend places where you pay for the day or weekend or whatever. Between finding something that's not priced ridiculous, property taxes, all the time and energy to manage deer, feeders, etc, its more and more easier to do that. Now, there isn't a price to be had for some people on having your own place...but for alot of us it's just exorbitant now.