Shooting on public land / in the desert?

Before you buy, just check city, county, or homeowner regulations if you buy in any kind of sub-division (large or small).

 

Yo do know they're talking about Bureau of Land Management not Black Lives Matter - right?

 

This question gets asked a lot from out of state folks moving to Texas. There’s this misconception that the size of our state means that there must be plenty of free, open public lands not too far from most major metro areas. But nothing could be further from the truth.

The vast majority of Texas is privately owned. There is supposedly some public land in the Panhandle that supposedly allows it, but I don’t know where it is and it’s about a good 5 to 6 hour drive from Dallas.

There was (maybe still is?) a spot at the LBJ Grasslands that allows shotgun only shooting about an hour to an hour and a half north of Dallas.

The Davy Crockett and Angelina National Forests in east Texas do not allow target shooting last I checked and have strict hunting requirements. You aren’t even allowed to stump shoot arrows from a bow last I heard.

Like the others said, your best bet is to shoot at mostly privately-owned, pay-per-use gun ranges, many of which have certain rules, such as no FMJ or drawing from a holster. There are also some membership-only privately-owned gun ranges which usually offer for more leeway and less restrictions as long as you aren’t reckless or unsafe at the range.

The membership gun ranges require an annual fee ($75 to over $1000, depending on the range). The less expensive ones usually have a long waiting list of several years before you can apply for membership.

As others said, your other option is to buy your own land, preferably in a rural area somewhat a ways from the city to keep the costs down. But lots of folks are moving to Texas, especially the DFW area, and land prices have skyrocketed these past few years, even in areas within a two hour drive. Like others said, be sure to check the county laws on the minimum acreage needed to shoot in rural areas (believe most with such minimum acreage require more than 10 acres, but some have no such minimum acreage requirements).

Anyway, welcome to Texas!

 

There has always been some confusion about the 10 acre law. You can shoot on your property of any size as long as you are not in a city limits that prohibit discharging firearms, or in a county that regulates property. The catch is, the state pre-empts counties from regulating property greater than 10 acres. You can shoot on less than 10 acres, you just have to make sure the bullets stay on your property. If you own more than 10 acres, the county cannot prohibit you.

Oh and - welcome.

 

Are you moving to Dallas for work or do you just like to be near big cities? The further you are from the big cities the more gun friendly Texas is.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Correct!

 

Well said. And just to clarify, if it’s 10 acres or less a county can still prohibit or restrict shooting on your own property. Take a look at Texas Local Government Code 235.002:

1. Sec. 235.022. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE. To promote the public safety, the commissioners court of a county by order may prohibit or otherwise regulate the discharge of firearms and air guns on lots that are 10 acres or smaller and are located in the unincorporated area of the county in a subdivision.

And as Oorah said, you have to make sure bullets do not cross your property line, even if you have more than 10 acres.

 

BLM - Blue lives matter