I'm picking this up from topic drift in the "Calibers.." section.

Anybody have any ideas about this? I've toyed with the idea of buying some outstate land with the idea that we could use it for occasional family camping trips and a home-brew outdoor shooting range, primarily for pistols but perhaps also for some short-range (eg, 150 yards) rifle and trap shooting.

I did some very cursory Internet searching on rural land for sale, hoping to find something that was functionally "junk" land -- not farmable, not really developable from a residential or commercial perspective, no utility service, and perhaps with some physical diversity -- maybe a patch of trees, a hill or something other than just board-flat swampland.

I was kind of nonplussed by the prices I saw -- my 20-30 acre size (20 acres is around 940 ft x 940 ft) was looking like a $20,000 investment. But I never talked to a real estate agent or anyone else, so maybe this is way off.

I started thinking about a couple of other items, though. What are laws like about shooting? I presume there are no real state laws except no shooting over roads or within a certain distance of an occupied building. But what about municipal or county laws? Are there any township or county laws out there that would make a private shooting setup complicated?

Is leasing land an option or are you unlikely to get someone to lease you acreage to shoot on?

In all cases, I figured I lease a bobcat to make a dirt berm backstop, which is why a hilly spot might be advantageous since it would offer a better backstop without a lot of extra digging. Not that a weekend with a bobcat wouldn't be fun, too.

I know the small township I live in has a "no discharge of firearms" ordinance. For the most part it seems to be ignored. But if I were to build a range and start shooting on my property on a regular basis I would have problems as I only live two miles from the courthouse.

Well, if you actually live in Buffalo, that doesn't surprise me. About 35 miles from downtown Minneapolis and roughly part of the "exurban" region.

Insure you check with the township you are considering. In the township I live in, there was a movement started to limit shooting (it was put down rather harshly), but you have to keep an eye on the township and county board meeting adjendas as they did succeed in sharply limiting dirt bike riding. Also you need to be aware that you may have problems simply 'moving' dirt on swamp land. There are a TON of clean water restrictions for even digging out a swamp much less filling in one (if you put dirt in it - you are filling it!)

The "state" doesn't really have a so many feet away from building or livestock statute UNLESS it is during hunting season. The rest of the year there is no restriction.

A grand an acre is probably about as cheap as you are going to find hunting land - but I'm not a realestate agent, so this is only based on my occassional looksees at what is available.

Mostly-

$600-1000 per acre of land would be a pretty average price for most rural areas, even if it is "junk". Just think of how much you spend on a postage stamp size lot in the city...

If you build an actual shooting range, there are permits, Environmental impact statements, DNR approval, etc., to be done. Lead is STILL toxic and will pollute the ground water, eventually.

Now, if you just want a place to shoot, I'd look around Sugar Lake, Clearwater, and Annandale. There seems to be an awful lot of shooting going on near my in-law's lake house on Sugar Lake. Nobody seems to complain about it.

$1000/ acre is pretty cheap, especially in the semi-metro. Ohhh, and my wife IS a Realtor!!! I have learned a lot just listening to her go about her business. I did notice some land along county rd 7 from Clearwater going towards Sugar Lake. You might take a drive out that way sometime. It's not terribly far from Buffalo.

My address is Buffalo, but I actually live in Chatham Township directly west of town where there still some country left. Civilization is fast approaching my doorstep. The city annexed to within 100 yards of my 11 acres a couple years ago. Probably looking to take more now.

I'm just happy I am a member of the Monticello Sporstmens Club, which is about 11 minutes from my house, so I can shoot 365 days a year if I like.

I guess maybe I have unrealistic expectations as to what "cheap" is! I was thinking maybe 2-500 per acre. Perhaps, like many other ideas I seem to get, I should have been more interested in this 15 years ago (of course I had no money then).

I'm also interested in something at least 1.5 hours away. Anything less than that these days seems to be property with at least speculative value for exurban development, if not actual development. I don't know, but it seems that a lot of the Metro area's light industrial has moved 20 or more miles out, which has just induced their workforce to move 40 miles out and get the same commute. End result for my purposes, though, is that the visually "rural" areas even 50 miles out of town are functionally suburban.

I can't help you any with finding land. But I know what you're looking for as I have a similar set-up already. About half an hour from my house we've got some family farmland with an old pasture still there for a shooting area. The only limits on what can be shot or fired at are what I deem safe, no 50BMG's etc (not that I know anyone with one). The drawback to the place is that we rent out the majority of the land so there are times that I can't shoot there, and I usually don't know until I drive down there. Unfortunately, I don't have a good back-stop berm so if a neighbor is in the fields I usually won't shoot, just to be on the safe side. My friends and I have been shooting there for over 10 years without any issues. A friend/neighbor used to stop by once in a while if he heard us, described it like a war starting. How else would you describe 3 guys, many guns and lots of ammo?

But I do wish you good luck. My gf and I have talked about moving to the country at some point. I simply want a place large enough for a pistol range. If I can have a 100yd+ rifle range, so much the better.
Otherwise, there isn't much of an advantage to living in a small town like we do now.

Steelheart

It doesn't take that much for a range... 350 yards by 100 is less than 8 acres.

There are many small , private sportmans clubs or conservation clubs around the state.I found the one I belong to by asking around . I got in without the customary several year waiting list by being a VOLUNTEER firearm safety instructor [oh cripes,he's on that again].I can't promise similar results for everyone, but if you are a hunter,think about this for a minute:all those kids have parents,many of them are LANDOWNERS! I have met a bunch of nice people,got more places to hunt,got a membership in a gun range 5 min from home,all from becoming a DNR instructor.$55 bucks a year wouldn't even pay the taxes on a chunk of land big enough to have a range on.
If anyone wants to go shooting just west of Waconia,e-mail me,I can have 2 guests and I am always looking for company at the range.
I went out today after work and put 100 rounds through my AR,I was back in less than an hour.

The price of land around here has skyrocketed. Lots of good hunting land has gone for $5000 an acre. Besides our home in town, we also have a 160 acre farm. However, I do most of my shooting at a local sandpit, so I don't scare the deer out at the farm. It is much cheaper and handier than going to the range. I consider myself very fortunate.

I know, but what I wanted some buffer land around it in addition to being able to park a travel trailer on the property for weekend getaways.