Albany Texas hunters are important to the local economy and the locals welcome you with a smile and good ole West Texas “how y’all doin”?  As ranch brokers, we sell ranches and represent a lot of buyers in this area so we’ve created a resource for Albany Texas hunters and our new land owners to get a lay of the land while hunting or being new to the area.

Albany is located in Shackelford County in north central west Texas at the intersection between highways 283 and 180. Shackelford County covers 914 square miles of mesquite savannah and rolling plains, and presents itself as an opportunity to both hunters and those seeking recreational land. This article will cover some basic information about the county and give you tips on how to get the most out of your hunting experience in or near Albany, Texas.

Albany Texas Hunters and Land Owners Local Resources

Eateries & Groceries

While the only chain restaurant is a Dairy Queen, Albany plays host to some wonderful restaurants. A popular eatery in town is Ice House restaurant which features Mexican food and has 4.5 stars on Yelp. Another restaurant of note is the Beehive Restaurant, serving Modern American food with 4 stars on Yelp.

Fort Griffin General Merchandise (aka “The Beehive”)
525 Hwy 180 West
Phone: 325-762-3795
Hours: Lunch – 11:00am – 2:00pm;
Dinner: 6:00pm – 10:00pm;
Closed Sunday and Monday
beehivesaloon.com

Icehouse Restaurant
200 South 2nd Street
Phone: 325-762-3287
Hours: Lunch – 11:00am – 2:00pm;
Dinner – 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Icehouse in Albany on Facebook

Los Cazadores Mexican Grill
225 North Main Street
Phone: 325-762-3362
Hours: Breakfast – 6:00am Monday – Saturday;
Lunch / Dinner: 10:30am until 9:00pm
Closed Sunday
Los Cazadores in Albany on Facebook

Vintage Vanilla
104 South Main Street
Phone: 325-762-3030
Hours: Soda fountain/coffee bar/store – 8:30am – 5:300pm Monday – Saturday;Lunch – 11:00am – 2:00pm Monday – Friday.
Vintage Vanilla in Albany on Facebook

Donut Shop – Kalaches (great after a morning hunt!)
Hill Street
Hours: 6:00am – Noon

Brookshires of Albany
204 Walnut St, Albany, TX 76430
Phone:(325) 762-2792
Google map

Lodging

The Hereford Motel and the Reddy Inn and Suites are the primary motels/hotels in the area, but there are also several RV parks.

Albany Motor Inn & RV Campground
424 E. Hwy 180
Albany, TX 76430
Phone: 325-762-2451
www.albanyinntexas.com

Hereford Motel
557 Hwy 180 West
Albany, TX 76430
Phone: 325-762-2224

Lucky RV Park
33 North Ave. B
Albany, Texas 76430
(325)762-2101 / (325)207-1673
janmignon@gmail.com

REDDY INN & SUITES
724 US Hwy 283 South
Albany, TX 76430
(325)514-5048 or (718)598-8198

Shopping

In Albany, the county seat of Shackelford County, there are a host of different stores and specialty shops to fit your needs, with the highlight being the EZ Feed and Supply store, which offers complete animal nutrition, livestock, hunting supplies, and more.

The nearest Wal-Mart is located in Breckenridge, about 25 minutes east of Shackelford County.

Blanton-Caldwell Trading Co.
117, 125& 129 South Main
Phone: 325-762-2370
Open 10:00am – 5:30pm, Monday – Saturday
Features outdoor clothing, hunting and camping gear, ranch gear and more.
The kitchen store carries everything for the kitchen from dishes to linens to cookware and gadgets.

EZ Feed & Supply
9580 Hwy 283 South (Baird Hwy)
Phone: 325-762-2955 or 325-762-2954
Mobile: 325-669-3706
Fax: 325-762-2965
Email: EZFeeds @ aol.com

Complete animal nutrition. Livestock, wildlife, and hunting supplies.

• Farm & ranch
• Deer corn & protein
• Bulk feed
• Hunting & fishing supplies
• Rope & tack
• Medicine
• Show needs

Albany Specialties & Manufacturing (need fire pit for hunting camp?)
417 West South First (behind First National Bank)
325-762-2535
Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9am – 6pm.

Sanders Drug Store
104 South Main Street
(In the back of Vintage Vanilla)
Phone: 325-762-3979
Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:30pm;
Saturday 10:00am – Noon (pickups only)

Banking

First National Bank
84 N Main St, Albany, TX 76430
Phone:(325) 762-2221
Google map

First Financial Bank
232 N Main St, Albany, TX 76430
ffin.com
(325) 627-7200

Other Info for Albany Texas Hunters and Land Owners

Game Warden: Shea E. Guinn; Phone: 325-669-0084

Wilder game processing: Escalon’s Buck n’ Hog

Nearest Airports: Abilene Regional, DFW International Airport

Click here for more info on the history of Shackelford County.

Off the grid is a very interesting trend happening in the ranch real estate business. The first category of off the grid land buyers and owners are challenged with the basic need of water and electricity.  Underground water in and around the ranch may be limited, contaminated, or very costly based on depth of water beneath the surface.  City or county electricity may be a quarter mile away or 10+ miles away, but regardless of the distance owners always feel they are literally “burying” their money, rather than making a visual improvement to the land.  Usable water and electricity for buyers is perceived more as a checkbox to check rather than adding significant value in a lot of cases.  If a property does not have these basic utilities in place, it can definitely be a deduction on price per acre.

The second category is what we in the ranch business refer to as the “enders” buying up ranch property. “Enders” are people that believe civilization, as we know it, is coming to an end. It might be for religious reasons, political reasons, the zombie apocalypse, giant meteorites, Donald Trump or a number of other factors. However, these buyers want to buy a ranch that can sustain itself when the whole thing goes commando or whatever!  I am hearing more and more “I want to be able to live off the grid…when the power company is no longer producing electricity and the water company has dried up, I want to be able to sustain and protect my family on the ranch.”

I myself am a very middle of the road kind of guy that has a great interest in history. I believe that as bad as some people think the world is right now….It has been much, much worse in history. However, I also love to sell ranches so while in Rome, right? I am not here to judge, just to help the buyer and seller reach their objectives, whatever that might be. Therefore I wanted to study the different aspects of this new buying trend. Can you have a ranch that creates its own power and water supply? How does one make this happen? Can I become the “go to guy” for the end of the world?? Let’s hope not, but If you happen to fall into this category of a buyer looking to live “off the grid”, then this article is right up your alley.

First, let’s look at this from the beginning. A seller with a ranch that has access to rural water and electricity marks the price up for these benefits being included. So as a buyer, a ranch not having access to water or electric is less expensive, or can at least be negotiated down on price for not having these benefits. (Water and electric are two of the main four items most buyers ask about when looking at a ranch.) But as we will get into later, it may not really matter anymore. There are many beautiful ranches out there that just can’t ask top dollar for the simple reason that they are too far away from a rural water line and/or have not installed electricity on the property. This equals pure savings for you, the buyer and makes any location a possibility with off the grid technology.

Now that you have your beautiful ranch at a great price, how do you begin to create your “off the grid” piece of heaven? First let’s begin with water. Some counties have an excellent underground water supply. Depending on the area you are in, there are companies that specialize in finding an underground water source, drilling a well and setting up a water pump system to help you access it. However, there are many counties that do not have underground water available. If this happens to be the case, water catchment systems are the new way to give you access to plenty of water for your ranch home. Eddie Craig from Clyde, Texas runs a company called Texas Rain Catchers (325-260-6980, www.texasraincatchers.com).  Eddie has been in the business of helping ranches catch and use rain water for many years now and his business is booming these days.

Basically using the roof of a home and/or a barn along with a gutter system, you can harvest massive amounts of water for your own personal use. “For every inch of rain that falls on a catchment area (roof) of 1000 square feet, you can expect to collect 600 gallons of water. Ten inches of rainfall will produce 6000 gallons of water.” So let’s say you live in an area that will get 20 inches of rain per year, you can expect to capture as much as 24,000 gallons of water to use! These systems are being used today by companies like Starbucks, but the benefit to you is even greater. Access to water is now available anywhere with a water catchment system.

The second stage of our freedom from “the grid” is electricity. Ted Long out of Weatherford, Texas runs a business called Win-Gen Power, (817-304-2418, www.wingenpower.com). Ted has been in the business of helping people produce their own electricity through wind and solar power for years. These methods have been decent in the past with average results but the new day is finally here. Solar power is the big winner for personal home use thanks to Tesla. Yes, the same company that produces the Tesla electric car has created “The Powerwall”. Powerwall stores electricity from solar energy gathered during the day for use 24 hours a day. It has a 6.4 kWh energy storage capacity, sufficient to power most size homes evening long. Powerwall can also be installed in multiples for bigger homes with greater power needs. The Powerwall even looks great. Like a modern art piece. One of the great things about Tesla is that they know how to make a sharp looking product…Just look at the car! Also, solar panels today are mounted on a single pole, not on the roof like before, and have an internal GPS tracking system that follows the sun as it moves through the sky. They come with a dirt resistant face to keep power gathering at a maximum and a life span of 20+ years. The poles they are attached to can now be placed out of sight and away from the home, if desired. The problem before was basic, no sun-no power. Nighttime energy was very difficult. Now with Powerwall, you can have electricity in the house day and night. So with multiple solar panel poles with multiple Powerwall units, you can now build and sustain any size home, anywhere, anytime.

So no matter your motivation of necessity or dooms day, off the grid technology has become a viable solution to get water and power to your beef herd, hunting camp, barn, home, or ranch estate.

Congratulations, you’re off the grid!