759 Acres in Sylvester, GA - $2,850,000

Smoking Gun Plantation in Worth and Turner Counties in Georgia, exclusively offered by Matre Forestry Consulting Inc., is a truly special place. The property offering is all inclusive: the asking price includes everything from the lodge furnishings to the bird dogs to the jeeps, tractors, wagons, supplies, etc. This +-759 acre plantation is absolutely move-in and hunt ready, as a private hunting preserve, client/corporate entertainment property and/or, as it is currently used, a commercial quail hunting enterprise. The commercial hunting has been marketed almost solely by word of mouth, and Smoking Gun enjoys a host of repeat customers. The current manager, who lives in the manager's house, is interested in staying with the property should the new owner desire a manager in place. Additionally, the seller is able to assist with the transition.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: If you know anything about Georgia hunting, then you know Worth and Turner Counties are the best of the best. Situated on the beautiful gently rolling topography of the Pelham Escarpment in the Tifton Uplands of Georgia, Smoking Gun is a sportsman's paradise offering perfect habitat for bobwhite quail, deer, and turkey. Worth County has produced more Boone and Crockett record bucks than any other Georgia County, including the 195 buck harvested in 2016 just a little south of Smoking Gun. In addition to the fabulous hunting and fishing, Smoking Gun has a high site index for pine and hardwood growth, and the property is full of healthy, mature pine sawtimber in the uplands and hardwood and pine sawtimber in the bottoms.

ACCESS, ACCESS, ACCESS: Smoking Gun Plantation has road frontage on Gunsmoke Road and three other county graded roads with a paved county road leading to the southwest corner, plus an extensive and improved woods road network. County roads are only on perimeter, so no public roads dissecting the plantation (great privacy). The woods roads are mostly rocked and/or crowned where needed, providing all weather access to all of the property.

HISTORY: The owner purchased the property in 2006, and immediately began transforming the former Weyerhaeuser timber tract into the groomed hunting plantation it is today. Immediately upon acquiring the property in 2006, the owner designed and constructed the +-7.3 acre lake and 3100 square foot lodge. The overgrown pine plantation understories began a transformation via the introduction of prescribed burning, followed by mechanical and herbicide treatments. Also, the supporting structures were built, such as barns, kennels, and a modern bird barn. In 2011, Matre Forestry marked +-300 acres of mature planted pines for a select harvest to improve the understory habitat for quail hunting. The select harvest left the best pine trees unharvested, and was followed by meticulous logging clean up, and a herbicide treatment. The pines are very healthy and fast growing, and are ready for another harvest now or in the near future, depending on management objectives.

Fast forward to 2019, and the result of this labor of love is one of the finest recreational investment properties in the South, in possibly the best hunting locations in Georgia. With the hard work completed, Smoking Gun is fully in the maintain and enjoy phase - no further development is necessary. In addition to the +-300 acres of groomed quail woods, there are +-90 acres that were first thinned in 2016 that could be groomed for additional quail woods, or managed as is primarily for deer and turkey.

Contact Matre Forestry for more information, and to schedule your showing.