Deerwood Plantation

Showplace Recreational Property in the Thomasville-Tallahassee Plantation Belt

Deerwood Plantation is a very well-run, well-capitalized recreational hunting property located in the high-demand area between Tallahassee and Thomasville. The current landowner has owned some of the best quail and deer properties in the Red Hills, including parts of what is now Four Oaks, Merrily and Old Fields. He demands exceptional hunting and purchased Deerwood as an alternative to a large property with an expansive budget. Deerwood's 390 acres are exceptionally diverse and offer all of what would be expected from a top Red Hills plantation but in a smaller size, making it simpler to run. It is the epitome of what most people are looking for, meaning an abundance of recreational opportunities with lower operating costs. This property is renowned in the region for its game flow and offers everything that one would expect to find on a 1,500+ acre property.

“The biggest issue with buying a property is the uncertainty of whether it really holds game year after year. Are there hidden issues? What is the deferred maintenance? This property is as solid as it gets. One of the benefits of its size is that nothing gets left behind. Everything is well-managed. Everything here is proven.” - Jon Kohler

"Its reputation in the community / for the amount of wildlife it holds is impeccable.”  Jon Kohler

The neighborhood is exceptional. There are approximately a dozen named plantations within five miles of Deerwood. The property itself sits on a classic canopy road. The game flow (and management discipline of the neighbors) allows for both deer and turkeys to mature. Only ½ mile west of the Ochlockonee River, this corridor is well-known for producing some of the area's biggest bucks. A feeding program has been in place for years with a generous amount of acreage set aside for food plots. Grey Branch flows for 6/10 of a mile along the western boundary of the property and fills both the large bass pond and one of the two duck ponds.

“My first trip to Deerwood was 17 years ago. What stood out to me then, as it does now, is the mature timber and beauty. From fruit orchards to well-managed ponds and enormous live oaks at just the right places, a visit here is not a typical experience. This is one of those places that is managed not only for wild game but is also well thought out for guests' enjoyment.” - Jon Kohler

Quail: 

Pre-season-released quail mixed with wild birds has been a historical favorite use. There is a morning and afternoon course. The ground cover is diverse and productive and includes both areas with wiregrass and longleaf over-story, as well as old field lands with loblolly.

“I've been operating a pre-season release program on my personal place for family for decades and helped many others with theirs. The biggest problem is that not every property is a good candidate. This one is. This is an exceptional property for quail hunting and offers a very economical wing shooting alternative not requiring an annual six-figure budget.” - Jon Kohler

“If someone is interested in having a place with covey after covey, and the ability to put a lot of hunting pressure on the birds, I would be happy to share my experience on how to make that happen economically. One doesn’t have to have an enormous place and budget to consistently have exceptional wing shooting.” - Jon Kohler

Deer:

For the first 130 years of this asset class, bobwhite quail lands outperformed all others by a huge margin. Few people are aware of just how high the demand and value that trophy deer hunting properties command in the market today. We have a saying that “while bobwhite quail may be the prince of gamebirds, it’s the trophy whitetail buck that’s king of game.” By all accounts, buyers too are happy to pay a king’s ransom for places with a proven track record, if they can find them. In fact, a recent sale we made of a 1,300-acre deer hunting property on the Flint River in Albany, GA surpassed the price others recently had made of a famed plantation on the Ochlockonee River in Thomasville by a whopping 30%. Meanwhile, sharing what we know, a recent plantation sale that we made across the street set an all-time Thomasville high. If you go to our website or read some of the articles we have published, you will really begin to see what we mean about what the trophy deer market is doing.

Trophy deer hunting here is very good with both good genetics, age, and feed being in good supply. The property consistently produces large whitetails. While it’s not Worth County, Grady County is still well respected. It is rare to find a non-high-fenced place in this price range where bucks are allowed to reach the age of their full potential. There are multiple creek bottoms, mature hardwoods, edges, and food plots throughout. The habitat is exceptional. You can comfortably hunt five or six different people.

“We sell a lot of deer properties. My own place is both high-fenced and low. It’s a passion of mine. The problem is that finding the right place can be fraught with not knowing what and even who to believe. Before someone begins to put their heart and soul into a place, we go over a four-step plan.” - Jon Kohler

1)   Can it consistently raise and hold trophy bucks?

2)  Is it large enough to meet your hunting expectations?

3)  Does it meet your budgetary needs?

4)  After all is said and done, will it also be a good investment?

Ducks:

“We’ve long shared our advice that the single #1 thing you can build on your property is a flooded duck pond. Few things, if any, compare to the recreational return of a dollar and family enjoyment when they are done right.” - Jon Kohler

Not all duck ponds are equal and not all ponds work. These do. Typically, these ponds hold approximately 200-300 birds all season. A 3.5-acre floodable duck pond with a dedicated well, along with a 4-acre manipulated wetland, produces exceptional wood duck and teal. For those wanting even more waterfowl hunting, a frost system-released mallard program has been successfully used in the past and could easily be re-established.

Bass:

Three ponds are intensively managed for trophy bass making this a year-round property. The largest pond is just shy of 8 acres. The ponds were professionally restocked six years ago with adult Florida-strain bass, not fingerlings! The forage fish are well managed. The ponds are all well-manicured and park-like. In fact, the largest pond even has a sprinkler system on the dam.

"Seeing game, the peace and tranquility of it. I use electric golf carts and I ride around, and I see game. I see deer and turkey and quail and ducks. It's just great." - Hurley Booth, Landowner, Deerwood Plantation

The owner’s cabin looks like it’s a century old with great original details in the fireplace and wood beams but modernized with details such as a Viking cooking range. One bathroom is completely walled with old tobacco stakes from local area barns. It features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a wraparound porch.

““This is the most unique cabin we have ever sold. To me, it reminds me of Jeremiah Johnson meets Thomasville. I doubt there is a better place to enjoy a glass of bourbon in SW Georgia.” - Jon Kohler

"The cabin is classic. It's remarkable and, comfortable. You couldn’t duplicate it for $500,000 and it is a novelty for anybody who sees the place." - Hurley Booth, Landowner, Deerwood Plantation

"We found Deerwood to have everything and more, than much larger plantations. It had all the game hunting one could hope for including ducks, wild quail, deer, turkey, and occasionally a hog. We had 2 exciting spottings of Florida Panther. The ponds have produced many bass in excess of 10 lbs and numerous crappies. We had family fun picking, blueberries, blackberries, persimmons, and plums. It was truly a heavenly place for nature lovers. A feature that all enjoyed was the road system that allowed us to view 95 percent of the entire property." - Bill Mansfield Deerwood landowner from 1990-2017

Social Storm Properties:

Like out of a line from the Song "Rich Men North of Richmond"... “I wish it weren’t true but it is…oh it is.”

One of the key benefits Deerwood offers is its Social Storm™ Properties attributes. This is a term we first trademarked over a decade ago when we first recognized this new asset class…Back then, we were told it was crazy. Aside from those who shared a biblical worldview, most never considered they would need a place to go in a pandemic, war, or social unrest. Sadly, in today’s world, everyone needs or wants a getaway as more problems are added to our lives daily. The good news is that following certain tenants affords not only safety for one’s family, but it is also a safe investment, which is yet another major concern in today's world.

The Social Storm™ Properties score here is exceptionally good, providing this property with additional investment benefits, whereby it will increase in value in both good times, and in bad, is a perfect hedge. The wealth and appreciation of the merchantable timber stored here is safer than in any bank. The freedom and independence this property offers is sadly foreign to most Americans today. There is water everywhere and the crime here is almost non-existent. A smart person once defined wealth as the ability to help others in their time of sickness or need. To be able to offer friends and family a place like this to spend the next pandemic or worse, is the definition of true wealth.

“If someone has the means but doesn’t yet have a place like this to take their family during the next pandemic, or worse, they are missing the true meaning of wealth.” - Jon Kohler

We help many people add a property like this to their investment portfolio, just like it was gold. Unlike gold, a stroke of a pen can’t make it illegal. Having a safe place for one’s family to go is priceless and these lands will go up in value if tomorrow is a good day and even more if it’s a bad day. For anyone who mitigates risk, and is heavily insured, these new types of properties fill that need. While we wish we didn’t have the need, we are glad we have the means and knowledge to discretely help people mitigate their concerns in today’s chaotic world as we hope things get back to normal. Meanwhile, it’s not too late. We can still help you find them right now but even for us it’s getting harder and harder. Social Storm Properties™, like this one, are the perfect hedge for today’s uncertain times.

“This is one of those rare opportunities where you can find exceptional deer, duck, turkeys, and quail all on one property under $5M, and it’s well under even $4M. There is little to no deferred maintenance on the land which is something we do not typically see. One may want to add a downstairs master bedroom to the cabin but otherwise this property, unlike most, needs very little spent post-closing. We have now sold three properties in the region at $10,000 per acre, for just the land and timber component alone, and closed one place for $9,000 per acre literally across the street. When one considers the cost of reproduction alone of the flooded ponds, lakes, roads, and other amenities, much less that it offers more recreational opportunities than comparables, one will see that this is a very good buy.” - Jon Kohler