11310 Sumter 20 , Epes, AL 35460(Sumter County)

The rustic lodge was built in 2016 with the hunter and outdoorsman in mind. The approximately 1,950 square foot four bedroom two bath house has vaulted ceilings and a loft with plenty of room for your closest friends and family. There is a mud room off the back and large open kitchen and den area with a large wood burning fireplace. The floor plan with cedar walls and siding was very well done for the most enthusiastic hunter. Other improvements include several shooting houses, numerous ladder stands, a 40'x60' tractor shed, and a 18'x24' equipment shed.

WMS Farm is a 566 Acre High Fence property located in the black belt region of Sumter County AL. Soils range from black belt prairie clay to sandy loams. It is an intensely managed research and development farm. The focus has always been on growing big deer by using an intense food plot program. The farm is also used for trialing new seed varieties and mixes.

Habitat improvement projects were implemented with an emphasis on increased early succession habitat, native forage development, bedding areas, and loafing cover. Approximately 192 acres of plantation pines established in 1994 have been thinned and are on a burn rotation. Small clear cuts were established adjacent to food plots and other feeding areas. These clear cuts average 1 to 5 acres in size. The habitat consists of cedar thickets, hardwood uplands and bottomlands, and 25 year old thinned pine plantations. The hardwood areas are unique, consisting of prairie soil hardwood varieties. Durand oak, Chinkapin Oak, Pecan, Hickory, Nutall Oak, Water Oak, Shumard Oak and Black Wallnut are the dominant species. There are also around 500 Sawtooth Oaks that are planted in large groups that are between 10 to 20 years old. These Sawtooth Oaks produce abundant hard mast crops that provide food thru most of the winter months.

There are 2 bass lakes located on the property. The lakes are approximately 2 and 5 acres. Both lakes are producing good bass with 8 lb. bass caught from each lake. There is a 2.5 acre duck impoundment located above the 5 acre bass lake. It has a water control structure, allowing it to be planted and flooded for duck season. Mallards and Geese have been the main species harvested.

The most impressive part about this property besides just being an all around great property is its intensely managed deer herd. The Deer Herd is a good mix of Native Alabama Deer with a heavy Northern influence. Before the property was purchased, it had been stocked with 10 Northern does and 2 Northern bucks. Harvest goals consisted of removing native deer to make room for improved genetic stocking efforts. Over the last 4 years, 22 bred doe have been released on the property. All of these doe have 200 inch genetics. Also these doe were bred to bucks that were 200 inches at two or three years old. The buck genetics include Slick, Maxbo, and Maxbo Select. There were also four 2 and 3 year old bucks released on the property 2 years ago. These bucks are out of Hardcore and Ranger bucks. These deer while still growing are also helping to change the genetics of the property. The stocking efforts have proved to be a big success. We have had healthy fawn crops the last 3 years and are seeing great improvements in our young bucks. The stocked deer were selected with diversity in mind. We made sure to have good genetic diversity to ensure a healthy herd. See WMS Genetics in the additional documents for more info and pictures of breeder bucks.

mixed use recreational, farmland, timberland 566 acre waterfront property 1,950 Sq. Ft. cabin built in 2016 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 half bath resides in the Sumterville neighborhood whitetail deer turkey waterfowl freshwater fishing ATV trails bird watching