Hunting family catch and kill alligator over 10 feet long near Big Pee Dee river in Horry

A family of hunters from Marion County killed an alligator over 10 feet on the Big Pee Dee River on Sunday.

John Caulder, from Marion County, killed the gator along with his son Kelly Caulder and cousin Alan Caulder.

The alligator was caught using a Mad Kats rod and Lizard Man Gator Hooks. The 10.6 feet long alligator was then shot and killed with a .40 caliber handgun.

“It was a great fight that last about 20 minutes,” Caulder said.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources holds a lottery drawing for alligator harvesting tags each year. Caulder has been able to draw four tags in his lifetime, with each gator captured being over 10 feet tall.

Caulder was selected this year to be apart of the Alligator Hunting Season Management Unit 4, which covers Horry, Georgetown, Chesterfield, Darlington, Lee, Marlboro, Marion, Williamsburg and Florence counties. About 1,200 tags are given out each year divided between four hunting units.

“This was a great time with the family,” Caulder said. “A lot of people don’t realize but there’s a lot of gators in our area. Some of the biggest in the country come from right here in South Carolina.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 3:43 PM.