Summerville man kills first gator

A Summerville man has bagged a 12-foot alligator in the state’s first gator hunt since the 1960s. Mark Merting says it took more than three hours to land the gator Saturday on Lake Moultrie near Russellville.

The hunt started Saturday and runs through Oct. 11 for the 1,000 people who obtained a permit. Merting said he used a fishing rod, treble hook and a heavy wire test line to land the gator.

It then took a pistol shot and a “bang stick” to kill the alligator. “Bang sticks” are cartridge weapons on a long stick that are also sometimes used to kill sharks.

Each hunter can take only one gator. Officials expect about 400 animals to be killed. There are about 100,000 alligators in South
Carolina now.