Hunter: Thurman Hathaway III
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Laurens
Season: 2023-2024
Hunt Story
On opening morning of deer gun season, Oct. 21, 2023, I was in my new Fat Boys Box Blind at 6:45 a.m. I was hunting my own property in Laurens County. I was blessed nearly three years ago when the Lord gave an affordable piece of hunting property. It is a powerline with pine, hardwood mix along with swamp when it rains enough. A deer crossed at 7:15 a.m. at 75 yards. I was able to get the deer in my scope when he stopped at the edge of the woodline. I could see a couple of long tines, so I decided to shoot. I had my scope on three-power and there was no time to adjust it. I was hunting with a new rifle I had gotten on Father's Day. It's a Browning BAR Stalker Mark 3 .308 caliber. I fired one shot and the buck mule-kicked, which indicated to me he was hit. I waited 20 minutes then began looking for blood. I found some blood after about 10 minutes. I trailed the buck about 100 yards and found him. I was surprised at how big he was. He weighed 227 pounds.
