In this photo by a staffer at The Post-Searchlight in Bainbridge, Randy (right) and his hunting partner Mack Young, of Marianna, Fla., pose with the gator which they had to drag beside their 13-foot, 4-inch boat to get to land. Randy held out for a trophy gator because it is something his brother always wanted to achieve. Randy’s brother passed away on July 6. “It’s kind of like when you see that trophy buck, and there’s no doubt,” said Randy. “There was no doubt this was the one I was looking for.”
Randy Hand, of Decatur, now holds the Georgia state record for the longest hunter-taken alligator after killing this 13-foot, 9-inch monster at Lake Seminole on Sept. 19. The gator weighed 692 pounds. Randy’s gator is just 2 inches longer than the old record, a 13-foot, 7-inch Blackshear gator taken in 2008.
