“Huge Dave” Garner has captured quite a few massive deer over an extended searching profession. Nevertheless it wasn’t the dimensions of the deer he harvested simply days earlier than the top of the 2022 season; The story behind the hunt is the story of fulfilling an settlement between associates made a long time in the past.

It has been a tricky 12 months for well being for Dave, 81, who broke his hip in mid-August simply weeks earlier than South Carolina’s lengthy elk season opened. He later suffered a fall at dwelling, which brought on a muscle to rupture in his shinbone.

Dave was within the hospital or rehab heart just a few weeks in the past, and he would in all probability have missed the complete deer searching season if it weren’t for his buddy Steve Leasure.

Steve and Dave’s son, Chuck, have been good associates rising up on James Island, and whereas Chuck was in medical faculty and later doing his residency, Dave took Steve underneath his wing.

“He would at all times take me to Allendale to hunt. He would purchase me dinner. I used to be like his adopted son. My dad wasn’t a lot of a hunter, and Dave got here ahead right here and obtained me concerned in all this outdoor,” stated Steve.

“A few years in the past I requested him, ‘How can I repay my debt to you?’ “

When Dave is allowed to return dwelling from rehab, Steve hatches a plan to take Dave out on the hunt.

Steve has a buddy who owns property close to Walterboro. He enlists his eldest daughter, Lauren Bartleson, to assist take Dave to the ground-blind searching grounds. They’d assist Dave get out of the truck into his wheelchair and get him into the blind space and hope the deer would present up.

An extended-than-expected telephone name that Dave had with a healthcare supplier that day almost ruined his plans. However when the search was over, Steve and Lauren picked up Dave round 3:30 pm and set off for his or her searching grounds.

“We obtained there at 1 / 4 to five, so we had lower than an hour of searching left. We obtained him in a wheelchair and actually pushed him 3 toes. We lifted the bottom curtain, introduced him in, after which reset the curtain. Lauren All these deer have been out simply earlier than it obtained darkish. began courting,” stated Steve.

Dave held the gun as much as a taking pictures rod and Steve wrapped his arm round Dave to assist stabilize it, by no means touching the gun. Wanting by means of the binoculars, Dave selected one of many bigger ones and pulled the set off, knocking the deer down.

Steve stated he let Chuck know they have been doing their job. Chuck gave Steve credit score, however Steve replied: “No. your father did it.”

They loaded the deer behind Steve’s truck and took it to Cordray’s in Ravenel for processing, a spot Dave has visited many instances over time.

“They have been all excited to see him. We took an image of him with the deer and took him to a spot the place he might inform them what items of meat he needed,” Steve stated. “It was fascinating to see that once more. And it was emotional for me. He was my searching mentor years in the past and I used to be in a position to beat him. He was method off the charts.”

“We’ve to do one thing we talked about 35 years in the past and it has been profitable.”