Snapping Turtles

[Cyclic-Rivers]

In NY you may only harvest snapping turtles by bow or gun.  

It doesn't say weather you can move them into an easier position to shoot but I digress,

If I shoot a snapping turtle in the shell, will I get penetration? Would you use regular arrows with broad heads or a bow fishing set up?

I have heard of turtles having great reflexes after their heads have been cut off.  If I shot one in the head would it, or should I say can it just swim off like nothing ever happened?

And, to make this long, is there enough skin to tan on turtles?

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i have shot one with both my hunting bow and 2 blade tipped carbons and i have shot them with my fishing setup.

heres one i shot with my 45# Gamemaster and a 420 gr. carbon with a magnus stinger...passed thru the top and bottom of shell. had to grab the arrow to pull him out of the water and finish him with a head shot. he weighed 15#
 http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg258/bailebr3/00small57981515.jpg

this big guy was shot a month ago. one head shot from my 48# hoyt excel and he didnt move!! he weighed 26#

 http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg258/bailebr3/june2010017.jpg

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btw- i have the shells hanging in my game room. after spraying them with epoxy and glueing any loose pieces together.

[Rogue Hammer]

bmb what an interesting trophy, I bet those look great in the game room.

[bmb]

yeah they look pretty neat. the smaller one is my favorite b/c i was able to stick a broken carbon in the shell, where it entered. i sorta weathered the fletching to make it look old:) turned out good. the only problem with keep a shell is you have to keep a close eye on them. they will fall apart as soon as the meat is gone. so as soon as the meat is gone i wash it and start smearing two part epoxy on the under side to hold everything together.

[IndianaBowman]

Charlie, my son has shot them through the shell with no problem with a bowfishing arrow. If you don't get pass-through you are in for a real treat. Now, if they want to shoot one I make them aim for the head or neck.

Never heard much about turtle skin, but I don't see why not. There is quite a bit of skin on the neck and legs.

[Izzy]

I saw a self bow with a turtle skin grip it was nice.They skinned out the legs. The shells are real cool. I live catch the whenever I can just to gander at em for a bit but I have a hard time  killing them for some reason, just like porcupines and armadillos.My Grandma used to eat turtles any chance she got in Puerto Rico but although Id like to try em, here theres just too many bad things in the mud at the bottom of our waterways. If your gonna shoot one bud Id use a regular fish arrow like Terry said with the point well sharpened.Whatever you do get a vid of it, Ill bet we'll get some entertainment from that.

[RAU]

Ive killed and eaten a few and they are deffinitely a strange, primitive creature! The head and body does keep going after its chopped off. The heart does continue to beat in your hand once removed. The 1st one i ever butchered crawled around my parent's concrete driveway   without its head, covering its neck stump with its front feet, pushing itself along w/ its back feet, spewing blood all over while I scrambled around with the hose praying my mom wouldnt pop out the back door to see what i was up to now. They sure are good to eat tho, and once you've done a few there no big deal to clean. Sorry i got no advice as to archery gear tho.
Don

[Doc Nock]

Charlie,

Maybe you can "live trap" them, as folks I knew down here would do, then keep them in a spring house to clean them out for a week...feed them veggies, no garbage.

Then when they poked em with a stick, they'd snap on it and they'd cut off their head. Might be legal to do that if you cut off their head with a bow/broadhead.

RAU, that is the most bizarre story I've read in a while..grist for a Stephen King movie for sure!  

[Ron+dog]

i love turtle natures mre they give you the soup and the bowl to eat it out of ive never shot em with my bow dont want to poke a hole in my bowl

[ArrowAtomik]

I too have seen a self-bow handle with turtle skin from the neck I believe.  Probably the sharpest looking handle I've seen.  I'd like to get my hands on some turtle hide myself.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thanks guys.

I used to catch them all the time with my hands. The larges t being one that I actually didn't catch, in fact, I couldn't even move him. His shell was about 4 1/2 feet across. I was in the boundary waters. The next largest I tried to catch I also couldn't manage to lift all of him. After a while of being harassed on the rock he was sunning on he finally moseyed into the water.

I have caught plenty in the 10-50 lb range but like I said always with my hands..  I have eaten turtle soup in the past but the thing that rally peaked my interest was a partially inaccurate but very interesting book I read last week.

It was a professional guide hand book from the 1961.  It stated "turtle is one of the most tasty meats you will ever eat.  It tastes just like frog legs and can be used as a pork or lamb substitute in dishes. If you want you can just fry them up as well and it will not be disappointing".  

This book made many bold statements and passed judgment from time to time but I would like to give it a try.  Personally, I would let the large turtles go and try for some in the 20-30 lb range. Then again beggars cant be choosers    :rolleyes:    

Izzy, I need a camera man.  Also I need a shooter as I get camera shy and make stupid misses            
Just saying the invitation is out there that's all.

Thanks again to everyone for the great input. More is welcome. Pics are nice and hope to be posting a thread about how to tan the turtle skin soon as now I am thinking about re-gripping my bow with something a little more reptilian.   :rolleyes:

[broketooth]

here is a neat fact... snapping turtles gain a pound a yr. so for amount they weigh is about how old they are

[Michael Pfander]

Where I come from we make door stops out of them by wiring them up, shooting them full of formaldehide and setting them in the sun to dry.  When finished drying give them a coat of varnish and your done. They beat armadillos hollow when it comes to seriousness of appearance.  If you pose them with their neck extended and their mouth open it really gets peoples attention.

MAP

[Greyfox54]

We used to sound for them with a rod in the marshes and even caught them with a baited hook on a wire leader tied to an old clorox bleach bottle . next day just look for the bottle . Long ago .Never shot one with a bow though .

[vtmtnman]

.22 to the head is the way for me.We usually get em when we are in our Muskrat hunting grounds.Never tried with a bow though.Too much awnery-ness for me to deal with..22 to the head works everytime.  

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Rich,  Do they float after you shoot them?

[Charlie Lamb]

Head shoot em if you can.
   

[vtmtnman]

Not real sure...usually they're up on the bank,a log,or a rat/Beaver lodge.

[adkmountainken]

or go with ya bro and run the camera but can not bring myself to shoot an animal that will out live me. HOWEVER i would love to cook and eat a piece with you.