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The fine art of hunting the Common Snapping Turtle as passed on from my Dad and my personal hunting experiences.
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My dad taught me the fine art of Turtle Hunting; I'm referring to the common "Snapping Turtle". This prehistoric steadfast has an extremely bad temper and if given the opportunity can sever a finger or inflict a horribly bad wound with his vicious bite.If given the opportunity is very relative because your mere presence in his territory is his opportunity.
You can find "Ole Moss Back" in just about any State in the United States, and residing in any place that has year-round water such as a pond, Tank, River, or Creek. Most of my hunting experiences have taken place in various Creeks.
The "Snapper" or common Snapping Turtle can reach weights up to forty (40) pounds, his head and neck can measure approximately two and a half (2½) inches around. He's all muscle and has a hard shell with round scallops on the shell edge directly behind his head, and has distinctive sharp serrated points on the shell edge at the base of his shell and where the tail begins. He has dinosaur scallops that protrude upward on the top of the tail and travel the length to its ending tip. His breastplate is a yellow colored smooth plate with indentations that run horizontally and allows for flexibility. He is omnivorous but prefers meat and mainly feeds on such delicacies as Crayfish, Minnows, Adult Fish, various water insects and, has also been known to take a Duck or two. Yes, you read correctly, this "little Pretty" will swim quietly underneath the unsuspecting fowl and grab it by the feet pulling it under, for its dinner.
You can find "Ole Moss Back" in just about any State in the United States, and residing in any place that has year-round water such as a pond, Tank, River, or Creek. Most of my hunting experiences have taken place in various Creeks.
The "Snapper" or common Snapping Turtle can reach weights up to forty (40) pounds, his head and neck can measure approximately two and a half (2½) inches around. He's all muscle and has a hard shell with round scallops on the shell edge directly behind his head, and has distinctive sharp serrated points on the shell edge at the base of his shell and where the tail begins. He has dinosaur scallops that protrude upward on the top of the tail and travel the length to its ending tip. His breastplate is a yellow colored smooth plate with indentations that run horizontally and allows for flexibility. He is omnivorous but prefers meat and mainly feeds on such delicacies as Crayfish, Minnows, Adult Fish, various water insects and, has also been known to take a Duck or two. Yes, you read correctly, this "little Pretty" will swim quietly underneath the unsuspecting fowl and grab it by the feet pulling it under, for its dinner.
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Thank you and May God Bless"
"No boys, or women, should attempt this process."??
That's extremely offensive and there's no reason for that line to be in your instructable. Actually, there's a lot of lines that shouldn't be in your instructable. It sounds more like you're trying to be dramatic than actually teach something.
Next time, do try to be less wordy and rude.
Your ID more or less says it all except, I might suggest you lighten up a bit and be a little more tolerant, and less sensitive. It does not become you. Rudeness is obviously in the eye of the reader here and the wisdom of youth and inexperience prevails. You might try reading subject matter more appropriate to your interests and knowledge level, it should prove somewhat less stressful to you.
Thank you for your comments, it is pleasing to me to see that my Instructable has accomplished it's intended goals.
My ID suggests nothing, as you have no idea what it means, so I'd suggest you leave what you don't know out.
I will not be more tolerant of sexism, whether it is meant to be a joke or not. It is NOT a laughing matter. I also refuse to be more tolerant of ageism, which you are also guilty of, not only in your instructable, but in your reply.
My view of rudeness has nothing to do with my age or "inexperience" since you know NOTHING of my life OR me, therefore have no idea WHAT I have experienced. Nor do you know what "becomes me" because again, you have no idea who I am.
I did not personally attack you, and therefore, there was no reason to attempt to personally attack me. This is also rude. It seems as though someone needs a little lesson in manners and how to treat others. I assume that because you were in the military and are from Texas, you're probably Christian, and therefore have at least HEARD of the concept of "treat others as you would like to be treated". Maybe you need to brush up on your morals as well.
Finally, you have no idea what my interest or knowledge base consists of, as I did not even bring up the subject matter of your instructable, so much as your lack of manners.
My Instructable was meant to be wordy, dramatic, humorous, as well as teach as I stated before.
I do however thank you for reading it, and regardless of your comments, it apparently caught your attention as all good Instructables are intended to do. Therefore, I believe it was quite successful in accomplishing my goal of writing a teaching instrument, as well as entertaining the reader.
Thank you for your input.
ldchev
No boys, or women, should attempt this process.( I'm sure there are some boys and women out there who could accomplish this task, but for the most part it shouldn't be attempted by either) While I don't want to offend anyone's sensibilities I'll just say here, that the "Snapper" is a very strong and durable beast. It takes a lot of strength to skin a turtle, so someone must hold the shell while the other party does the deed. Any further description here would be overkill."
Kingbirdy23 and tweetspie, I have some difficulty understanding why you two want to take issue here, but it is obvious to me your reading comprehension is somewhat lacking. Did you not see and read the words in parenthesis?
The sentence following states:"While I don't want to offend anyone's sensibilities here"....
Apparently your pettiness and focus on trying to pontificate has clouded your good judgment and any semblance of manners on your part seems to have escaped you. Civil and Constructive Criticism is most welcome here but this is obviously not your aim.
Have a good day and thank you for your comments even though they are ill intended
Just because you add in parenthesis and some women and children might be able to do it and then afterward say that you don't want to offend anyone, doesn't mean you don't offend anyone. There was no need to even include any of it, and it speaks volumes that you continue to argue that it's just fine just because you wrote that you don't want to offend anyone.
It's a classic case of CYA.
his point & mine, is that you are making a mountain out of a mole hill....over reacting to something that should be left alone....can we get on with the instructable now??PLEASE??
My father and uncles found that nailing the top of the shell to a tree eliminates the need for a 2nd or even 3rd assistant in preparing the beast for the pan. A pair of strong snips aid in the removal of the bottom shell, snipping joints, and detaching stubborn sinew from the shell.
I will be dredging the turtle in egg and bisquick, and frying it in butter and garlic until brown, then making a gravy from the drippings and some fresh mushrooms. Toss it all into the crock pot to simmer all day, until the meat is falling from the bones.
I would love comments of recipes from others for next time!
How did it turn out??
Enjoy!!!
Thank you for your nice comments Ge. Enjoy your catch and Bon Appetit'.
Great Post on Feasting Turtle!
Never forget what YOUR people had to eat to get YOU this far?!
You are correct, History is our Teacher/Mentor and points the way to our future. By applying Teachings and learning lessons from the past we can have more enjoyable and fulfilling Life experiences.
Sorry, I am not very knowledgeable in the food preparation department. I would assume that you might be able to find some information here on the Internet. I wish you luck.
It sounds like your young daughter is very resourceful and self sufficient. You also sound like a proud parent. I wish you both the very best and "Bon Appetite'.
I did not take the "no women or children" comment personally. I viewed it as an indication that one must steel oneself for this task. If you've ever been close to a large-ish snapper, you'll know why.
Here's my question. Suppose one doesn't want to feel around in the mud trying to ascertain which end of a midieval weapon-like reptile with a 1000 psi bite is the business end. Anyone have luck live-trapping these things? If so, could you share your trap plans?
Yes, there are those that do trap Snapping Turtle. Personally, I have no direct knowledge of the method or devices used, but I would guess that you could put the inquiry on the internet and retrieve some interesting information.
I would like to share with you- and you can pass this on to your daughter- an interesting thing that happened to me this January. I was contacted by one Thomas Jaeger about this instructable. Mr Jaeger was, and may still be, producing a show on Food Network about people that put themselves at risk looking for food. He works with Intuitive Entertainment of L.A.
I explained to him that I no longer am active in the pursuit of Hunting Turtle, and he asked if I knew of anyone that was. I didn't, but told him there were surely many that still are active in this endeavor. I missed my chance at fame, hahahaha, but was honored that he took the time to make contact with me. Mr Jaeger is on facebook and maybe your daughter could make contact if she is interested in sharing her experiences in Turtle Hunting with him.
Again thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my instructable.
I'll look him up! I'm sure my daughter will find what he has to say interesting, as will I. At 11 years old, that child is driven to provide for our family. For Mother's Day this year, she wrote me some poems, drew me some pictures, and gave me a coupon for "One free bowl of snapping turtle soup."
I found a live trap at http://www.grit.com/Wildlife/Turtle-Traps-Build-Your-Own.aspx. She and I built it this afternoon, and we'll put it in the lake tomorrow. I don't care what anyone says -- snapping turtles are not welcome in the lake where my children swim. I'm not about to relocate them, and I better not catch anyone relocating theirs to my place. Eating them is a good use of a natural resource.
Thanks for taking the time to post your story, and for the information on Mr. Jaeger.
Best,
Darla