Hunting Snapping Turtles in Boston (Frog Pond)?????

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There is no license required for hunting Snapping Turtles.

You can carry a gun while you're hunting, but must unload it to cross streets, and cannot fire within 500 feet of a dwelling and certain distance from paved roads.

But you CAN carry the rifle you are hunting with.

There is NO CLOSED SEASON for snapping turtles.

I hear the MUDDY RIVER in Boston is LOADED with Snapping Turtles.

I think it would be fun if a few of us gathered near the banks of the Muddy River (or for that matter the Charles River) and we all have a humongous Snapping Turtle hunt.

You don't need a permit if everyone just sort of shows up on their own. Coincidence!!!

I hope no one gets bitten.

because, IT MIGHT EFFECT OUR HEALTH CARE!
 
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My sister's home is adjacent to some swampy wetlands. Every year her yard is dug up by snapping turtles who lay their eggs there.

They are relentless. She's built a fence to try and save her lawn but they get in anyway.

And some are quite big. We don't see them from one end of the year to the other, only during egg laying season.
 
My sister's home is adjacent to some swampy wetlands. Every year her yard is dug up by snapping turtles who lay their eggs there.

They are relentless. She's built a fence to try and save her lawn but they get in anyway.

And some are quite big. We don't see them from one end of the year to the other, only during egg laying season.

Turtles climb
Turtle-climbs-fence.jpg
 
Turtles climb
Turtle-climbs-fence.jpg

I was going to say the same thing.

I have a friend who has them laying eggs in his leach field. He is quite a ways from water too. I took one once and drove about 5 miles away to a pond and I'll be damned if he wasn't back there the next morning. He had some telltale scarring on his back from what looked like a propeller so I relocated him about 30 miles away. we never saw it again.

I used to hunt them when I was a kid except I just grabbed them. I'd walk around by an old dam and when they opened it the grass would lay flat and you could see open circles where they would bury them selves and just poke their heads up for air. I'd lever them out with sticks just for the fun of it.
 
I found one in my driveway when it was about the size of a 1/2 dollar or quarter... put him in an old fish tank. 3 yrs later and the dang thing is about the size of my hand and will snap at your finger if you put your finger against the glass. I don't dare put my hand in there.
 
Why would you want to hunt them? I just don't understand the desire by some people here to kill any and all animals they see. I've picked up one or two trying to cross the road, and walked them over. They hiss at me and aren't too happy about it, but at least they get to live another day.
 
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I stop all the time to move them along. For large snappers I use the hooks on a tie down strap out of the back of my truck. One hook under the top shell at the rear and the other near the head and lift. Sometimes you have to reset the hooks for balance.

Showed one of the cops in town that trick as they get calls all the time for them.
 
Why would you want to hunt them? I just don't understand the desire by some people here to kill any and all animals they see. I've picked up one or two trying to cross the road, and walked them over. They hiss at me and aren't too happy about it, but at least they get to live another day.
They are good eating . Every year my club has a game dinner and people stand in line waiting for the Turtle Stew. Only real problem is they can be a bitch to clean but if you use tin snips its not so bad.
 
There is no license required for hunting Snapping Turtles.

You can carry a gun while you're hunting, but must unload it to cross streets, and cannot fire within 500 feet of a dwelling and certain distance from paved roads.

But you CAN carry the rifle you are hunting with.

There is NO CLOSED SEASON for snapping turtles.

I hear the MUDDY RIVER in Boston is LOADED with Snapping Turtles.

I think it would be fun if a few of us gathered near the banks of the Muddy River (or for that matter the Charles River) and we all have a humongous Snapping Turtle hunt.

You don't need a permit if everyone just sort of shows up on their own. Coincidence!!!

I hope no one gets bitten.

because, IT MIGHT EFFECT OUR HEALTH CARE!
I rescued a female snapper last week. She was huge, most likely filled with eggs, and she was trying to cross Route 28 on a Sunday morning. I stopped my truck, put my coffee down and picked her up by the back of the shell. She was not aggressive at all. I carried her across the highway to the other side and laid her down next to the Ipswich River. She looked back at me, almost as if to say "thanks". Any time that you can help a turtle safely cross the road, you are doing a lot of good for our environment.
 
I was going to say the same thing.

I have a friend who has them laying eggs in his leach field. He is quite a ways from water too. I took one once and drove about 5 miles away to a pond and I'll be damned if he wasn't back there the next morning. He had some telltale scarring on his back from what looked like a propeller so I relocated him about 30 miles away. we never saw it again.

I used to hunt them when I was a kid except I just grabbed them. I'd walk around by an old dam and when they opened it the grass would lay flat and you could see open circles where they would bury them selves and just poke their heads up for air. I'd lever them out with sticks just for the fun of it.

and then what?
 
You guys stopping for turtles and helping them across the street are dying to end up the Darwin thread... [laugh]
 
I own one, got it when it was quarter sized, now he's a lot bigger. Loves to be fed anything and everything. He's cool so long as you dont take him out of the tank( gets extra pissy) I love my grumpy turtle. Hey you hunt them, that's fine. Eat what you kill, and only kill what you need.
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My walk to work everyday crosses a small stream, and living there is the biggest damn Snapper I ever saw.

Her head is bigger than my fist, and the shell is almost 24 inches long. She could probably tip a small car over if it ran over her.

I call her Turtle Zilla.
 
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