snapping turtles

so i forgot to share the magic of snapping turtle hunting with you all! now don't be fooled, snapping turtles are not cute little guys you want to take home and play with. they are huge, mean, prehistoric like creatures whose bite could take off a finger. anyways, a snapping turtle trap consists of a string with a hook and a piece of chicken or other raw meat on the end. when the turtle goes to eat the bait, he swallows the hook with it and you've caught yourself some snapper.

alex's cousins had set several traps all along the creek on their property. friday morning, we took the 4 wheeler out to check the traps and when all was said and done we caught three! we stored them in this huge plastic barrel thing, and then saturday morning, alex played the executioner and shot all three turtles in the head with a .22 pistol (i did not go watch). then, his brother and cousins filleted the turtle meat and used it to make snapper soup (i did not partake).

anyways, here's a picture of alex's cousin jesse wrestling a snapper into a bucket for transport back to camp.