A very old critter was no match for me,,,,

[6GUNSONLY]

Ty, I got bit by one when I was about 15 years old. I'd been shooting frogs in a pond with my Marlin .22 and that old snapper claimed one of my frogs before I got to him. I saw my frog, not the turtle, and when I reached in to get my frog that snapper clamped down on my little finger. I jerked him plumb out of the water and he turned loose. I went on to another pond, nursing a cut and sore finger. When I came back, Mr. Snapper was lying on the bank in the sun. His last mistake - I emptied the Marlin into his contrary carcass.

 

[nekvermont]

I move several every spring during egg laying season, always by the tail. I've read you can safely pick them up by the shell , front and back but I'd never try it. When I was a kid my great uncle used to trap them in the CT river. It was not unusual to have one nearly 3 feet front shell to rear shell. I saw one at the Bronx zoo even bigger

Years ago I talked to a couple of divers that said they would never dive in the CT river again after seeing the size of the turtles there. One day when I was fishing the CT river a turtle head came up out of the water right in front of me that was easily the size of a large grapefruit.

 

[toysoldier]

We lived on a 50 acre lake, with plenty of turtles. A guy who lived below the dam had a drive that paralleled the spillway. Driving home one day, there was a big snapper in the drive. He ran over it with his VW, backed over it, and ran over it again. No damage, so he shot it.

 

[casper33]

This is like the biggest turtle I've ever seen. Dang, that thing is so huuuge. And it looks pretty old too, as you said, haha!
May I ask where does this thing live?

 

[contender]

Well, he DID live in a pond,,, that is part of a summer camp,,, in Western NC.

 

[hdxr750]

I have lived in West Virginia all my life. All the posts that I've read are what I think are True. From the telling of their strength, to size, 64 years of playing around in Creeks, Farm ponds, Lakes to the Ohio River. They are True.

 

[graygun]

I had one bite the end off a stick.