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Pond Turtles.......got to go!
#6290209
05/07/16 02:40 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169
flintknapper
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169 |
OK, not ‘Varmints’ but definitely ‘pests’! Turtles (red eared sliders) were pretty much taking over one of our small ponds. My older brother and I spent about an hour and a half thinning them out. Took the .17 HMR down there, a pair of binoculars and a few cold drinks. Sort of an East Texas version of prairie dog shooting. By the time we left, we were hard pressed to spot any turtles. We won’t know the count for a day or two….when they come floating up, but it will be close to three dozen. Way…..too many for such a small pond.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6290275
05/07/16 04:07 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29,609
SapperTitan
Taking Requests
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Taking Requests
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29,609 |
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: SapperTitan]
#6290289
05/07/16 04:48 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169
flintknapper
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169 |
Fun to spend time with my brother. Turtle reduction is just a necessary thing from time to time. Nice weather today though, shady spot from which to shoot. No hurry. Shots ranged from 30 to 90 yards, most about 60 yds. The accuracy of the CZ-455 was well appreciated since Turtle heads are not especially large targets. Using 17 gr. CCI 'TNT' ammo...there were NO ricochets off the water. We either hit turtle or hit water, but either way... the fragile bullet would break up immediately upon impact. Shots that missed made a distinct popping sound and produced a large spray of water. Direct hits resulted in a 'crack' like sound and very little if any water spray. There were dozens of turtles swimming around when we first started. At one point I had to let the barrel cool down a bit. Toward the end...we had to scan the pond for minutes at a time to spot even the smallest ones at the far end of the pond. We were able to put a real dent in them. I want a certain amount of turtles in the pond. They provide a good service in moderate numbers, but they were just everywhere. I could not cast a top water bait out into the water without turtles immediately going for it. Probably be O.K. now until late fall, maybe next spring.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6290296
05/07/16 05:49 AM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 28,031
skinnerback
THF Celebrity Chef
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THF Celebrity Chef
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 28,031 |
Turtle shooting is a lot of fun and necessary, and yes the 17 HMR is a tack driver. Will also smack down smaller pigs and yotes too like you hit them in the head with a 4 pound hammer. If you have a chance to shoot the WSM, I'm pretty sure you will go Those fast little bullets turn a brain into jello in a millisecond and are just fun to shoot, and they are cheaper to shoot as well.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6290309
05/07/16 09:29 AM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,038
Western
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,038 |
Used to do that in my ponds each summer. I would pull my 140 hp case on the dam and crawl up in the raised bucket, death from above
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6290575
05/07/16 04:53 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 449
LSCG
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 449 |
sounds like a great time!
hadn't done it in a while but I loved shooting turtles as a kid. really helped me hone my rifle skills.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6292490
05/09/16 06:48 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,449
aggiehunter03
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,449 |
The bench is cheating. We always had to find a stick with a fork on the end for a monopod. Good times.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6292515
05/09/16 07:18 PM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 11,537
rickym
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 11,537 |
I need to do the same, we got about 30 acres of water
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: aggiehunter03]
#6292666
05/09/16 09:33 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169
flintknapper
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169 |
The bench is cheating. We always had to find a stick with a fork on the end for a monopod. Good times. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Roger that. And I could do that 'back in the day', but I am 62 years old now....so a bench, some cool beverages and good optics are pretty much necessities. At least I didn't have to take a nap.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6293328
05/10/16 12:56 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,531
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,531 |
I take my boys out to my uncles ranch and turn them loose with their .22's.....
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6295374
05/11/16 08:17 PM
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 7
LRG
Green Horn
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Green Horn
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 7 |
We used to shoot them, but we are now trapping them. After seeing this, I am going to have to remove the trap so that we can get back to the fun.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6295840
05/12/16 01:30 AM
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 915
rdhibbs
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 915 |
Just call Neil and the Turtle Man, they'll rush right over and get you all fixed up.
Thank You Robert
To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, right or wrong - is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Theodore Roosevelt
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: LRG]
#6296124
05/12/16 12:15 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169
flintknapper
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169 |
We used to shoot them, but we are now trapping them. After seeing this, I am going to have to remove the trap so that we can get back to the fun. I went down to the pond yesterday and there were no fewer than 30 turtles floating. The wind had pushed them against the grass in one area. They were about 10-12' from the bank...or I would have stacked them up for a picture. While I stood there....I saw exactly two turtle heads out in the pond. No doubt there a few more, but we put a serious dent in them. So now...I can go back to fishing top water again without the turtles attacking my lure. We just had WAY too many of them in that small pond.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6298532
05/14/16 05:08 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,531
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,531 |
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6298937
05/15/16 08:57 AM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,075
aerangis
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,075 |
A group of us had a similar experience a few years back on a hunt a couple hours South of Nuevo Laredo. High fenced but the place was loaded, absolutely covered up. The ranch owner and guides said the population had gotten so bad they were a nuisance and a distraction to their guests. They said we could kill as many as we wanted for free and that baiting was legal so a few of the group put out bait to draw them in and went to town. They had a blast, the way those chihuahuas exploded when they were shot, you'd have thought they'd been feeding on tannerite.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: aerangis]
#6299165
05/15/16 05:43 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169
flintknapper
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,169 |
A group of us had a similar experience a few years back on a hunt a couple hours South of Nuevo Laredo. High fenced but the place was loaded, absolutely covered up. The ranch owner and guides said the population had gotten so bad they were a nuisance and a distraction to their guests. They said we could kill as many as we wanted for free and that baiting was legal so a few of the group put out bait to draw them in and went to town. They had a blast, the way those chihuahuas exploded when they were shot, you'd have thought they'd been feeding on tannerite. What in the world are you talking about? This thread is about shooting turtles on a pond?
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6299313
05/15/16 08:10 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,531
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,531 |
A group of us had a similar experience a few years back on a hunt a couple hours South of Nuevo Laredo. High fenced but the place was loaded, absolutely covered up. The ranch owner and guides said the population had gotten so bad they were a nuisance and a distraction to their guests. They said we could kill as many as we wanted for free and that baiting was legal so a few of the group put out bait to draw them in and went to town. They had a blast, the way those chihuahuas exploded when they were shot, you'd have thought they'd been feeding on tannerite. What in the world are you talking about? This thread is about shooting turtles on a pond? Turtles....chihuahuas....same difference.....
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6316755
05/31/16 02:39 AM
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 598
lms
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 598 |
That's good summertime target practice.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6362147
07/08/16 04:29 AM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 318
elephantman
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 318 |
This was one of my favorite pastimes growing up on my grandparents farm! Empty a magazine and then come back later to count/collect bodies.
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6362276
07/08/16 11:06 AM
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 53
974runner
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 53 |
Great choice, the .17 HMR
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6363721
07/09/16 07:44 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657
colt45-90
Texas colt45
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Texas colt45
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657 |
we keep them cleaned out with the 17hmr, now going to try with the17wsm
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
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Re: Pond Turtles.......got to go!
[Re: flintknapper]
#6367317
07/12/16 11:45 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,739
passthru
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,739 |
Always enjoy an afternoon of turtle thinning.
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