I eat the meat, and have the skull from the biggest one I caught. I sell the skins normally to people that tan them for purses and wallets or whatever. The price of the hides have gone down dramatically from the first year I hunted, but if i get a couple over 8 feet, it pays for the tags and the trip. Mostly, its exciting, and I do things that excite me, not as much as I did when I was younger, but I still like an adrenaline rush. My KMF600 is from when I road raced motorcycles, it was the most fun I've ever had. 170 mph at Daytona was like nothing I've done before, and the sound of me dragging a knee doing 100 at nascar turn 3 at Homestead speedway still gives me goosebumps.
I know. He has plenty and just wants to have them in case he feels like filling out the tags. It's crazy to me.
Its nothing like on TV. We can't shoot them with a rifle. We have to snag them with a treble hook and reel them in like a fish. When we get it up to the boat, we shoot it with a spear that has a .357 magnum bullet in the tip. That doesn't normally kill them either. We have to severe the spine just behind the skull with a chisel and they still move around a lot. I've had them move their legs after 12 hours on ice while I'm skinning them. Tough bastards
I watched an old man take a part a snapping turtle. About 5 hours after he had cut its heart out, the legs were still twitching. I really didn't want to eat it after that, either.
Are any of you familiar with a Hatfield shotgun? Before the word "cheap" appears, let me explain what the use will be for. I have a Remington 1100 as well as a nice over/under, but I want a single shot to keep at a island home in the gulf surrounded by salt water for shooting clays off the deck. Salt water, salt air, and moisture mean inexpensive to me. What say you.