South Dakota Prairie dogs

My younger son and I spent last Friday and Saturday in western SD, shootin' varnints. Neither of us had ever done it before, so it was a learning experience for us.

One of the ranchers I talked to a few weeks ago said we should call him when we arrived in town (Faith, SD) but was nowhere to be found when we got there. As luck would have it, we were at his neighbor's ranch and he gave directions to get there. He still wasn't there, but another neighbor was, and he suggested yet another ranch. We went, we saw, we shot some 'dogs.

Matt and I both used .223s which, though adequate, aren't as well-suited as say, a .22-250. Both our rifles (my heavy-barrelled AR-15 and his Tikka) have fast twist - 9 and 8 inches per turn. We used relatively heavy bullets - 55 to 75 grains - so they're quite slow. They still kill the little rats, but lots of them lived long enough to flop and crawl down the hole. A couple that Matt hit at 245 yards were pretty well ripped up, though. These were with the 55-grain ballistic tip or the 60-grain sof point.

All in all we had a great father/son outing. Only problem is that it costs more than elk hunting in Colorado! Of course, we never shot at 600 elk, either. Our nearest shots were at 30 yards; the longest confirmed kill was 315. At one point, I was holding a foot to the upwind side to connect; major wind on Saturday.

Lessons learned: Wear a long-sleeved shirt (elbows get rubbed raw); bring elbow pads (same reason); put on wide-brim hat sooner (I'm still peeling); make arrangements with a couple 'extra' ranchers in case you can't find all of them; get a better (higher magnification) scope; buy a new trigger for the AR - as a 'battle rifle' it's fine but, as a precision shooter, it ain't.

Jon B.

Friend of mine does a lot of prarie dog shooting. His wafe was spotting and he was shooting over the hood of his truck looking through the scope. He shot and she laughed cause she didn't even see the shot. A while later they found the shot had gone through the front fender of the truck.

Yeah, but I still prefer fishin' - Fishin' Ain't so Bad

I was tryin' to find the website for Colorado's first annual prairie dog fishing tournament, but found this instead - it'll do.

Or how about this - Prairie Dog Hunt Pro 97

prarie dogs

Hunting prarie dogs is still free in N.E. Montana. Bring your camper. We have lots of dog towns. No one charges to shoot in this area. They will appreciate you coming.

south dakota prairie dogs

i used to shoot alot of prairie dogs we would have one guy drive the truck and 2 of us stand on the open tail gate with sand bags on the topper only shot the radio antennae off once that i recall hehehe we used several differant guns obviously the 22 250 would reach them farther than the 222 and 223 the best was the 223 in my opinion because it reached a little farther than the 222 but the 22 250 would scare them all down the hole! you could shoot all day with the 223 and 222 but just a little while with the 22 250 used the 243 a little but nah that aint neccessary and scares them away to soon
took my rem 700 -222 and had a heavy douglass barrel put on it and made it a 223 and it was very good gun for dogs it shot very well 223 shot a little better in the wind than when it was a 222

Huh?

you guy's need to check out this web site. www.dogbegone.com

Caution: bunny huggers/prarie rat lovers beware!

My brother and I used to take the 6mm out and do that for fun back in colorado. Loads of fun.... When that got boring we would go walk the fields for Jack Rabbits, That would get the 12 Gauges warmed up for Pheasant season.

Scott

I was introduced to dog hunting a couple years ago. Amazing how many of those critters there are. Also amazing is the damage they do in a crop circle. Most amazing is the $ damage to the irrigation equipment when a wheel drops into a den.
I had the fortune of winning a rifle of my choice at the local RMEF banquet this year so spent a little time checking ballistics on the various varmint rifles. The .204 Ruger won me over. Fastest production bullet ever produced. 32 grains out the barrel at 4225 fps. A really great gun with a 6.5x20 scope. The bullet will not penetrate a gallon milk jug full of water at 100 yards. Just a huge cloud of steam and a flat piece of plastic are left. With the 40 grain there are a few shrapnel holes in the back side of the jug but not a mark with the 32 grain.
85Mike

Rosebud Reservation in SD has excellent dog shootin'.........$100 a day .... you get a guide......and you better bring an extra barrel :lol:

Only hunting I do anymore is coyotes and prarie dogs. Remington 700 BDL Varmit with IMR4320, Hornady 53 gr hp match bullets, B&L 6X24 scope. Back up is Remington 25-06.

.25-'06?

Ouch! Even the .243 after a few hundred rounds is gonna leave a mark. The expense is also painful. Granted, with those calibers, the Dillon press would get a workout but still...

Some guys go so far as to use a .270 for the long shots. I like the look of the .204 Ruger. I read an article where the shooter had a sub-3" group at 600 yards. Now *thats* a shooter!

Jon B.

My favorite rifle is the 300 Win Mag using a 220 gr match point. The rifle has a Lijia barrel and super six stock with a Jewel trigger and a doubled 6.5X20 Lepould scope. I use a accurite shooting bench and a Budwiser umbrella. I smoke Cubans and sip scotch. Beats the Hell out of elk hunting.

Jerry Gaston wrote.....

My favorite rifle is the 300 Win Mag using a 220 gr match point.

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I have a .300 win mag and sighted it in with 220 grain bullets for elk hunting.
It took 3 guys to get it zeroed....after about 3-4 rounds everybody was sore and flinching...
Thank goodness it has stayed zeroed in....(Redfield mounts)
Use pretty much 160-180 grain for hunting everything, jacks, coyotes and deer.
Randy

Jerry Gaston said:

My favorite rifle is the 300 Win Mag using a 220 gr match point. The rifle has a Lijia barrel and super six stock with a Jewel trigger and a doubled 6.5X20 Lepould scope. I use a accurite shooting bench and a Budwiser umbrella. I smoke Cubans and sip scotch. Beats the Hell out of elk hunting.

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You guys must be tough in that part of the state. About 10 prairie dogs and I would be done for the day with that type firepower. Maybe that'd be a good excuse to head to the beer cooler.

Must of been what he ate?

Randy and S2D When we go into the field to shoot prairie dogs we plan on shooting at least 200-300 rounds per day. This takes an especially strong shoulder or if you notice I use a shooting bench with a magnum tamer device so I never feel the recoil. The bench is made in Livingston MT and is called an Accurite Shooting Bench. We think were tough here in Montana but really we are a bunch of wooses.(ah...make that smart wooses) :lol:

85Mike said:

I was introduced to dog hunting a couple years ago. 85Mike

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Not to nitpick too much, but it's called prairie dog SHOOTING...... it's not hunting..!!


I've been doing this for 50 years.... starting as a kid shooting gophers in western MN, then expanding to the real varmints in the western plains. Many a day with 300-600 rounds fired.

Developed two wildcat cartridges that work exceptionally well. Use single shot rifles built off Nesika Bay & Miller actions. A "head" shot at 200+ yards is much more fun than a deer or antelope at 400+ yards anyday.

Maybe I should retire...... reading this thread reminds me how much I miss shootin' those little critters.

I belong to a shooting range / hunting club near my house whose sworn goal is to help the landowners of Colorado rid themselves of their prairie devils (before the developers surround them with houses!). The club is called the Wildlife Hunters Association of Colorado -- or WHAC for short -- after the sound the a prairie devil makes when it meets its end. Great bunch of guys -- mostly displaced old ranchers and benchrest artists.

http://www.wildlifehunters.com

22-250 for flips, 17HMR for stealth, big guns (6mm Rem ,7mm Rem Mag, 300 WinMag) for practice.

525 yards.
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525 yards? Hah! You're only about 5 *feet* from that poor dead rat. The muzzle blast probably killed it.

Jon B.

I've always preferred a 25-06 for critters of this sort. My brother built one that's a laser beam. 700 action on a Brown Precision stock, Leupold VX - III 4.5 - 14 X 50, Harris bipod...head shots at 500+ yards, sweet.