Prairie dog hunting
- Thread starter Formermonroehand
- Start date
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We just invested in 2500 rounds of Hornady V-max 55 grain in .223 and .22-250. Should be fast enough 
And I am gonna have my trusty .17 HMR for the ones up close and the Kimber 1911 with .22 conversion for the ones that try to storm the bench!
And I am gonna have my trusty .17 HMR for the ones up close and the Kimber 1911 with .22 conversion for the ones that try to storm the bench!
wow you should check out this web sight if u want some tips on prairie dog hunting from the looks of it looks like they know wut they are doing and at the same time they seem a little masticistic. they pull it off with .50 calls drop dead funny stuff.Anybody here ever been? We are going for the first time in June to South Dakota. Any tips? Tactics? Stories? Valuable insight? We could possibly have room for a 4th person if anybody is interested?
www.dogbegone.com
Hi,
Get big optics - the animals are smaller than they look on the cover of magazines! Hunt early before the mirage comes up.
Get heavy guns - dual purpose doesn't work that well. The whole point is to see the hit or miss. If you don't, it isn't that much fun because you didn't see the little guy hit, or you can't adjust fire to hit with the second shot.
Bring water to cool down the barrel.
Have a steady/sturdy bench and rest - bags or whatever.
Bring a .22 or .17 for walking around.
This is all from hunting Amarillo, TX that has some brush and a lot of animals. It may be slower and longer range in SD.
Von Odenwald
Get big optics - the animals are smaller than they look on the cover of magazines! Hunt early before the mirage comes up.
Get heavy guns - dual purpose doesn't work that well. The whole point is to see the hit or miss. If you don't, it isn't that much fun because you didn't see the little guy hit, or you can't adjust fire to hit with the second shot.
Bring water to cool down the barrel.
Have a steady/sturdy bench and rest - bags or whatever.
Bring a .22 or .17 for walking around.
This is all from hunting Amarillo, TX that has some brush and a lot of animals. It may be slower and longer range in SD.
Von Odenwald
wow you should check out this web sight if u want some tips on prairie dog hunting from the looks of it looks like they know wut they are doing and at the same time they seem a little masticistic. they pull it off with .50 calls drop dead funny stuff.
fyi: it's not always a .50 bmg. In fact, the .50 wasn't used until their 2nd video. Mostly smaller caliber, frangible rounds. Check out their FAQ.
I do love that site.
Shoot in pairs. One shoots, the other spots, then switch. That will allow each person's gun to cool. The V-Max bullets are fine. Do not use match bullets, they don't "explode" dependably. Good optics are important. Some of my friends that do it regularly buy a new gun, shoot it then sell it. That way you s start with a fresh barrel each year and don't have to worry about wearing a barrel out. Yes you can wear a .223 and especially a .22-250 completely out in a day or two of prairie dog hunting if you are not careful about letting the barrel cool. Multiple rifles allows you to shoot more while letting a rifle cool. Bring lots of ammo. If you have an AR, build a dedicated flat-top upper with a 24" 1:12" barrel. When you get home sell it. You should be able to recoup most of your money. You could also rebarrel for next year. When you shoot high volume, barrels are completely disposable wear items on a gun. For best accuracy, you are looking at 1500 - 2000 rounds for a .22-250 and 3000 - 4000 rounds for a .223 unless you abuse them by overheating.
Prairie dog hunting is a blast. Shoot low if you want to get spectacular acrobatics out of them (a hit through the guts wil do it).
Have fun.
Dan
Prairie dog hunting is a blast. Shoot low if you want to get spectacular acrobatics out of them (a hit through the guts wil do it).
Have fun.
Dan
Well we leave a week from today on the trip to South Dakota. We added a Kimber .204 to the prairie dog arsenal yesterday. That is one fine weapon. I will be on some range shooting it tomorrow, just don't know which one.
Well the day has come, we are leaving in about 30 min headed to South Dakota with approximately $25,000 worth of guns and ammo to slay the prairie dogs. We have should have all the bases covered with everything from a 17 Mach 2 up to a couple 22-250's, multiple ARs, and a .204 for good measure. I will give a follow up report next weekend. Have a good week and hold the fort down.
Back from South Dakota
Just dropping in to let everyone know that South Dakota has somewhere between 700-1000 less Prairie Dogs. This trip was worth every penny, if you have ever thought of going you should not hesitate. I believe everyone in the group improved on precision rifle shooting. I would have never guessed that a couple of good ole boys from Louisiana would be killing "dogs" at 500 yards on the first day of our first trip ever. Do not get me wrong we missed our fair share but, there is a native American "guide" that said he has never seen a group work on these things the way we did.
Just dropping in to let everyone know that South Dakota has somewhere between 700-1000 less Prairie Dogs. This trip was worth every penny, if you have ever thought of going you should not hesitate. I believe everyone in the group improved on precision rifle shooting. I would have never guessed that a couple of good ole boys from Louisiana would be killing "dogs" at 500 yards on the first day of our first trip ever. Do not get me wrong we missed our fair share but, there is a native American "guide" that said he has never seen a group work on these things the way we did.
Exactly what Webb said.
We had a blast. It was way better than we expected. It is nonstop shooting action in some beautiful country. We are already planning next year's adventure. It was worth every penny, and I would recommend the trip to anyone.
We had a blast. It was way better than we expected. It is nonstop shooting action in some beautiful country. We are already planning next year's adventure. It was worth every penny, and I would recommend the trip to anyone.
And more pics
Another one bites the dust!
Our Sioux Indian guide in the camo shirt.
We didn't cull anything!
Remington 700 SPS in 22-250 w/Leupold 4.5x14x50 LR with Varmint Reticle, Harris Bi-pod
Loaded for bear, but only shooting dogs!
Another one bites the dust!
Our Sioux Indian guide in the camo shirt.
We didn't cull anything!
Remington 700 SPS in 22-250 w/Leupold 4.5x14x50 LR with Varmint Reticle, Harris Bi-pod
Loaded for bear, but only shooting dogs!
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How much $ for ammo u spent?
The 3 of us took 1000-1200 Hornady Vmax each in various calibers. We got them at cost, so we had about $750 each in centerfire ammo. I had another 300 rounds or so in .17 HMR which will surprise the hell out of you on a prairie dog!
I brought home about a 100rds of 22-250 out of 500 taken, and about 80 .223 out of 600 taken. None of us were reloaders before we went, but now at least 2 of us will be before next year. Ammo was a significant cost of the trip, and loading our own will certainly help.
Then entire trip was worth every penny!
A friend of mine called me from Colorado to inform me on how much fun he had today shooting prairie dogs. They had an AR and a 22-250. He said it is just like the groundhog game. You shoot one, and another would pop out a hole. He also said he is part of the "Red Mist Club" Did you join that one too? 
Not sure about the credentials of the Red Mist Club, but I am pretty sure we are all now members. It is ridiculous how dumb these things are. There would be 2 on one dog house and you would blow one to bits, and his little buddy would just stand there waiting on his 55 grain ticket to the prairie dog promise land. If there weren't so damned many of them and they weren't so destructive, it wouldn't be so much fun. Well, yeah it would!
bayoukajun
Old & Cranky
Glad you didn't run into this guy.
Kajun
Kajun
Very cool!. Wish I could do that, sounds like great fun. btw I expected more carnage from a 22-250.
I am not positive which caliber that one was shot with. It all depended on where you hit them and what angle, etc. But believe me, there were plenty of them that just exploded into thin air, flew 10 ft, and all of the other gruesome footage that you see on the online videos. Those V-Max are unbelievable, even in the 17 HMR.
I would love to get with ya'll on one of those nutria shoots. I am a North LA transplant down here and don't have much info on hunting down here just yet.
