Pairie dogging is SD

[Jackpine Rob]

We've also seen quite a few on the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River reservations, and there's always the Grand River National Grasslands. Lots of public lands.

[fishing4fun]

Has anyone gone out to SD and shot prairie dogs? I'm trying to plan a trip and am just wondering where the best places may be. I know on the Rosebud indian reservation there are a ton. But the fees are alot to hunt there. So if someone has other options that would be great. Thanks
f4f

[hunt4food]

I am headed to the Rosebud Reservation Thursday morning. Planning to shoot a bunch of dogs on Friday and Saturday. We are bringing a mororhome with a trailer of two ATV's. I negotiated the cost with the guide down to $50.00/day/person. He first wanted $100.00/day which was more than I was willing to spend on a dog hunt. Not much guiding necessary, but it's the law on the reservation. I have not done this before, but was told that there are more dogs on the reservation since they never poison them. I will soon see if that holds true and will report back.

[fishing4fun]

hunt4food,
Let me know how your hunt went. That is exactly how we'd go out there. What town did you hunt out of. I was down in Mission a couple weeks ago and noticed all the dog towns. It sure looks like a blast. Also tell us about your guide.
Thanks
f4f

[hunt4food]

Well, it was cloudy and rainy for most of the two days we hunted. We still managed to fire about 700 rounds each. We really had a good time and hopefully next year, the sun will be out and so will more of the dogs. If I was to do it again, I would go a couple of weeks later so more of the pups will be out of their dens. I also heard real good things about Winner. I might try that next year. Our guide was fine and using ATV's was pretty fun. I had visions of larger towns of dogs than what we saw, but we hunted a couple of 40-60 acre fields and if the sun would have shone, that would have been plenty of dogs for us. We got lots of shots within 100 yards, but most were 150-300 yards. It's pretty cool to shoot one out that far. We found it was best to have one person shooting and the other spotting with good binoculars on those long shots. Your spotter can help you correct your next shot if you miss and we missed a lot! I will definitely spend more time at the shooting range before I go next year. We sure made a cool video on the camcorder. I am not sure PETA would be impressed

[Flashman]

I might have to look into going to S.D. I've been going out to Montana and hunting dogs with my uncle for the last 4 years. We do get some close shots, but most are in that 250 to 350 yard range and some out to 600 yards. To date my longest shot is 619 yards, according to the Lica 1200 laser Range finder.

Yes, a spotter is a must when taking those long shots and if you take turns it lets your barrel cool down some. I'm shooting a Ruger 77 Mark II Target in 220 swift. I reload my shells; which I need to do some more of before next weekend.

I'll let you know how we do out there.

Ed