Prairie Dogs

[Maverick]

I am planning my first Prairie Dog hunt this sping and was wondering if anyone knows of some areas in South Dakota to go. Or any info on places that could help me find areas. Also any pointers on the actual hunt itself would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mav

[Stratosman]

Mav,

I have been out to S. Dakota 3 times shootin Pdogs, it's a blast. Twice in Murdo, we would also drive south into Valentine Nebraska and hunt the Indian Reservations, then they started making non-tribal members hire a guide for like $200 per day or something like that , it was cheap before that, only needed a license from the Reservation and you were good to go, I guess they saw the dollar signs like everyone else.

We decided to try up by Mobridge and we found good numbers of dogs, knocked on some doors and got some permission, asked around alot and had to pay a couple farmers some $ but it was much cheaper than Valentine.

Tips: Steady rests are a must, shooting tables are very nice. A spotting scope if you have one or just your rifle scope will work also. Since you are often shooting at targets up to 400 yards it is helpful, and fun, to have two guys zero in on one dog, therefore, when the first guy misses, the second guy can see where he hit and coordinate it back to the first guy, eventually, the dog is dead. They usually just stand there not knowing what the heck is going on. We have gone in August, but June can be good when the pups are still young and dumb, but heavy rain can screw up the field roads and make it difficult, so a 4x4 is nice. Other than that, I guess just make sure you bring alot of ammo and good hearing protection.

[MasterGophHunter]

I have wanted to go dog hunting out there in SD. What kind of gun do you use? How much does a license cost? Is there any public land that has some dogs hideing in there?

-MGH-

[lawdog]

We used to go every year for many years but haven't been out there for several years now. We shot .223's and 22-250's primarily but also did some short range shooting with the .22's and when you are close they don't scare the dogs like the big boomers do.

Public ground the dogs mid way through the summer will disappear as soon as the first shot is fired if not the minute you drive up. Private ground is the way to go if you can get on. Its nothing to shoot 150-200 shells a day out there.

The place we went was down south of Chamberlin on the Missouri but that area had a guy come through and do lots of poisoning to kill the dogs and we lost our honey hole due to the dogs being killed off that way. Most of the ranchers love to have them shot off, they are no good to a cattleman, eating all his grass and often bringing diseases.

Licenses were never very expensive, but I think they've gone up since we've been there...

[Maverick]

Thanks for the info guys. I found an old outdoor news article I was looking for about prairie dogs and it listed a bunch of numbers to call for info on towns. I heard that the 2 man system worked the best and I think that's what we will be doing. I am going to bring a couple different rifles with me, a .22 mag and .243. I thought about bringing the 30-06 for really long shots if I could find a small enough grained bullet for it (Any Ideas)?

[zumbroric]

I remember seeing in one of our old reloading manuals a saboted 30 cal. I think the bullet was 22cal, but I don't think it is made anymore? The 243 with a maxxed out 70 grain ballistic tip should work good for 500 yd plus. Wind drift will likly be the biggest problem anyway. Don,t bench shooters use 6mm which is the same dia. as 243 to help handle windage at long range. I think scope quality and at least 18x magnification are more important than what your shooting long range. cool the barrel or the heat mirage will distort the image.

[Maverick]

I found some 120 grain factory loads for the 06, but would still like to find something smaller. I would just like try the 06 to see how far I can hit something the size of a football with it. Might boost some confidence for deer season. Any more help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mav

[zumbroric]

I guess I can't condone using live animals even varmints for target practice. Anytime a living creature is involved the first intent should be to dispatch it quickly and cleanly. I found some information on the Remington accellerator which had a 55gr. psp bullet, but can't find any evidence it is still available. If you are determined to loping 30 cal. mortars at distant prarie dog towns, I think your best choice would be the Rem. managed recoil 120gr. psp. This will reduce energy to 1964 ft. lbs. making it kick more like your 243. Be careful that what you are shoooting at is really a praire dog, and not a protected animal like ground owls or you could find yourself in trouble!

[EXTREME]

The problem with shooting larger caliber rifles is that they kick too much. Even shooting 22-250's will make your shoulder sore after 500 rounds in 2 days. It's been a long time since I have went to SD, but it sure was fun. Don't worry about having problems killing the critters without suffering....any .22 caliber high velocity round creates a red mist where there once stood a prairie dog. Awesome fun and excellent target practice. Let us know how you did!

[Maverick]

I might not shoot the 06 as much because of the recoil, I did find some 55 grain sabboted rounds but I don't know how acurate they could be since the bullet itself is not touching barrel and there is a hunk of plastic hanging off of it. We will start close with the 22 mags and then work our way into the 243 range. From what I have learned is that a 22 mag will go about 150 yards and then it's time to move up to something bigger.

My 243 is new and I have yet to break in the barrel so I'm hoping that the recoil is not to bad since I will be putting a lot of rounds through it. I need to have at least 100 rounds through it before I go, so I should have a good idea if I need to make any changes to it.