Prairie Dogs

[Night Crawler 007]

Hay guys I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice on prairie dog hunting in South Dakota mainly where to go. I was planning on having my bachelors party as a hunting trip in late June. I have never gone prairie dog hunting before and don’t know any one in the area to contact.

Thanks.

[peder]

Call the county ag extension agent for any of the west river counties and they should know some ranchers you could contact.

[reddog]

In my opinion, the best thing you can do do guarantee a successful outing, is to go to a place that will put you on the dogs.

Coming from Wisconsin, the closest reservation to hunt on, would be the Crow, or Lower Brule tribe.

I would highly recommend the Lower Brule wildlife unit. They treat their outdoor recreatonal activities like a business, not a side job like the Crows.

They have a beautiful Game management unit, and take their resources seriously.

There is a casino and a motel at Lower Brule, that is very suficient and safe to stay in.

You will be in some of the wildest looking prairies that South Dakota has to offer.

Heres some pics from the Brule Res.

At the top of this hill, lies prairie dog heaven, if you are a shooter.

I called this coyote off of a prairie dog town off to the right of the picture.

Grass Rope area:

There are tremendous fishing opportunities also.

Walleyes are the bread and butter of Lake Sharpe, but it is a world class Smallmouth lake, that will wear your arms out if you can get any one of the guides to take you.(they dont like them much out there on the prairie), Or, just bring a boat along and go fishing in the evenings. 3 day licenses are available for fishing.

The biggest problem with the reservations, is that they charge a premium for their Prairie dog permits. They have the dogs, and youre looking for them.

$105.00 (for season) on the Brule, for example.

But, you do not need a guide on the Brule, contrary to most of the other reservations.

Along with the license, they wil give you maps to the dog towns you can readily shoot on, and there are lots of them.

If its not on the map, it doesnt mean that you couldnt track down the owner.(they give you their phone number in their synopsis) and ask if you could shoot one or all of his towns. As long as they are not working the prairie, moving cattle, or ranging cattle on it, I would guess that no one would turn you down.

I dont want to preach, but..

While you are there, you need to be very respectful of the land and the people.

There will be a sign, upon entering the reservation to "please help keep our reservation clean" Sometimes, the locals dont take the best care of their property, but that doesnt mean that a guest should treat it any less than you would your own land.

You could stay anywhere from Mitchell, (who will have some things to do for a bachelor party) to Chamberlain, Lower Brule to Ft Pierre, and see some tremendous country and wildlife.

If I was taking my bachelor party to SD for prairie dogs, I would want it to be a slam dunk affair. The only thing that can screw you up is the weather. Theres lots of prairie dogs to be shot.

No Road Hunting Allowed!

If you need more info, just ask.

The number to the wildlife unit, is

605-473-5666

[paul pachowicz]

will every one of you guys come out here and kill every last one of the little ^&*@#$%'s?

[chillincarp870]

hey paul where are you located me and some buddies are looking for a fun shoot after school is out.

[reddog]

Paul, Were heading out mid June to help you out, if you want to post a # to contact you.

Always looking for a new place to shoot.

R