I have been wanting to shoot PD's for some time now and I would appreciate it if any of you could point me in the right direction as I'm not even sure which state has the most bang for the dollar.

We will need a guide with equiptment and lodging as well. We have suitable rifles, but really no other PD gear.

Also, what could we expect?? What is an average day like?

We are from the New York City area so "Out WEST" will definetly be something new for me and my buddies!

Us "City Boys" would appreciate your comments!

Thanks

Frank

Lots of questions....do some more research....contact the BLM in the western states...or State fish & game depts.....subscribe to the Varmint Hunter Assoc...don't plan your trip much before late May....some States have an actual closed season from Apr 15/June 15...Reservation shooting may be an option...don't drive from NYC before doing alot of homework...SD...ND...KS...CO..WY..MT are all good places to plan for...

Frank,

Not blowing you off, Pal but you should do search on this topic here - this similar subject of planning, where to go, what to expect, what to bring, which State, Guides, etc., has been covered here in Spades.

Frank, try to pick up a copy of Varmint Hunter magazine. It is loaded with tips and articles about varmint shooting and will have ads for guides and lodging.

Sounds like you might want to try someplace like Fort Belknap or Rosebud Indian Reservations in South Dakota.

You can expect lots of shooting, to be sure. That actually can be a problem, it is easy to destroy a barrel on one of those shoots. Be sure to take several rifles each so you can rotate them to avoid getting the barrels too hot.

Be sure to take good optics, between looking for varmints to shoot and spotting for each other you will spend lots of time looking through glass.

The first of June is just about the best time. Be sure to take broad brimmed hats and sunscreen, as that sun on the prairie will roast you if you are not used to it.

Our first PD trip was to the Texas Panhandle. Ken and Roseann Mayer
are wonderful people. The lodging is good; the food is "outstanding"
and the shooting for first timers is excellent. Ken or one of his people
will guide you and he provides shooting tables. Ken requires six shooters
for the two day shoot.
Contact Ken Mayer at:
www.aaoutfitter.com
Good LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!
P.S. Tell them that Wm.F. Locke from Florida recommended them!

Thanks fellas, and Jerry you're right, I do have to do my own research.

I am going to look hard into it, and I appreciate reading your comments and tips.

Thanks to everyone!

Frank

Leopardtrack,

you will have a long drive ahead of you but is worth it. I have been shooting PD's for 9 years now and would almost give up african hunting for this type of shooting. I have added a complete arsenal of "self defense" weapons against Priarie Dog attacks. I now take with me 9 rifes and at least 1500 rounds for each. Get a .17 HMR ! you will find shooting this a great challenge and tons of fun.
The Dogs have been hit hard in the Southern parts of South Dakota by the plague. It has really hit the populations hard. Some towns have been completley wiped out. It will take about 3 years to re-populate. I would suggest the Standing Rock Indian reservation or Wyoming.

It is easy to search the web. Google Standing Rock Indian Reservation. When you find the Tribal numbers, call and ask for Pearl. She runs the program and would be happy to direct you to dog towns.

You need a 4 wheel drive truck. Accomodations are limited. Make reservations in advance.
There is an RV park close by that is clean and well operated.

Bring lots of ammo !! hearing protection and watch for snakes !

Will

One more thing.
You will quickly realize that dog towns are like fishing holes. For some reason you don't get a lot of specific information of dog shooters. They all think they have found the secret spot when in reality they are not secret at all. Try talking to the DNR offices too. they will give you a lot of good information.
I like using guides because they can make sure you are hunting in safe areas away from other shooters and cross fire.

There are guys using 50 BMG's on dogs. Look around and make sure you are in a clear area.

Be safe !!

are you flying or driving? staying in a motel or camper? (some ranchers have offered to let us stay at their ranch w/full hookup for a minimal fee because they hate the dogs)

range finders, benches, rests, etc.? realistic ranges that you can shoot? quality of your equipment? (defines the amount of gear you will haul and how mobile you will be in the feild. i've done both fully outfitted with a bench, rangefinder, spotting scope, quality rest, etc. or a shooting blanket, bipod, and case of ammo and water.)

are you willing to pay a trespass fee or will you only shoot on public lands? (trespass fees vary and don't guarntee good shooting. when was the last time someone shot at them? how big of a town? how many different towns? $25 times six guys to shot at one little town that every tom dick and harry has been taking a wack at is pretty frustrating)

four wheel drive, good maps, full tank of gas, and spare tire that is holding air (not tom tom and it's not that you're breaking trail, but the pathes/roads that you will follow might have stream crossings, wet spots, etc. and they are all just two tracks or cow pathes. gazzeteer maps of the state are helpful)

a small caliber (22lr, 17 hmr) is alot of fun if everyone brings one and uses it at first. (the dogs aren't as spooked by the queiter sound and you can get lots of them out to 100-150 yrds. fun and cheap.)

what do you like to do inthe afternoons when it is to hot for the pdogs and the are staying in their holes. (swim, shop, see the sites, etc.)

one more thing. decide on a state. get the regs, call the different departments(fwp dnr state lands etc), ask if the have maps/info. lots of times they do and can send you more info than you know what to do with. sometimes even local contacts who have a problem and want it solved.

Check out www.varminthunter.org

If you are 4x4ing, I'm going to also suggest a Hi-Lift jack (ya, bet you can guess about this lesson learned...). And sunscreen, spotting scope & range finder, couple gallons of water, & sight-in targets. I'll also second the rimfire suggestion, whether 17 or 22. You can get a lot of under 100-150yd shooting in with a quiet rimfire. After the first 22-250 fires, then it's only the longer range pdogs. A .22 pistol is fun too for close ones and with a red dot sight you can reach out a bit farther.
Steyr47

Saturday Jan 30- Went out to a prairie dog town where I have ben shooting for the past ten years. No prairie dogs, since last summer most of the hole mounds were grown over with weeds. I first heard about the plague in the area I live three years ago. I m going to check out four other PD town in Feb where I have ben shooting last year. After talking with an other local PD shooter yesterday afternoon ,I dont expect to see any PDs. I live close to the North Platte river in the panhandle of Nebr. In the past I have had to at most drive about 20 miles to get a bunch of PD shooting.

If you're still looking I have prairie dogs in South Dakota North Dakota and Montana.

Posted 05 June 2009 01:05 Hide Post

To summarize: the prairie dog is the tree squirrel of the grasslands. I believe I have heard that in the Brit Isles the gray squirrel is more common than the red, well, here the prairie dog has no trees so it lives in holes in the ground like rats, mice, rabbits, its cousins, all rodents. No bushy tail. Eats grass. Actually aerates the soil and in a few studies the cattle grazing gain more/grow faster on prairie dog ground... Unfortunately the stockmen are slow to learn and have demanded poisoning to exterminate the furball. Fed biologist told me that 90% of the p'dogs that died in the 20th century died of government spread poison. (Rodent, they breed like "rats and mice.")

TWO BIG WARNINGS: BEWARE!!!: #1). There is "plague" in the furballs. Don't get close or handle pieces. Cousin to bubonic plague. Cureable with antibiotics. Carried by fleas that jump from deceased and cooling bodies to warm bodies. But why bother. Let the scavangers have the pieces. Recycle.
#2)There was a weasel called the Black footed Ferret that was almost extincted by a house cat disease. There are areas that are closed to shooting by Fed regs to support the re introduction of this weasel... Only likes to eat prairie dogs! Make sure you are not shooting there or you might find yourself in striped sunshine... Bad news...

You are looking for "short grass prairie." There are three. Tall grass. Ohio. Indiana. IL. Going west, "mid grass prairie." Iowa. Missouri. Eastern Dakota. Now the exact line moves each year with average rainfall. "Short grass prairie" is the old "cowboy/cattle country" of the westerns (made in California mainly, ha,ha). Texas/Mexico north into Canada. East Slope of the Rocky Mountains. But try to get 1,000 rounds of anything in Mex or Canada or try to bring it in... (ha, ha). Never shot in Oklahoma or Texas but told it is pay to shoot. Land pretty much "spoken for." "Northern Plains" settled much later, much "government land" (no one wants to pay taxes on a mountain top basically or real rough valleys, etc. "The moors" in Sherlock Holmes type fiction.), etc. Eastern Montana. Most of Wyoming. East Colorado. Western Dakotas. West Nebraska. West Kansas. Etc. The old "cattle drive trails" of movies and t.v. (Rawhide, where Clint Eastwood got his start... Lonesome Dove... The movie "Thunderheart" with Val Kilmer was filmed on the Native American Indian Reservations of South Dakota. Plot is a Hollywood hack job of some facts but if you look at the background you will see the land form. Badlands National Park area.)

US government has "grasslands" where the law requires management for multiple uses which includes shooting/hunting for now anyway. SW Kansas, Cimmaron Nat. Grassland, for example... Often one use is renting to pasture users--i.e. "grazing." This area cows mainly. Rarely sheep. Many, many wild dogs, "coyotes," that will kill sheep. SW corner South Dakota (SD) "Buffalo Gap Nat. Grasslands." These are open to anyone for anything legal. Not a good place to be alone with a break down so I cannot recommend you start here. You might find yourself 150 miles from a McDonalds (the hamburger joint, not the Scot family and it members, ha, ha...)

As the government took the last of the land away from control of the last of the "wild" Native Americans, they were forced onto reservations. The only "indian war" the U.S. Army lost was to Red Cloud, Chief, Lakota Indians, better known as "Sioux." He fought over the Bozeman Trail [(to Bozeman Montana)... typical government... they sent diplomats to get permission at the same time they sent soldiers/contractors to build the forts along the trail they didn't have permission for yet...]. I was told by resident of SD that the more educated Sioux were settled from east to West. In SD (South Dakota) that meant the Rosebud got the "indians" who knew what was good for them while the ones that tried to stay "wild" [with Crazy Horse as a "war leader" but he was never a "chief"] had to be starved into submission and ended up on the most western reservation, the Pine Ridge. SW SD.

O.K. the Native Americans "market." [Fuss among themselves like a herd of Chicago Democrats--don't get me started, Capone who was Italian/Sicilian vs. Obanion, Irish -- all criminals... Not to mention the "bought" politicians of all flavors] I had a fed tell me that while one group of "injuns" was seeking money to help build the business of hunting/shooting p'dogs another group was seeking money to "kill them all" to make for better pastures... Valentine, NE is just south of the Rosebud and home of "Lock, Stock and Barrel," a gun supply store... might want to google them.

By name so you can do your research with google or ??? South center SD, Rosebud Reservation (Rez as spoken by Natives). I believe I first got their name from Bruce Hodgdon Sr, now gone--yes, Hodgdon powder Co. Many years ago. Due north around Pierre SD, Lower Brule Sioux. Farther north, Northern Cheyenne Rez / Standing Rock Rez. Eagle Butte, SD has been a center of shooting. South West corner, SD, the Pine Ridge Rez. [They have a drinking problem covered in the newspapers. Still grieving Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull? One inet business, lakotamall.com. I believe there is a couple guides available there.]

Farther north, North Dakota (surprise), In the west a former president, Theodore Roosevelt, lived and worked cattle and recovered from the death of a wife... and now there is the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and grasslands. Beautiful country. Cooler at night. Something to think about. Fort Yates is another town to think of.

Outside SD and the VHA (Varmint hunters Assoc. mentioned prior--varminthunters.org I think) there is very little well organized. Most big game guides will find you shooting until your ammo runs out after you fill a big game tag. Some offer p'dog shooting separately. One example [disclosure, his grandfather was an armey buddy of my grandfather, WW I, yes I] Ron Scherbarth, Rocking Heart Ranch. Big game guide and passable taxidermist.

MOntana, nothing organized. Shooting around Zortman was widely discussed. I believe you ended up on the Fort Belnap Rez. (Blackfoot Indians?)

Colorado. Here the US government has taken up much space for army bases... Brought along a bunch of tree huggers and bunny lovers. One tv special showed "catch and release" of prairie dogs! [That is like "catch and release of mice in your basement. To me... DUMB!!!) Plenty of p'dogs. Ask in the small towns or farm stores. Find the people that don't think of them as pets. I have had them in my lap. They are loveable little rats, not that little for rats. Fed them peanuts. Tourist trap. They ran my fingers with their teeth until they found the peanut and then bit... Amazing.

West Kansas. More of the same. Grazing. Rural Welcome (open arms). Cimmaron web site has a "please don't shoot the p'dogs" notice on it, but request, not order.

Wyoming is my favorite. I have relatives near. Wide open. Cattle is second to "oil." No license or permit required for US citizens anyway. (Like I said "ask.") Thunder Basic National Grassland between Douglas Wyoming and New Castle Wyoming supposedly had a p'dog town that was 26 miles in diameter. There is plenty of shooting in the Cheyenne, Wyo area, but also, as seat of government, more bunny huggers ...

Since I have family in the Wyo/SD/NE area that is where I go. Never got to Montana. Ran out of ammo. (Reloads). SD and NE will want "non resident license fees." I'm cheap. Drive a few miles and shoot without any. I have composed this deliberately using all the names with which I am familiar so you can search much and enjoy the "dicovery." Spotter? Not needed. (Purpose is that you take turns and let one gun cool while spotting!!! Otherwise a barrel won't last a day...) Shots. You may hear of 1,000 round days per shooter. Possible? Yes. Recently? No. There has been a 10 year drought that cuts way down on the grass available and inspires more poisoning. Things should build back fast, but things slower now. .223 is good. I have made 600 yard hits. No, I did not say on the first shot. Black Hills Ammo is in Rapid City, SD, fyi. Sells reloaded mil. cases less expensive. No idea about importing guns or ammo. Some guides can set you up with a bench, press, tools. Have to ask. I am a bit winded. ENJOY. Luck. Happy trails.

IIranger:
Hell of a post man, lotta info there for everyone.

It's been told recently that Lock Stock & Barrel has closed it down for good. Better check to confirm it. Cabela's is going strong yet.

NYC: IF you drive across Neb, stop at Hornady @ Grand Island. I've heard by a local out there they sell ammo from an outlet store near the plant. I wouldn't know for sure, so check with them. Might be a bit of truth to it and save hauling so much of it so far.

Like has been posted above. Several rifles to allow the barrels to cool. Keep one thing in mind: IF you can't hold it barehanded, it's too hot!

Bring rattle snake bite kits, lot's of water, sunscreen, shade's, & awnings you can set up & stay under will make life much easier out here in the sunshine & wind. Wind in Wyo never quits they claim.

Figure you'll be shooting at least 250 rnds each per day of shooting at minimum. So stock up, or you'll be paying extra $$ at the nearby stores. Though most of those towns do need the business.

Good luck & have a safe enjoyable trip.

George

I've found in Montana, where I have shot them outside of Billings ( as I have a buddy who lives there), that many local farmers will see us shooting them in a field and stop and invite us to shoot at their ranch to get rid of them...

so one has to laugh at the places who demand fees....

I've learned in some of these small towns, drop into the local bar in the evening and meeting a few of the locals, one can get invites to shoot for free on their property... buying a few beers for some of these ranchers can go along way to getting spots to shoot..

many of these ranchers are real decent guys....
just be courteous and don't trash the local area.. like pick up your trash and brass etc..

coyotes and birds will dispose of the prairie dog remains..

Montana doesn't require out of state licenses to shoot.

Seafire:
You've got that just right about the good ol'boys n ranchers, invitations etc.

Have you ever shot 'em up hard just before sundown, then gone back first thing in the morning?
Never found a one. and there's no way that many coyote's could come eat, or pack off a few hundred.

I've seen bloody face's on several not shot at. I'm fully convinced PD's drag the dead down the hole's & bury 'em to keep the coyote's from feeding on "loved one's" OR whatever it is.

I haven't seen proof of it myself whether they eat their dead though. Some claim they do. I can't say, so won't.
Any of us that have shot 'em much have seen live one's go nusling & checking out the freshly blown up litter mates though. Especially early in the spring or before they've been shot up very much.

Sometime I'd like to sit out in the shot up towns a few hours at night w/red lights on to see what's going on with the dead. Just to solve the mystery.
Anyone have such equipment want to do that?
George

Sage rats are cannibals...

I've wasted the one in the middle of a group of 3, and as soon as it hits the ground his buddies are chowing out on their guts..

I'd bet dollars to donuts, prairie dogs are the same way...