As I am new to this, and building a rifle, what is the typical range for prairie dog shots? I see the really long 600 to 1000 yards posts, but is that the norm or is it more like 300 to 500? I am debating on what weight bullet to use: 70, 80, or 87 grain.

i think NORMAL depends on where you go. where i go in the texas panhandle 200 to500 is the norm. last june the longest shot taken in our group was just over 600yds.

I was in South Dakota last year, and we typically didn't shoot past 350yds. We could have tried, but we got caught up in watching praire dogs exploding instead of trying to shoot a long ways.

There is no norm except for the same spot you always go. I live in South Dakota and where we shoot dogs 450 is the norm with 700 being pretty regular. Every now and then you will find one closer than 250 but that is seldom.

Distance will depend on where you shoot and how willing you are to spend time shooting at the "far" ones. Most of the Pd towns I have shot over the years the long shots are 500-600 yards with only a couple of the towns that were big enough and open enough to even see a pd at 1000. Many more dogs are shot at the 150-350 range than probably any other distances.
What caliber are you considering? By the bullet weights it looks like something in 6mm. Don't discount the 55-60gr and one really nice thing about a 6mm a 10-12 twist will shoot all those weights with varmint accuracy.

Mine are usually anywhere 100-300 with some occasional 400's. A dog is pretty small when out at those ranges. Put in some heat, wind and mirage they can be interesting to hit way out there.

Where I shoot in Wyoming we try to stay back to allow shooting for longer periods so our normal distances are 200 - 800 yards.

bmash......

If you're into considering those bullet weights in say, a .224" cartridge then you're already pretty much into the long(er) range trend of thought.

You say "building a rifle" - O.K.; one rifle? I'm not into the "it just has to be this way".....school of thought but since you asked.....if you're gonna have one rifle; the overwhelming vast majority of PD/Varmint shooting requirements can be covered with an effecient, economical & component rich quick-twist .223 Remington IMO. It'll reach out there a "Fur Piece" with both regular 50 & 55 grain bullet weights and deliver your suggested heavier weight bullets for the over 300 meter distances just fine.

For our shooting in South Dakota where we shoot private land EARLY in the season; a vanilla-flavored .223 will easily suffice for the point-blank to say; 300-350 and the occiasional 400 yard shots.

A .22-250 adds a whole new dimesion to the above; at a price, increased cost, increased noise, recoil (subjective anyway), barrel issues and the rate of fire has to be slowed down considerably which normally occur when you start plinking away at really distant targets.

You also mention "new to this" and like those above have mentioned, adding all the componets of wind, rain, glare & mirage alone for a novice easily separates the Wheat from the Chaff when it comes to making consistant hits at range. It's great to hear about long-g-g range shooting but in reality consistant hiiting targets (versus a hail of bullets) at targets past 300 meters is pretty difficult for those without some expereince under their belts.

I've only shot prairie dogs in Montana, and sage rats in Oregon and No Calif...and a little in Nevada...

However, in each area, I have asked those shooting with me, what percentage of the animals we took were shot within 200 yds?

the constant answer is between 80 and 85 %.. were taken in under 200 yds...with 250 yds accounting for about 90% of the take....

that is kind of why I figured my Blue Dot loads for a 223, were more than adequate....and have proven to be so...

The Blue dot loads are good on Roos as well.

My normal is 90% of the kills are within 350 yards. With the kill rate dropping rather quickly beyond that. Note I didn't say shot's, we try a lot of long shots, but the kills take more effort beyond that.

Dave,

I received that 204 Barrel and have it mounted on a Ruger Receiver after taking off the 223 barrel....

It is doing some blue dot load development right at the moment and then I will be giving it to my son for a lightweight varmint walk around rifle...

The rifle has one of those old Zytel Boat Paddle Stocks on it and was going to mount a plain 4 power scope on it, as it will be used mainly in a woods environment close to home here....

Thanks again for your generosity!

Best regards...
seafire

I always shoot at a minimum of 800 yards with my .22 Hornet (but it is a K-version, for you doubters). My schlong is also 12" long and is as big around as a milk jug, and my Dodge dually gets 36 miles a gallon.

If a town has not been much disturbed (and the dogs are young and dumb), shots can be as close as 50 yards, but pretty quickly the little buggers wise up and shooting moves steadily further away, with 250-300 being more typical. Be assured that shooting at more than about 4 to 5 hundred yards on these little targets, under most real world conditions, is involves a great deal of luck. Given the mirage and wind on most hunting days, the most skilled shooter with the best equipment can only keep his shots within about three or four prairie dog widths at 600 yards. If you have a patient dog, a heavy barrel that's not very subject to heat dispersion, and consistent weather conditions, you can walk your shots into a dog at 6 or 7 hundred yards eventually. It is great sport if you have the real estate to work with, but many places your practical shooting is going to be limited to something less due to property lines, fences, and roads.

While shooting at 500 yards is usually somewhat iffy, you would be surprised at what a "gimme" shot a 300 yarder seems like when presented to you after lobbing countless rounds through the wind at little more than an eyeball peeping out of a hole some half a kilometer away.

Whether you shoot mostly at 85 yards (rounds off to a hundred) or 600 yards (rounds off to a thousand , it can be great sport.

Most shots at our local pdog field have shots ranging from 40yards to 400 yards. It would be hard for us to find one longer, but this is only on the one field we hunt.

For me it's 50-250 yards, but I primarily shoot ground squirrels and coyotes. Lou

Sorry, I thought I said cartridge, but I see I didn't. I am considering a 6-6.5x47. (I also have a Cooper .218 Mashburn Bee.)Thanks for all the great information!!

most of my shots on PD's are from 75-350 yards. beyond that I start missing, alot. shoot a 22-350 and a 223.

bmash,

If you're gonna be shooting at "local" Varmints then you could be O.K.

Planning for a real PD Shoot at a western venue requires logistics and that means ammo.

You've already got a pretty unique cartidge in a .218 Mashburn Bee; so for my recco - I'd say go with a factory chambering. If not, you'll end up with two rifles with specialized chamberings; tough to bounce back from when you're miles from home and need ammo plus the price/availability of components.

Excellant point Gerry. I will keep that in mind.

I have had p'dogs sitting in my lap eating peanuts. This was a tourist trap and no shooting was allowed. It is the "education" of the "p'dog". I was hunting for a "ford" across a creek in Wyo and there was a dirt road with mounds in the road. Pups scurried to the edge as I drove by. I could have worried them with a rubber band and paper clips.
Early in the spring when the pups are first up and curious as all get out but timid... Well, let's put it this way, .22 Long Rifle is just not quite enough. Now if you have a match gun and are a crack shot, maybe...
As the season progresses and the survivors get educated, You drive up and shut off the engine or slam a car door or ??? Siesta time. A few shots. DOWN! This is where the wind is your friend. Heavy wind and they cannot hear. You shoot a "boomer" like a .243 and they will stay down farther out than a .223. SO depending on conditions, you might see the 125 to 300 yard shots and other times... take and air strike. I cannot promise you a 500 round day but I can promise there have been 500 round days. Shooting a .270 or .243... kiss the barrel good-bye before you start... (Yes, I know, you will pace yourself and become as big a liar as anyone running for office...) I lean .223 'cause I am CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP. You do what your budget permits. .222 will keep you in the game at least 50% of the time and those long shots... When you miss the furball will look in the direction the bullet went by helping you plan your "hold off..." LUCK.

You know, ranger also brings up another benefit of using Blue Dot in a 223.. besides less recoil, less barrel heat.. it also offers far less muzzle blast and noise when shot....

This is another benefit, that keeps the sage rats and prairie dogs from going down and staying further out, because of the noise...

The less powder you ignite, the less Boom it is going to have out the barrel...

I also read an interesting point made in an article by Paco Kelly, the heavier the bullet, the less noise a reduced load will make also...regardless of caliber...

I was also going to say it depends on the time of season. Early season you can get some pretty close shots at really dumb dogs, but Darwinism takes over pretty fast. By mid or late season, the shots have gotten pretty long. Early season easily shooting under 250 yards, late season 300 yards is unlikely, more like 500-600 yards on the close end, and the shooting is harder and slower. I also miss a lot!

Plan on bringing more than one rifle and all your reloading supplies to reload back at camp at night.

When I worked in Billings, MT, our shop was a warehouse, and there was an undeveloped field in the back. In the afternoons we would sit out at the back door and nail gophers and pdogs with .177 air rifles. This was in the middle of town. If you leave the vermin alone long enough, they'll take over.

My longest shot was 200 metres with a .22 on a francolin at home

Our "gopher" shooting is primarily with.22's and is under 100 yards. we use 22's due to the volume of shooting ie 500-1000 rounds per day.
Coyotes on the other hand are anywhere from 11 yards the other day to a lasered 432. If the wind is calm and I am down with the bipod I dont miss too many out to about 425. I would say an average coyote shot would be around 200 yards with a lot of variation.