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| One of Us |
I am considering a three day prairie dog hunt in the Western US and would appreciate your input to the following questions: 1. How many rifles do you recommend be taken on the hunt per hunter? 2. Should rifles be chambered differently or chambered for all the same cartridge? 3. How many rounds of ammunition is recommended? 4. Should reloading equipment be taken on the hunt? Thank you. Buliwyf | ||
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| One of Us |
I set up with 3 rifles when I hunt sage rats, which will be a lot higher volume of fire than most prairie dog towns...so the same applies.. I do two schools of thought... The First, is that I have rifles in two calibers just the same... in 223... and then a 22 Rimfire for what pops it head up at close range... because the 223's wear scopes like 4.5 x 14 or 6 x 24 or 8 x 32.... usually the 22 is a 10/22... The reason for the two rifles in 223, with the same loads....i set up with 15 rounds in a small tray that comes with a box of 9 mm cases.. I get them out of the garbage can at the range, where people throw away thousands of them all the time.. each rifle has a tray of 15 shots... I shoot 15, then set the rifle aside to cool.. and then shoot the other one 15 shots and change back to the first... after about 3 volleys of 15 out of each one ( 45 rounds) I run a bore snake thru the rifles... I keep a big coffee can that I throw the empties into... as I single shot both bolt actions.. I don't do ARs for varmint shooting... For Prairie Dogs, I usually use option Two here the most... still 2 different rifles chambered for 223... and I alternate between the two in the same 15 round fashion.... The 10-22 is replaced this time by a 22.250, for the ones that present themselves way way out there, beyond where the 223s, might become guesswork... I'd also recommend a 223, or 22.250 for a walk around rifle, if you have a sporter in one of those two weights or a 22 mag, or 17HRM or something.. for when you get tired of shooting in one spot and need to stretch your legs.. Since 17 HRMs are as expensive to shoot as the 223s that I hand load, I don't shoot mine much..... I'd get rid of it, but am holding onto it for my son when he gets a little bigger.. or if the ammo ever gets more reasonable... Whether to take ammo with you or a reload set up... that is a personal choice.. will you have an environment to be able to reload??? 200 shots is a Good Average day for prairie dogs when I go to Montana.... 300 shots is a busy day... and 400 shots are an exceptional day! It is not how many shots your rifle can do when you are shooting 223... it is how much eye strain and fatigue you can take when shooting that much....all of our tolerances vary on that... hope this might give ya a little insight... but you get a good area, it sure can be a lot of fun...and addicting... | |||
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| new member |
Hey there I will try to help you here. My Dad, grandfather, cousin, and I travel from KS to South Dakota to go praire dog hunting every year. There is a much larger number of dogs there, but here is what we do. 1 & 2) We usually take approx. 2 guns per person. One gun being for long range these can range from .223 ack improved. to .243 ack improved. Then there are the short range guns. We call these short range because they are much more quiet than the big bores, and do not scare the dogs as easy. These are usually rounds such as the average 22 long-rifle, 22 hornet, 22 K hornet, and 17 HMR. 3.) Usually we take about a thousand rounds per gun, this always depends on how thick the dogs are. Since your hunt will be in KS I would take around 500 per gun. (A tip for shooting is to ALWAYS clean your gun after 50 rds. this helps keep the life of the barrel and it accuracy.) If you go ahead and take a .22 long-rifle most likely take over 2000 rds. 4.) Reloading equipment should not be needed. I would just take around the amounts I mentioned before. If you run out then consider it a great hunt. I hope that I have helped you. If you have any more questions reguarding anything about praire dog hunting let me know. | |||
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| One of Us |
Thank you seafire and dog_buster. Excellent comments! B | |||
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| one of us |
Buliwyf: #1: As many as possible! I think the most I ever took on a Prairie Dog Hunt (one where other Hunters travelled with me!) was 12 Rifles. 14 when I went by myself. The reason to take lots of Rifles on a good shoot is to minimize down time cleaning them. And for enjoyment of shooting and comparing different calibers along with using the right Rifle for the right conditions and distances. I like to clean after sundown on Prairie Dog Hunts or let a couple Rifles soak during a short lunch break, and then clean them quickly and use them again. I would not go on a 3 day Safari without at least 4 Rifles and ammo for each of course. #2) 2 of the Rifles you take along (at least) should be chambered for 204 Ruger! Just joking there but I often take a couple 223's a couple 22-250's and a couple 22 BR's , along with the 17 centerfires, 20's and the 6's of course! Since the 204's came out I certinly would not leave any of them I owned at home! I keep my brass dedicated to a particular Rifle by using different brands of brass - thus no problemos when taking more than just one of a particular caliber along! 3) If you are by yourself I would surely take close to 1,000 rounds (I Hunt from sunrise to sunset when I travel to Prairie Dog land - no pansy assed breakfasts at the diner and heading to town for lunch and Gee the suns getting low I want to shower before dinner!) I HUNT all day - sunrise to sunset! Theres time to shower and chase the waitress's once I get back home! 4) I have done this on occassion but I long since have quit doing that (reloaidng out on the Prairie). Once the sun is down I clean the Rifles that need cleaning and then soak my eyes in Murine and get ready for the next days shoot by relaxing and planning the approaches and variables (rising sun, road conditions, Varmint availability, should I try night Hunting and shoot some Coyotes and winds to be considered etc) regarding the "assault" on the next days Dog Towns and how I can maximize the trigger time. I am leaning no on taking and "relying" on the loading equipment (theres ALWAYS something you forget or that goes wrong and out on the Prairie this can be difficult to deal with) but this is up to you. Most importantly plan on having a lot of fun and doing some serious shooting out in Prairie Dog country! Enjoy the sunrises and sunsets! Hold into the wind VarmintGuy | |||
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Thank you VarmintGuy! I'm very happy to hear that I'm gonna need several more rifles. I was worried that I had all I could justify. B | |||
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i usually pack enough guns and ammo in the pickup until 4 ply tires burst     Then I take out 50 rounds, change to 8 ply tires and go    | |||
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| One of Us |
Ok butchloc! That sounds like the right answer to me! B | |||
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| one of us |
1. two per shooter ...at least. I take three but thats just me. 2. different. I don't use rimfires because they get no reaction and no air time. I like air time. I use .221, .223, .22-250 AI, 6mm, .204s, .260 Rem and my .300 win mag. My son uses a similar arsenal. 3. Depends on how good the place is. I shoot private land that is excellent and can get 300-400 shots perday if I choose. My friends will bring 1000 per day but they drive farther and don't go as often. 4. Don't need it if you cover this in answer #3. 5. don't need to go sunup to sundown....its my sisters farm and she will let me come and go as I please. She makes a mean breakfast and lunch with no pansy ass diner grease. 6. Brother in law has loading press and I can take the components. I go prepared so its not necessary. | |||
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one of us |
Buliwyf, With respect to how many guns to take, it depends a lot on how much room you have to pack and haul. With that being said I would not go out with less than two if at all possible. This will allow you to cool one while you shoot the other. (hopefully you get into this situation). Also, the length of your vacation and the time you will have for shooting has a bearing on this also. The more guns you take the more packing and unpacking you have to do on the prairie and the longer it takes to keep everything organized. What is your “mindset†and that of your shooting partners? Are you viewing this trip as a hunting trip or a vacation? (rhetorical question) If you are viewing this as a “hard core†hunting trip than you may want to include another gun. If someone held a gun to my head and told me I could only take one gun to a dog town it would be an accurate 223. If I could take only two it would be a 223 and a 204 or 22-250. A light or medium barreled 223 and a heavy barreled 204/22-250 is a hard combination to beat. More on this later. (a 17 could fit in here somewhere but I don’t have any first hand experience with them so I will leave it to others) An observation of mine from the 600 or so rounds through my 204 Savage this summer on the towns is that it heats up the barrel more like a 22-250 than a 223. That is why I placed it with the 22-250 above and not with the 223. Of course the loads have something to do with this but than we are starting another discussion/argument comparing the 204 with the 223/22-250. If someone restricted me to one gun other than a 223, it would be the 204, but I am sure I would have to replace the barrel after each trip. With respect to barrel heating, if you can, get SS barrels to reflect the sun. The sun on a hot day will raise the temp of a blued barrel to 160 F. without even shooting it. This has a profound affect on the number of shots you can make before the barrel is too hot to continue. All of our barrels are SS or polished steel to reflect the sun. If you are interested, we shoot dedicated, medium and heavy barreled pd rifles in the following calibers, 204, 223, 22-250, 243, 25-06, 7mm Rem mag and 300 Win mag. How many rounds to take? Excellent question and almost impossible to answer as there are so many variables. How many other shooters will be with you, the size and condition of the towns, the distance you have to travel to get to other towns, your mindset and expectations all have a profound affect on how many shots you take. A quick story may explain. My first trip is usually with one other guy. I usually take out around 1500 to 2000 rounds. It is early in the summer and the dogs haven’t been educated yet. We take lots of guns as we have lots of room. We are both dedicated and will shoot from sun up to sun down regardless of the temperatures. When we set up, he gets half a town and I get the other half. There is lots of room to shoot. My buddy shoots different than I do. He will shoot at a dog if he can see it. I want to kill that dog, not just shoot at it. So I wait until I can get a killing shot on a dog or move so I can. I strive for a 90 percent average. His is around 60. He shoots at least a third more rounds than I do. We may shoot 2000 rounds on one dog town. When my brother and I take out my 80 year old father, things are much different. We start later and quit earlier according to the temperatures. I set the two of them up on the town and I go on a walk-about with my 223 or 204. I may only shoot 150 rounds a day but the satisfaction isn’t any less than that of a 4-500 round day. The temps are higher, the dogs are a little more educated and we have to move much more than I do on the earlier hunt. I may take only 500 rounds, but my expectations are much different than the first trip. If I make a third trip, my expectations are different still. Late summer can be tough. High temps and shot up towns can be depressing if you don’t go with the right attitude. Reloading equipment? Not on a 3 day trip. Hope you have good luck. If you want a packing list that I use, PM me and I will foward it to you. Jim Please be an ethical PD hunter, always practice shoot and release!! Praying for all the brave souls standing in harms way. | |||
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That is why I have my big texas BBQ smoker painted black, on hot days its at least 150 in there with no fire, what would happen if you wrapped the rifles barrel in aluminum foil?? in times when one needs a rifle, he tends to need it very badly.....PHC | |||
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| <slancey> |
2 Rifles: .222 Rem. Mag. 6mm TCU Take about 700 rounds each. Don't bother with the reloading equipment. Maybe bring the cleaning supplies. The bores will get real dirty. | ||
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| one of us |
For each day --If the prairie dogs have not ben shot over for a while or for spring pups I take out a 17HM2,17HMR and Rem 221 Fireball rifles with 200 rounds for each rimfire and 100 for the 221. By mid summer the 17 HMR, Rem 221 Fireball,and 204 Ruger rifles with 200 rounds for each rifle. By fall the Rem 221 Fireball, 204 Ruger , and the 22-250 Rem with 150 rounds for each rifle. On cold ,windy, or rainey days you will have more ammo than you need. During the winter when most all of the PD have ben shot over the 22-250 Rem, 220 Swift and the 243 Win rifles are in my pickup with about 60 rounds for each rifle. Since I retired, I go out PD shooting 30 to 50 days each year . A cleaning box with a rifle rest ,cleaning rods and supplies should be part of your equipment. Take a break and clean a rifle after fireing it about 80 rounds . Darn this year I will have to fit a 17 Fireball rifle into my shooting plan. tuck2 | |||
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I was on a chucker hunting trip 20 years ago when my partner's double barrel shotgun fell apart. He had brought another shotgun, and we continued hunting. Ever since then, I take back up guns on hunting trips. A single .223 or .243 rifle would be fine for prairie dogs, if the rifle never failed. But 1000 miles is a long way to go home to get another gun. | |||
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| One of Us |
aww on this site.... just bring them all...   the one you don't use you can leave in the trunk...  | |||
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| one of us |
seafire has the right idea. Pack ALL your favorite rifles. If you don't have enough favorites, buy more!!!! muck ps. u-hull can help out with the space to pack problem. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Varmint Hunting 3 Day Prairie Dog Hunt: Number of Rifles?
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