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Prairie Dog hunting questions

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tahtah

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Oct 26, 2017
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Mid-TN
Anyone ever prairie dog hunted? I have not but am very curious/interested in trying to set up a trip. I've been looking online a bit and watching some YouTube videos, but I'm not having a lot of luck finding specific answers.

What caliber is best for prairie dogs? I'm seeing 22-250, .17HMR & .223. This will be a new rifle for me and I think I'm leaning toward .223.
What states or locations are best for prairie dogs? I've seen TX, WY, SD, but I'm sure most any western state has them.
Public or private?
Guided or DYI?
What's the best time of year?

Other considerations?

Thx
 
You can use anything but if your on a good town it can be a barrel burner so lean towards something fairly inexpensive. 223 is about perfect in my opinion. 17 hmr is nice but it's usually windy so can be problematic. I love shooting PDs but have the fun is trying to shoot them with different things in my opinion from .22 lr to .22-250 and seeing how far you can shoot.
I would imagine the easiest way to get started would be "semi guided" or pay to play situations.
 
My opinion(s) as a non Praire dog hunter but frequent western hunter;

1.) Go for a .223. I've actually been looking at the new Ruger American 2. I think it's a 1:8 twist, comes threaded and is priced decent at $600-ish.
You can varmint hunt with it as well as kill deer sized game at realistic distances with a proper bullet (77 grain TMK).
2.) Call the states G&F agency and inquire about opportunities. You might get lucky and get a landowner contact list or public ground intel.
3.) Id look more into early summer or early fall. Rattlesnakes will be an issue but outside of those times you'll run into weather issues like snow. I also have no clue if those critters hibernate but I have seen them up into October.
4.) If you go guided I'd make a trip out of it. Take a friend or better half and visit the Black Hills or Yellowstone. * assuming you go SD/WY.
 
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AT Hiker said:
My opinion(s) as a non Praire dog hunter but frequent western hunter;

1.) Go for a .223. I've actually been looking at the new Ruger American 2. I think it's a 1:8 twist, comes threaded and is priced decent at $600-ish.
You can varmint hunt with it as well as kill deer sized game at realistic distances with a proper bullet (77 grain TMK).
2.) Call the states G&F agency and inquire about opportunities. You might get lucky and get a landowner contact list or public ground intel.
3.) Id look more into early summer or early fall. Rattlesnakes will be an issue but outside of those times you'll run into weather issues like snow. I also have no clue if those critters hibernate but I have seen them up into October.
4.) If you go guided I'd make a trip out of it. Take a friend or better half and visit the Black Hills or Yellowstone. * assuming you go SD/WY.
Click to expand...
223 is all that is needed for sure but multiple guns are a plus for one to cool while you are shooting with the other. There are a ton of pdogs on public but they can get shot quick and get hard to shoot. There is no season (WY) but they do hibernate. Unlike AT I don't worry about the rattlesnake but they are there. I have a 22gt, 223ai, 6creedmoor and several AR I alternate when me and my son go.
 
hunter0925 said:
223 is all that is needed for sure but multiple guns are a plus for one to cool while you are shooting with the other. There are a ton of pdogs on public but they can get shot quick and get hard to shoot. There is no season (WY) but they do hibernate. Unlike AT I don't worry about the rattlesnake but they are there. I have a 22gt, 223ai, 6creedmoor and several AR I alternate when me and my son go.
Click to expand...
I used to not worry about the rattlers until one trip where I was backpacking in the Smokies and ran across a timber that could have swallowed me alive!
Now I'm contemplating a full body Kevlar suit for early season pronghorn hunting 🤪
 
AT Hiker said:
I used to not worry about the rattlers until one trip where I was backpacking in the Smokies and ran across a timber that could have swallowed me alive!
Now I'm contemplating a full body Kevlar suit for early season pronghorn hunting 🤪
Click to expand...

Ha! Believe me, they had already crossed my mind. I'm assuming this venture won't require too much walking amongst the beasts, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them.
 
tahtah said:
Ha! Believe me, they had already crossed my mind. I'm assuming this venture won't require too much walking amongst the beasts, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them.
Click to expand...
Lol. This is the west. Rattlers aren't everywhere but they can be anywhere you go. I have put in a lot of miles out here and only seen a few but no telling how many I walked by. I wouldn't worry about them honestly but be aware.
 
hunter0925 said:
Lol. This is the west. Rattlers aren't everywhere but they can be anywhere you go. I have put in a lot of miles out here and only seen a few but no telling how many I walked by. I wouldn't worry about them honestly but be aware.
Click to expand...
The last one I ran into here I was within 50 yards of the pickup. I had already hiked several miles. He let us know he was there though, even before my dog sniffed him out.

Back to pdogs, those suckers can carry the plaque.
Now that I think about it, pdog hunting is pretty dangerous!
 
Friend made the trip "west" every year to shoot prairie dogs. All he ever carried was a tricked out 10/22 and averaged shooting a brick a day. He hunted on public land only and non-guided, he did his own scouting.
 
I have used .222 and .223 and .243... Honestly I have gotten to the point that all I take anymore is a .223... I take an accurized AR and I have a 700 bolt gun that has a Douglas heavy barrel that is in 223 as well... There have been a few times I have switched out guns to let one cool off but most of the time it is not that fast (at least where I hunt)... I hunt in SD mostly... one nice thing with the AR is I generally run a 20 round mag or a 10 depending on if I am shooting from a prone position or from a sitting... I can just shoot and not have to rack the bolt... never used a 22lr or 17hmr except for out the window of the truck driving around... (private cattle ranch) Personally a rimfire would have to be really close especially with the wind where I hunt... sometimes it is so bad you have to lay prone cause sitting on a shooting bench - table you can get blown around too much... With all that said, it is fun to do... and it will probably surprise you how far you can hit one with a accurate gun and good glass
 
this year, I used a suppressed .22 ruger 10/22 :D it was an absolute blast. Aim on the first shot, and spray/pray on the remaining. And being suppressed, it wasn't anytime before they were poking their heads out again, then we'd start over ...
 

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