Prairie Dog Hunters on here?

[onestar]

I was just wondering if anyone on here shoots prairie dogs? I have been to Wyoming to hunt twice and I had a blast but the ranch that we were shooting on was poisoned out. So what's the best way to find a place to shoot besides paying a guide? I am on the east coast and I would like to have a place to go before I leave and I will be traveling by airplane(Delta airlines is my wife's employer) and I won't have a lot of time to hunt probably 4-5 days max. I'm open to suggestions and or contact info if anyone has it.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Tim the student]

I don't know if anyone "hunts" prairie dogs - we just get out of the truck and shoot them while sucking on a cold mountain dew.

If only deer were that easy.

Anyways, I have only been once, but I loved it. I think we are going again early this summer.

We went in SD, near Chamberlain. We stayed in a hotel on the reservation near there. We would usually pack sandwiches for lunch, or drive into Chamberlain to eat. There are a few public areas there, but the dogs there were about as "smart" as they get. They would hear the car doors, and start getting into the ground. We also shot some on different rancher's land. Either they would hear us shoot and invite us onto their land, or we would just go ask. A couple of times, they would call neighbors and try to send us over to the neighbor's land. It was easier to get permission to shoot them there, than it is to get permission to hunt rabbits here. People would literally drive up to us, tell us where their property is, and invite us to shoot all we wanted. Point being - a guide is not needed there, but plenty of drunks would off to guide us.

I know you may not want to roll the dice and find out that is not the case for you, but I have read a couple of threads here where people have said the same thing.

Maybe you could call the chamber of commerce in some areas, and see if they have any leads. I would bet that they get asked that frequently enough to have an answer for you. Maybe they could put you in contact with some ranchers, and you could work something out with them directly.

 

[Varminthound]

For a boat load of good information and reading join the Varmint Hunters Association. Visit their website at http://www.varminthunter.org

 

[Fat_46]

This June will be my ninth trip out to SD shooting PDs. It's a yearly trek for me. What I've learned from both self-guided, pay-for-access, and hiring a guide hunts is to go with a reputable guide. I spens enough time and money preparing for and traveling to the shoots that I've come to realize that a guide can get you on the dogs faster and easier than I can do it myself. Once you get a rapport with a particular guide the shooting gets better and better. The one I use has 2400 acres of his own land, and exclusive leases on another 5500. Because of that he can guarantee my group virgin towns (at least for the year). 4 of us went through almost 4k rounds in 2 11 hour days last summer. We burned out 2 barrels (243AI and a 223). The guide's wife made lunch for us both days - day 1 was venison brats and antelope spicy italian sausage along with salads and beans. Day 2 was venison lasagna and homemade garlic bread.

 

[Rembrandt]

Stay away from the Indian reservations.....lot of dog shooters have had bad experiences.

 

[Tim the student]

Stay away from the Indian reservations

I would tend to agree with this actually. Sorry I didn't point that out before.

 

[ricebasher302]

How did you find the first ranch you hunted?

 

[onestar]

I actually made friends on another hunting board and he invited me up to shoot with him at the ranch. The fellow has had to find sub-par hunting on public land and feels like there aren't enough targets to warrant a couple thousand mile trip.

 

[Whitman31]

Stay away from the Indian reservations.....lot of dog shooters have had bad experiences.

I totally disagree. Since my last two trips to ND, I will only hunt on Reservation lands. The fee is only $35 and the shooting is top notch. We've never been stopped and harassed or anything of the sort. As with any hunt, learn the rules by calling the tribe board first.

That being said, If I was traveling as far as you I would bite the bullet and get a guided hunt. Someone to pick you up at the airport and take care of everything will make the hunt worth the money.

One of the hardest parts of hunting Pdogs in the Dakota's is actually finding the land owners, not the dogs.

Good luck...

 

[801sureshot]

After moving to ND for work last year and having one of the best year long hunts of my life, I would have to say if you have the time and energy you can hunt every day, all day, here if you chose to. We would generally just go right up to the farmers front door and ask, if you're after some fun shoots, ie. gophers or pd, farmer brown will say yes most of the time. The great thing about ND is that if land is not posted it is ok to hunt. Always ask if farmer brown can be found but if he's not and his land is not posted the law says its huntable. No driving off existing roads but you can drive section lines all day long. Definitly a different hunting experience coming here after living out west my whole life, but once we got a grasp of the law and the people ended up lovin it. From gophers and prarie dogs in the summer, to upland and waterfowl in the fall, we shot em all. Oh and I got my first white tail ever, a little doe thats been absolutely delicious!

 

[General Tso]

Why would you shoot prairie dogs for fun? I love guns, but I only shoot/kill what I will eat.

 

[Tim the student]

Why would you shoot prairie dogs for fun? I love guns, but I only shoot/kill what I will eat.

Good for you.

 

[Whitman31]

Why would you shoot prairie dogs for fun? I love guns, but I only shoot/kill what I will eat.

I'm a long time Prairie Dog shooter. I'll admit it has a wasteful feel to it at times. Prairie Dogs are vermin. They destroy the environment they live in and expand to the next area. If not for hunters wanting to shoot them, many ranchers would simply poison them (very effective). By having a market of hunters, many of which are willing to pay to shoot, the little critters actually get a chance to live.

Think of it like cattle. Without humans wanting to eat meat, there would be no reason for cattle to exist. By providing people with a benefit the cattle are managed and optimized. IMO the only thing keeping ranchers from eradicating prairie dogs all together is the dollars they earn by letting them live.

Do your part, don't let the prairie dog go extinct, book a trip to hunt them now...

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I generally get out once or twice per summer. Last year, though, I waited until dove season when Art and Rbernie were here, only to find out plague had wiped out the places I hunt, and several other areas around.

That happens every few years and I'm not sure how long they will take to make a comeback.

 

[General Tso]

I'm a long time Prairie Dog shooter. I'll admit it has a wasteful feel to it at times. Prairie Dogs are vermin. They destroy the environment they live in and expand to the next area. If not for hunters wanting to shoot them, many ranchers would simply poison them (very effective). By having a market of hunters, many of which are willing to pay to shoot, the little critters actually get a chance to live.

Think of it like cattle. Without humans wanting to eat meat, there would be no reason for cattle to exist. By providing people with a benefit the cattle are managed and optimized. IMO the only thing keeping ranchers from eradicating prairie dogs all together is the dollars they earn by letting them live.

Do your part, don't let the prairie dog go extinct, book a trip to hunt them now...

Good point. We don't have them in Ohio, so I was unaware of that.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I only hunt them during the week, Mon through Sunday. If i dont, the farmers are going to poison them and i know if i had my choice, i'd rather be shot and die quick than eat poison and die a slow death!

 

[TheBookGuy]

When I was in high school in Idaho, back in the 80s, we would use 120 gr. hollow points loaded in our deer rifles and hunt prairie dogs. Needless to say there wasn't much left to eat...but they sure decorated the sage brush nicely!

 

[IdahoLT1]

I guess I'm keeping your tradition alive. I use 110gr hornady vmax's for my .308. Like you said there isn't much of them left, but the sure don't suffer. It's weird because even with ear protection, I can year them pop when theyre hit square and then see them fly 10ft in the air. And im sure the badgers and coyotes thank me later for the easy meal.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Yep when i pull into the pasture, the hawks come flyin in. I need to change colors on my pickup.

 

[Tim the student]

Sorry for my attitude earlier, but a lot of people say that before they know anything.

They also suffer less by me shooting them, than they do by being poisoned. As noted, they will be killed. Just a matter of time and expense.

It helps the economy too.

And yes, it is fun, I do have to admit.

 

[Nomad]

It has been many years but I used to hunt in SD and the ranchers would even offer to put you up in a guest room and feed you if you would shoot on their ranches. The reason is, (for those questioning why we shoot them) the holes dug by prairie dogs cause many broken legs on cattle. When the leg breaks the animal has to be put down. As said above...shoot them or poison them but they are going to die it's just a matter of quick and painless or slow and painful.

 

[Whitman31]

t has been many years but I used to hunt in SD and the ranchers would even offer to put you up in a guest room and feed you if you would shoot on their ranches

I'm sorry to say, those day's appear to be long gone...

 

[Keb]

I shoot on about 20 different Colorado ranches, maybe 13,000 acres.

PM Me.

 

[gunsandreligion]

I'm sorry to say, those day's appear to be long gone...

unless you own the ranch

 

[XxM0nEyMaKeRxX]

I went last august. Not a great time to go, but it still worked out. It was the first time I went, so I learned for next time. We were using ar's with wolf ammo, lol. Since it wasn't hollow points some of them would run back into their holes dragging their guts. It also got slow at times, so we would shoot the birds on the fence, or other random stuff.