Prairie Dog Hunting In Kansas

crowsnest2003 · May 2, 2006, 09:28 PM

Hey everyone, I thought that they closed this forum down a long time ago, well anyway.... I live in Central Kansas near Ft. Riley and I was wondering if there is anyone out there that knows and good prairie dog hunting in my area. I've gone before in Wyoming and I wanted to let my wife experience it first hand. I'm really looking for a good place to go to aw her so maybe we can go a few more times

. I've contacted the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, but they havent emailed me back with any hard info yet, they just told me to email someone else that could help. Well if you guys know anything and can help me out please do. I'm dieing to blow some more of those furry little pesks up lol...

Thanks for the help
Crow

crowsnest2003 · May 4, 2006, 09:33 AM

This is the email I recieved back from the gentleman I've contacted. If your in Kansas and looking for any good shooting grounds this is what he gave me for a reply...

we have very few prairie dogs on our public lands, mainly because we have so few public lands in the west. However, there may be very limited shooting at Kanapolis Lake (you have to walk about 3/4 mi to get to a small town where you might be able to shoot just a few, but not a place where you should expect to spend hours). I don't know exactly where the town is on Kanapolis, you have to contact the area manager. Your best bet on public lands is Cimarron National Grasslands, which is not a KDWP property, but does offer a lot of shooting opportunity - but its as far away from you as anywhere in the state, in Morton County.
Private lands are really the only good option for shooting other than CNG. I would suggest going from Hays west, locating dog towns, and then seeking out permission; dogs are pretty thin as a rule east Hays. If you really want a lot of dogs, Logan and Wallace counties are the best in the state, Gove has a very respectable population as well. Good luck.

Thats all I can give you fellas until I go out personally to find something.. Thanks always
Crow

pipoman · May 4, 2006, 09:58 AM

If I were looking I would put a small ad in the classified section of the Hutchinson News (hutchnews.com) there a lot of dogs in that area, they have a section for hunting leases. There are at least 6 towns inside the city limits!

This brings up one of the funniest stories I have ever heard.

A few years ago the City of Hutchinson decided to use some property near the KS State Fair Grounds for a new baseball facility. There was a large dog town on the site. The plan was to exterminate the dogs and build the fields. A local animal rights activist threw a fit. She raised money to move the town to an abandoned town at Quivera National Wildlife Refuge. After months of delays and planning a group of volunteers, school children and the activist used soapy water to drive the dogs from their holes, caged them, then moved them to the abandoned town. Less than 30 days later the rangers at Quivera reported all of the dogs had been eaten by a family of badgers.

Mess with nature and live with the consequences.

I was not trying to hijack your thread. I couldn't resist passing this on to a fellow Kansan.

Edited to say another posssibility would be a small ad in "Grass and Grain" (a farmers magazine).

Grass and Grain
1531 Yuma
Box 1009
Manhattan, Kansas 66502
Ph: 785-539-7558

crowsnest2003 · May 4, 2006, 02:22 PM

It was kind of nice that I actually got a reply lol.... Yeah in search of some good places to hunt I ran into that article, but I didnt know about the badgers... lol..... Serves those peace loving hippies right lol.

crow

pipoman · May 4, 2006, 08:57 PM

Are you in the army or just in the area?

As you know prairie dogs don't usually town right next to the road, they are usually in a valley area, and they are hard to find without someone telling you where they are. There are a lot of farmers who would welcome you out to thin the population of a town. My father in law is a cattleman, he has 3 towns, he and his ranch hands, guests thin them regularly, he doesn't want to wipe them out (they are far too fun to shoot) just manage the size of the towns. This is the general attitude of most ranchers.

I don't know if the flint hills are too rocky for dogs or if they are there?? As you get west of Salina the population density goes down and the hills there are mainly sandy, prime prairie dog country.

You might consider a small ad in the Salina Journal or the Russell newspaper w/your email address. If someone responds assure them it will only be you and the name of whomever you take and that you don't intend to wipe out the town, will pickup after yourself, etc. They will probably be glad to let you hunt. The KDWP has a card available you should take to the land owner and get his signature/leave your information.

http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/=permission card

Good luck

crowsnest2003 · May 4, 2006, 10:56 PM

I am in the army, the problem is its kind of hard to get out in the western part of kansas. Today I even went to the extent of calling a local gun store in the county I'm looking into to hunt in. They have not called me back, but I figured of all the people to know where to hunt they would, well at least from word of mouth anyway

. This seems like its pulling teeth to find any info out around this place. Really online isnt much of a help. The only thing I find on there is advertisements for hunting trips you have to pay for. All I'm really looking for is some body to give me a location so my wife and I can go out and hunt for half a day or so. I dont really have the time to drive out and scout for some locations especially since the county I want to go to is like 200 miles. Uhhhh what is a hunter to do lol... Someone should make a website that is (FREE) that gives good hunting areas for all sorts of game, maybe even has some specific locations to hunt. A nationwide website.... If I wasnt such a computer dummy I would create it. Maybe other people could submit locations that they've had success at... Well I'll keep looking for the perfect prairie dog town in kansas and when I find it I'll let all you guys know.. lol
thanks
crow

pipoman · May 5, 2006, 09:48 AM

I was just on post yesterday. I am there fairly regularly on business at JAG and the Provost.

IMO the difficulty you find in contacting KDWP and local gun shops is the locations you may find are already being managed. You need to find a rancher who doesen't hunt themselves. They are there.

Try calling the County Extention Agent in the counties you are wanting to hunt. They will be able to tell you if the populations are large in their county or if there are not many dogs there. They may be able to help hook you up with a farmer/rancher who is trying to manage their populations.

I checked with a friend in Russell. He said there are no populations in that area. He is in the oil business and said the populations are west of Hays and south/west of Hutchinson.

You might call the KDWP office in Pratt. There may be some towns on Pratt Sandhills Wildlife Area (public hunting that would be a fairly long drive for you).

What counties are you wanting to hunt? I think the closest good hunting may be around Hutchinson (Reno county),McPherson (McPherson County), Kingman (Kingman County), Edwards County, Pratt County, Stafford County, maybe Rice County around Sterling, Alden, Raymond.

I will ask around and see if I can find you somewhere to hunt.

May 2, 2006, 09:28 PM	#1
crowsnest2003 Junior Member Join Date: May 2, 2006 Posts: 14	Prairie Dog Hunting In Kansas Hey everyone, I thought that they closed this forum down a long time ago, well anyway.... I live in Central Kansas near Ft. Riley and I was wondering if there is anyone out there that knows and good prairie dog hunting in my area. I've gone before in Wyoming and I wanted to let my wife experience it first hand. I'm really looking for a good place to go to aw her so maybe we can go a few more times . I've contacted the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, but they havent emailed me back with any hard info yet, they just told me to email someone else that could help. Well if you guys know anything and can help me out please do. I'm dieing to blow some more of those furry little pesks up lol... Thanks for the help Crow

May 4, 2006, 09:33 AM	#2
crowsnest2003 Junior Member Join Date: May 2, 2006 Posts: 14	Heres some info for any interested This is the email I recieved back from the gentleman I've contacted. If your in Kansas and looking for any good shooting grounds this is what he gave me for a reply... we have very few prairie dogs on our public lands, mainly because we have so few public lands in the west. However, there may be very limited shooting at Kanapolis Lake (you have to walk about 3/4 mi to get to a small town where you might be able to shoot just a few, but not a place where you should expect to spend hours). I don't know exactly where the town is on Kanapolis, you have to contact the area manager. Your best bet on public lands is Cimarron National Grasslands, which is not a KDWP property, but does offer a lot of shooting opportunity - but its as far away from you as anywhere in the state, in Morton County. Private lands are really the only good option for shooting other than CNG. I would suggest going from Hays west, locating dog towns, and then seeking out permission; dogs are pretty thin as a rule east Hays. If you really want a lot of dogs, Logan and Wallace counties are the best in the state, Gove has a very respectable population as well. Good luck. Thats all I can give you fellas until I go out personally to find something.. Thanks always Crow

May 4, 2006, 02:22 PM	#4
crowsnest2003 Junior Member Join Date: May 2, 2006 Posts: 14	Nah U didnt ruin it It was kind of nice that I actually got a reply lol.... Yeah in search of some good places to hunt I ran into that article, but I didnt know about the badgers... lol..... Serves those peace loving hippies right lol. crow

May 4, 2006, 10:56 PM	#6
crowsnest2003 Junior Member Join Date: May 2, 2006 Posts: 14	Well I am in the army, the problem is its kind of hard to get out in the western part of kansas. Today I even went to the extent of calling a local gun store in the county I'm looking into to hunt in. They have not called me back, but I figured of all the people to know where to hunt they would, well at least from word of mouth anyway . This seems like its pulling teeth to find any info out around this place. Really online isnt much of a help. The only thing I find on there is advertisements for hunting trips you have to pay for. All I'm really looking for is some body to give me a location so my wife and I can go out and hunt for half a day or so. I dont really have the time to drive out and scout for some locations especially since the county I want to go to is like 200 miles. Uhhhh what is a hunter to do lol... Someone should make a website that is (FREE) that gives good hunting areas for all sorts of game, maybe even has some specific locations to hunt. A nationwide website.... If I wasnt such a computer dummy I would create it. Maybe other people could submit locations that they've had success at... Well I'll keep looking for the perfect prairie dog town in kansas and when I find it I'll let all you guys know.. lol thanks crow

May 4, 2006, 09:58 AM	#3
pipoman Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2005 Posts: 897	If I were looking I would put a small ad in the classified section of the Hutchinson News (hutchnews.com) there a lot of dogs in that area, they have a section for hunting leases. There are at least 6 towns inside the city limits! This brings up one of the funniest stories I have ever heard. A few years ago the City of Hutchinson decided to use some property near the KS State Fair Grounds for a new baseball facility. There was a large dog town on the site. The plan was to exterminate the dogs and build the fields. A local animal rights activist threw a fit. She raised money to move the town to an abandoned town at Quivera National Wildlife Refuge. After months of delays and planning a group of volunteers, school children and the activist used soapy water to drive the dogs from their holes, caged them, then moved them to the abandoned town. Less than 30 days later the rangers at Quivera reported all of the dogs had been eaten by a family of badgers. Mess with nature and live with the consequences. I was not trying to hijack your thread. I couldn't resist passing this on to a fellow Kansan. Edited to say another posssibility would be a small ad in "Grass and Grain" (a farmers magazine). Grass and Grain 1531 Yuma Box 1009 Manhattan, Kansas 66502 Ph: 785-539-7558

May 4, 2006, 08:57 PM	#5
pipoman Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2005 Posts: 897	Are you in the army or just in the area? As you know prairie dogs don't usually town right next to the road, they are usually in a valley area, and they are hard to find without someone telling you where they are. There are a lot of farmers who would welcome you out to thin the population of a town. My father in law is a cattleman, he has 3 towns, he and his ranch hands, guests thin them regularly, he doesn't want to wipe them out (they are far too fun to shoot) just manage the size of the towns. This is the general attitude of most ranchers. I don't know if the flint hills are too rocky for dogs or if they are there?? As you get west of Salina the population density goes down and the hills there are mainly sandy, prime prairie dog country. You might consider a small ad in the Salina Journal or the Russell newspaper w/your email address. If someone responds assure them it will only be you and the name of whomever you take and that you don't intend to wipe out the town, will pickup after yourself, etc. They will probably be glad to let you hunt. The KDWP has a card available you should take to the land owner and get his signature/leave your information. http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/=permission card Good luck

May 5, 2006, 09:48 AM	#7
pipoman Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2005 Posts: 897	I was just on post yesterday. I am there fairly regularly on business at JAG and the Provost. IMO the difficulty you find in contacting KDWP and local gun shops is the locations you may find are already being managed. You need to find a rancher who doesen't hunt themselves. They are there. Try calling the County Extention Agent in the counties you are wanting to hunt. They will be able to tell you if the populations are large in their county or if there are not many dogs there. They may be able to help hook you up with a farmer/rancher who is trying to manage their populations. I checked with a friend in Russell. He said there are no populations in that area. He is in the oil business and said the populations are west of Hays and south/west of Hutchinson. You might call the KDWP office in Pratt. There may be some towns on Pratt Sandhills Wildlife Area (public hunting that would be a fairly long drive for you). What counties are you wanting to hunt? I think the closest good hunting may be around Hutchinson (Reno county),McPherson (McPherson County), Kingman (Kingman County), Edwards County, Pratt County, Stafford County, maybe Rice County around Sterling, Alden, Raymond. I will ask around and see if I can find you somewhere to hunt.