Looking to prairie dog hunt

bsw · October 15, 2013, 12:57 PM

A couple buddies, grandpa, and I have always said we were going to go prairie dog hunting together and never have got around to it. Grandpa is 75 now and getting less and less spry every year, so I figure if we are going to go prairie dog hunting this spring may be the last chance we have to do so. I was hoping some of you guys could point me in the right direction, as none of us have ever been. Is there any public land with decent shooting? Or how do you find farmers willing to let you shoot? I wouldn't care to even pay the farmer. If worse comes to worst we could pay a guide, but Id rather not pay their ridiculous $200 day/person fees just for them to say heres some dogs have fun. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

Wyosmith · October 15, 2013, 01:20 PM

Where are you?

bsw · October 15, 2013, 01:39 PM

I am in Missouri but we would drive if we had to

bsw · October 15, 2013, 02:17 PM

I guess I should say where we had to not if we had to because we are def going to have to drive a ways.

Wyosmith · October 15, 2013, 02:53 PM

PM Me
I may be able to help you out.

I live in the Wind River Valley of Wyoming, and I can ask a few ranchers and farmers if they would like to be rid of some prairie dogs in the spring.

I'd bet they would like to see some of them gone.

I don't know any that are greedy enough to try to charge someone who wanted to help them.

Colorado Redneck · October 17, 2013, 10:46 PM

Most of the big ranches in SE Wyoming are now leased by outfitters that charge a pretty stiff fee to take a shooter out and show them the dogs, and then drive off. I respect free enterprise, but this is kind of a drag, considering that ranchers a few years ago would submit their name and phone number to the Chamber of Commerce in some areas, so people like the OP could contact them and arrange to do a shoot.

longranger · October 18, 2013, 10:55 AM

Plenty of State owned and BLM land that has access and P.D's as well as some private lands that access can be had from WY Wildlife Division web page.
I would get with Wyosmith and get you on some of those private ranches.No need to to pay for access, do some home work and you'll shoot P.D.'s until you melt a barrel down.
Wyosmith, the Wind River is my most favorite fly fishing any where in the west,very partial to the canyon.Beautiful.

RoosterBooster3632 · December 9, 2013, 01:54 PM

I also would like to do a prairie dog shoot. A few nights ago I talked with an older gentlemen who has been making trips west from WI for almost 20 years. He has gone to Montana, Wyoming and SD in search of dogs. He stated that the best shooting he has had has been in SD. He also went on to say that it was much easier years ago as far fewer people had an interest and land owners welcomed you on their land if they had dogs. He went on to say that they now pay $150.00 a day where they go in SD. He said if you want to get a lot of shooting, the only wany you will get it is to pay someone that manages their dog towns and don't let them get over shot. He stated that they usually shoot 300-500 rounds a day and that the person they hunt with has 4 to 5 very active dog towns to shoot over.

Chaz88 · December 9, 2013, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Most of the big ranches in SE Wyoming are now leased by outfitters that charge a pretty stiff fee to take a shooter out and show them the dogs, and then drive off.

Hunting PD's is a lot of fun but I can not believe people have to pay to do it. When I was growing up in Colorado many of the ranchers would pay us $.50 for each PD we could prove we shot. Proving it is not always possible because they often slide back down their holes. You do not want to reach down a hole, there is good chance of getting bit by a dog or rattle snake. But nobody ever charged us to hunt them.

Colokeb · December 10, 2013, 05:30 PM

I might take somebody if they would shoot rimfire.

You can google my experiences in Western Colorado.

Getting those big big high number days is rare. But ammo cost and shortage means less pressure. I do private land only.

Colorado Redneck · December 13, 2013, 10:14 PM

One thing I try to avoid if possible, is shooting a town out. I drove to Wyoming north of Medicine Bow a few years ago, as I had driven by a huge prairie dog town the summer before, and wanted to spend a day shooting it. Well, I wasn't the first shooter to get there, and it was unbelievable. There were thousands of acres of inactive mounds. ATV tracks were all over the place, and some had turned into roads. Just guessing, I may have seen 20 prairie dogs that morning before giving up and going to another area. I drove past a place on the way out where there were 3 or 4 RV's and guys were set up on shooting benches with spotting scopes finishing the town off.

Plague will crash these big towns in cycles. And they do come back. But it seems similar to fishing out a good stream, if you just set in and blast dogs from sunup till sundown and kill out the colony. Then where the heck you going to shoot?

jimbob86 · December 13, 2013, 10:59 PM

Quote:

But it seems similar to fishing out a good stream, if you just set in and blast dogs from sunup till sundown and kill out the colony.

I doubt that is possible- I used to hit one 300 acre (tiny compared to the ginormous towns out in WY) town for 2-3 weekends every summer, sunrise to sunset, killing dozens and dozens every day, and the locals shot at them daily ...... the town kept expanding, to the point that when the USF&WS made noises about "protecting" the black tailed prairie dog, the landowner poisoned them all.

It would take dozens of people shooting them every single day to "kill out the colony"..... all the towns where I shot them that no longer exist were destroyed by phosgene or cyanide, not lead.

Colorado Redneck · December 13, 2013, 11:17 PM

Really?? I know a lady that owns a ranch east of Greeley that had a couple of guys kill out a town that was a bit bigger than half a section in two days. She owned the land, and she saw it. They counted the dogs they shot and it was over a thousand if I remember correctly.

That town in Wyo may have been plagued out, but there were scattered dogs left, and there were ATV tracks all over. So I will believe my own eyes.

jimbob86 · December 13, 2013, 11:38 PM

2 guys, 1000+ dogs in 2 days?

Assuming 15 hours of shooting light, and no pauses to eat, drink, or do the necessary, or move from one location to another ....... that's 1800 minutes to shoot. 3600 minutes for two shooters......... that's one prairie dog ever 3 1/2 minutes or so ....... and those would have to have been the absolute dumbest grassrats ever .....

Possible..... but not likely.

Colorado Redneck · December 13, 2013, 11:50 PM

I agree---I seldom shoot over 150 rounds. But it is not uncommon to read about guys shooting 4-500 rounds per day in a hot town. If you don't believe it, fine.

And I know there are infinite numbers of prairie dogs in each town, so you can't kill'em out.

jimbob86 · December 14, 2013, 12:07 AM

Quote:

But it is not uncommon to read about guys shooting 4-500 rounds per day in a hot town.

I used to go through 300+ rounds of centerfire and a brick of .22 ....... but even then, 1000+ dogs in 2 days is pretty unlikely. Like I said, they'd have to kill one every 3 1/2 minutes ...... that's kill one and not just shoot at one...... with no breaks for anything.

Maybe they did get 250/day, each....... that's a lot of shooting .....

Quote:

And I know there are infinite numbers of prairie dogs in each town, so you can't kill'em out.

No, there are not an unlimited number at any given time, but to kill out the town in 2 days?

Like I said before, I shot p-dogs from the mid-70's until just a couple of years ago- I never saw a town "shot out" ....... they always became so much of a nuisance that the landowner poisoned them.

old roper · December 14, 2013, 10:19 AM

Colorado Redneck, I'm pretty avid PD shooter and at one time had over 20 varmint rifles and I'm down to about 12 or so now. My varmint partner lives in Pueblo and retired Brand Inspector and we shoot from Pueblo over just little east of Fowler south of Hwy 50. We have some pretty large ranches to shoot PD on.

One ranch manager we know another avid PD shooter had one town that he want to get rid of and this is maybe 11/12 yrs ago. Dick and I had 4 rifles each and Jim had 3 we fired over 1200rds that day and we wiped that town out. There was few that we missed but they never came back.

When you don't have to wait on rifle cooling down keep switching off it's pretty easy doing 500rd in a day and we kept ammo in coolers. Lot of shots were doubles to start with and we may stay out all day.

We just had couple good years that we got that type shooting in now last few years with the drought out east really slow PD shooting down. I use to keep 7K rds loaded just for PD shooting at any given time and now if I got 500/600 I'm lucky. things go in cycles remember first time plague hit there and how quick they can die off.

I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything

I also post on a Predator site and I sold all my surplus brass that was new this year after I down sized and was pretty close 4k cases. I priced it for what I paid for it not wanting to make anything on it and I was more surprised on how many to deal on price.

Colorado Redneck · December 14, 2013, 09:28 PM

Yeah---no use getting into a p*****ing contest over this subject.

Dog towns that are worth driving a couple hours to shoot are hard to find. I have seen two USFS Pawnee Grasslands towns thinned down so bad they are still recovering, and it was because they are right by county roads and shooters like me will drive by often and climb the fence and set up a bench and shoot for a couple hours. These both still have maybe 5% of the original population but will take a few years.

That huge town in Wyo may have plagued out----I don't know. But if the remaining animals are eliminated then what? Private land is taken by outfitters if there are big towns.

Whatever. Just my opinion. Fire Away!

October 15, 2013, 12:57 PM	#1
bsw Junior Member Join Date: October 13, 2013 Posts: 5	Looking to prairie dog hunt A couple buddies, grandpa, and I have always said we were going to go prairie dog hunting together and never have got around to it. Grandpa is 75 now and getting less and less spry every year, so I figure if we are going to go prairie dog hunting this spring may be the last chance we have to do so. I was hoping some of you guys could point me in the right direction, as none of us have ever been. Is there any public land with decent shooting? Or how do you find farmers willing to let you shoot? I wouldn't care to even pay the farmer. If worse comes to worst we could pay a guide, but Id rather not pay their ridiculous $200 day/person fees just for them to say heres some dogs have fun. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

December 9, 2013, 01:54 PM	#8
RoosterBooster3632 Member Join Date: December 2, 2012 Location: NE WI Posts: 32	Me too! I also would like to do a prairie dog shoot. A few nights ago I talked with an older gentlemen who has been making trips west from WI for almost 20 years. He has gone to Montana, Wyoming and SD in search of dogs. He stated that the best shooting he has had has been in SD. He also went on to say that it was much easier years ago as far fewer people had an interest and land owners welcomed you on their land if they had dogs. He went on to say that they now pay $150.00 a day where they go in SD. He said if you want to get a lot of shooting, the only wany you will get it is to pay someone that manages their dog towns and don't let them get over shot. He stated that they usually shoot 300-500 rounds a day and that the person they hunt with has 4 to 5 very active dog towns to shoot over.

December 14, 2013, 10:19 AM	#17
old roper Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2007 Posts: 2,155	Colorado Redneck, I'm pretty avid PD shooter and at one time had over 20 varmint rifles and I'm down to about 12 or so now. My varmint partner lives in Pueblo and retired Brand Inspector and we shoot from Pueblo over just little east of Fowler south of Hwy 50. We have some pretty large ranches to shoot PD on. One ranch manager we know another avid PD shooter had one town that he want to get rid of and this is maybe 11/12 yrs ago. Dick and I had 4 rifles each and Jim had 3 we fired over 1200rds that day and we wiped that town out. There was few that we missed but they never came back. When you don't have to wait on rifle cooling down keep switching off it's pretty easy doing 500rd in a day and we kept ammo in coolers. Lot of shots were doubles to start with and we may stay out all day. We just had couple good years that we got that type shooting in now last few years with the drought out east really slow PD shooting down. I use to keep 7K rds loaded just for PD shooting at any given time and now if I got 500/600 I'm lucky. things go in cycles remember first time plague hit there and how quick they can die off. I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything I also post on a Predator site and I sold all my surplus brass that was new this year after I down sized and was pretty close 4k cases. I priced it for what I paid for it not wanting to make anything on it and I was more surprised on how many to deal on price. __________________ Semper Fi Vietnam 1965 VFW Life member NRA Life Member Last edited by old roper; December 14, 2013 at 10:36 AM.

December 14, 2013, 09:28 PM	#18
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	Old Roper Yeah---no use getting into a p*****ing contest over this subject. Dog towns that are worth driving a couple hours to shoot are hard to find. I have seen two USFS Pawnee Grasslands towns thinned down so bad they are still recovering, and it was because they are right by county roads and shooters like me will drive by often and climb the fence and set up a bench and shoot for a couple hours. These both still have maybe 5% of the original population but will take a few years. That huge town in Wyo may have plagued out----I don't know. But if the remaining animals are eliminated then what? Private land is taken by outfitters if there are big towns. Whatever. Just my opinion. Fire Away!

October 15, 2013, 01:20 PM	#2
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	Where are you?

October 15, 2013, 01:39 PM	#3
bsw Junior Member Join Date: October 13, 2013 Posts: 5	I am in Missouri but we would drive if we had to

October 15, 2013, 02:17 PM	#4
bsw Junior Member Join Date: October 13, 2013 Posts: 5	I guess I should say where we had to not if we had to because we are def going to have to drive a ways.

October 15, 2013, 02:53 PM	#5
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	PM Me I may be able to help you out. I live in the Wind River Valley of Wyoming, and I can ask a few ranchers and farmers if they would like to be rid of some prairie dogs in the spring. I'd bet they would like to see some of them gone. I don't know any that are greedy enough to try to charge someone who wanted to help them.

October 17, 2013, 10:46 PM	#6
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	Most of the big ranches in SE Wyoming are now leased by outfitters that charge a pretty stiff fee to take a shooter out and show them the dogs, and then drive off. I respect free enterprise, but this is kind of a drag, considering that ranchers a few years ago would submit their name and phone number to the Chamber of Commerce in some areas, so people like the OP could contact them and arrange to do a shoot.

October 18, 2013, 10:55 AM	#7
longranger Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2008 Location: Buffalo WY Posts: 1,056	Plenty of State owned and BLM land that has access and P.D's as well as some private lands that access can be had from WY Wildlife Division web page. I would get with Wyosmith and get you on some of those private ranches.No need to to pay for access, do some home work and you'll shoot P.D.'s until you melt a barrel down. Wyosmith, the Wind River is my most favorite fly fishing any where in the west,very partial to the canyon.Beautiful.

December 10, 2013, 05:30 PM	#10
Colokeb Member Join Date: February 15, 2008 Location: west Posts: 86	I might take somebody if they would shoot rimfire. You can google my experiences in Western Colorado. Getting those big big high number days is rare. But ammo cost and shortage means less pressure. I do private land only.

December 13, 2013, 10:14 PM	#11
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	One thing I try to avoid if possible, is shooting a town out. I drove to Wyoming north of Medicine Bow a few years ago, as I had driven by a huge prairie dog town the summer before, and wanted to spend a day shooting it. Well, I wasn't the first shooter to get there, and it was unbelievable. There were thousands of acres of inactive mounds. ATV tracks were all over the place, and some had turned into roads. Just guessing, I may have seen 20 prairie dogs that morning before giving up and going to another area. I drove past a place on the way out where there were 3 or 4 RV's and guys were set up on shooting benches with spotting scopes finishing the town off. Plague will crash these big towns in cycles. And they do come back. But it seems similar to fishing out a good stream, if you just set in and blast dogs from sunup till sundown and kill out the colony. Then where the heck you going to shoot?

December 13, 2013, 11:17 PM	#13
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	Really?? I know a lady that owns a ranch east of Greeley that had a couple of guys kill out a town that was a bit bigger than half a section in two days. She owned the land, and she saw it. They counted the dogs they shot and it was over a thousand if I remember correctly. That town in Wyo may have been plagued out, but there were scattered dogs left, and there were ATV tracks all over. So I will believe my own eyes.

December 13, 2013, 11:38 PM	#14
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	2 guys, 1000+ dogs in 2 days? Assuming 15 hours of shooting light, and no pauses to eat, drink, or do the necessary, or move from one location to another ....... that's 1800 minutes to shoot. 3600 minutes for two shooters......... that's one prairie dog ever 3 1/2 minutes or so ....... and those would have to have been the absolute dumbest grassrats ever ..... Possible..... but not likely.

December 13, 2013, 11:50 PM	#15
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	I agree---I seldom shoot over 150 rounds. But it is not uncommon to read about guys shooting 4-500 rounds per day in a hot town. If you don't believe it, fine. And I know there are infinite numbers of prairie dogs in each town, so you can't kill'em out.