Locations for Prairie Dog Hunting

[DocDH]

I'm new to this forum, but glad I found it because it's quite a source of information on just about everything.

So here's my question...does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for a good location to hunt/shoot prairie dogs? I'm thinking along the lines of an outfitter that will drop me off, brief me on the area, supply with map(s), leave me to camp and shoot for 2-5 days, then pick-up.

I'm interested in locations public or private, pay or free. I could just use some good starting points.

Thanks for the replies in advance!

Doc

[silicon wolverine]

What state do you want to hunt in? If you feel like traveling, south dakota is a great place to hunt. IF interested let me know and ill hook you up.

SW

[taylorce1]

Not knowing you and what kind of hunter that you are I would have a hard time turning you loose for 2-5 days alone. Your best bet is to book a hunt in SD or TX but the only problem with that is generally a minimum number of hunters required. If you wanted to hunt here in CO you have to find private land and I could get you a supervised hunt for two days where there would be a public camping area near by. There would be no cost unless the landowners want to charge acess to their property.

[DocDH]

Silicon Wolverine - S. Dakota sounds a-ok to me. Thanks so much for the reply. I'm thinking of a group of 6-8. If you want to send me specifics or contact info, my email address is [email protected]

Taylorce1 - You know, I have to admit that my first post may have sounded a bit curious. No, you don't know the type of hunter I am, so helping me out/trusting me would be a bit risky. But I'll give you some info. I'm not a hunter, just a long range shooter...it's a hobby. My dad taught me to shoot when I was about 12 or so. He was a Marine Corps sniper in Viet Nam, so naturally he taught me that "form" of shooting. My main goal is to get my dad, myself, and a few others together for a few days of "comraderie" - nothing structured or scheduled (like a guided hunt), just a few guys hanging out...shooting if we want, camping out/telling lies, you get the point. I'm not against a "guided" hunt, I was just more interested in a more relaxed atmosphere. Thanks for the reply!

[Jack O'Conner]

Contact USDA in Wall, SD. They can provide of map of Buffalo Gap Nat'l Grasslands. This vast area has abundant prairie dog towns. There are several good motels in Wall. Great burgers and draft beer at the Cowboy Bar across from Wall Drug. Best bulk ammo prices at First Stop Gun Store in Rapid City.

Good shooting to you.
Jack

[MatthewM]

I set up our first hunt in the fall two years ago.
We flew to Pierre, SD and were picked up by this really nice family and taken to their new lodging.

Lodging, meals, loaned us a suburban, shooting rights at 3 locations. Facilities real nice with large great room/dining room, commercial kitchen, bar, about 8 two bed rooms.

I won't tell you their fees as they were way too low and probably raised a bit now.

Talk to wife Stacey as she runs things:
http://www.shurshotlodge.com/

Just make sure to inquire as to how many prairie dogs around and how many locations they have setup for you to shoot. At the time, it was just enough. Hopefully they've added one or two more locations. Tell them you want them to confirm permission on 4 spots.

It was the first time for us all and we had a blast, I got one at 550yds with my 223.

Very nice people that could use the business for sure.

[taylorce1]

In CO you have to hunt P-dogs on private property because they are protected on public lands. Unfortunately you will have to be "guided" if you want access to the private lands most land owners want someone that they know watching over the hunters. I could get you access for a group no larger than 4 people that is about the max the land owners will allow at one time. I do this service for free and that is why I mentioned for two days only, and it has to be over a weekend. Ask Art Eatman if you have any questions on about hunting P-dogs with me. If you are respectful of the property on which you get access I can introduce you to the land owner and if you want to come out again some time they might let you do it without me being there.

I was never questioning your ability to shoot.

[Art Eatman]

I definitely had a heckuva great time!

:), Art

[PackingDDS]

Welcome to TFL. Good luck finding a praire dog hunt. Do you happen to be a dentist? I'm a general dentist in Ohio. There aren't too many docs in my nec of the woods who are fans of firearms, so your post caught my attention. Have you ever tried pheasant hunting? S.D. is also a great place to go pheasant hunting.

[DocDH]

PackingDDS - Thanks for the welcome! Yes, I'm a DMD in Louisville. You're right, not too many firearms fans here either. I've heard pheasant hunting is a really good time - might like to try it someday. Like I previously posted, though, I wouldn't label myself a hunter - just haven't had the opportunitiy to do much. NOTE: I have no issues with hunting WHATSOEVER....my shooting experiences tend to be long range target (I do enjoy nailing the occasional ground hog in my dad's backyard or the troublesome squirrel eating all of the bird food).

[silicon wolverine]

Doc, e mail sent

SW

[Desertfox]

Have fun w/the prarie dogs Doc. Welcome to TFL. Glad you joined us.

In S.D., I hear there is a rule for out-of-state hunters. "One prarie dog for every 3 lies you tell in camp." This should give you plenty of chances to make that fish bigger and that mountain lion sighting scarier. Have fun.

[silicon wolverine]

Dont joke about mountain lions around here. A lady hit one with her car about a month ago and it ended up staring at her through the windshield after she hit it. 190 pound female with paws the size of a dinner plate. One big a$$ cat.

SW

[spence03]

taylorce:
i understand your cautiousness to take inexperienced shooters/hunters prairie dogging. i am a former marine i did my four years including two tours to iraq and my roommate, whom i served with, and i are not avid hunters but we are avid shooters and understand safety and maturity has its place. we are very interested to find a place here in the springs to shoot and i would be interested in any information you could give me.

[Full-choke]

Yea, so my family went out on vacation one year with rifles and ammo to go prairie dogging. We had hopes of going out and finding a good gun store somewhere and getting hooked up with someone. But, when we were sitting in a country bumpkin' restaurant beside the local elevator we got to talking to the waitress and she hooked us up with a rancher sitting at the bar who had in fact been complaining about it a few days before. My that was a good time :rolleyes:...

I got my first case of scope bite on that trip too...13 years old and never shot a scoped rifle before...needless to say a 30-30 Marlin 336 has a little more jump then expected and I didn't know what eye relief was :o. Good souvenir...nice little scar and a good time.

F-C

[MatthewM]

After the SD trip, I went back in June 2006.
A road trip from Calif through NV, Utah, to WY. From Rock Springs WY across to Casper.
Kinneman took us out at Rock Springs. That SW area of WY wasn't much fun. The prairie dogs there are the other breed and don't live in colonies. They were spread out here and there in the sage. Between the wind, sage & sparse targets, we moved on.

Casper was much better. We drove up to a mechanic shop and an employee there immediately befriended us. He sent us just east of town and further east. We found plenty of towns of medium density. Mike also took us north of Casper to a friend's large private property where we shot many more. We spent about 3 days in Casper. When we left, we went almost due south. We found a little square of public property and I shot about 50 with my 22lr "barracuda".
The long shots of the trip were: Me- 250yds 22lr. 350yds 17HMR. Ron said he got one at something like 600yds, 223. I don't recall. It was his first trip for pdogs and he'd only had two trips for coyotes before that. 60yrs old for first hunting trips!

***WY has some outrageous trespassing laws and much is not marked and inter-mingled. A map showing private/public and a GPS are essential. The maps are easy to buy locally.

[arizona hunter]

I know of some good guides in WY and SD if you need info. Besides p-dogs they can provide room and board.

[doni79]

I have a friend who will be visiting from out of state that wants a place to hunt prairie dogs. He's a retired officer from the Va State Police and very safe, or I wouldn't ask. Does anyone know of or have any information on ranches near or east of the Denver area? Any help greatly appreciated.

[dogzilla]

Hi Guys,

I am seeking some helpful info on where to go blast some prairie rats in the
cheyenne and casper areas.. or even a little bit more south towards the colorado border.

thanks in advance,

DogZilla

[Fat White Boy]

I think prairie dog hunting should be called prairie dog shooting. I am in Southern Calif. We don't have prairie dogs but we do have ground aquirrels. Almost the same critter. You don't hunt them in the traditional sense of the word hunt. There is no tracking or stalking. You drive till you see a group of them, set up and start picking them off. About as much fun as you can have with your jeans above your ankles. I feel the same about Dove. It is more of a shoot than a hunt...Just my 2 pesos worth...

[guntotin_fool]

go to varminthunter.com. get the magazine, lots of places in there, and lots of people who will help you. far more a clique thing, once you get known and trusted, the places come out of the woodwork to start shooting. They get a lot of bad eggs show up, leave a mess, eff it up for the rest of us, so be on your best behavior, and don't expect a huge welcome your first time, its like your on probation. pass that, and you will be happy for years

[pappadeere]

:confused:And we are wanting to find someplace that would let us go Prairie Dog Hunting. Also can you go on public lands? We are going in July and I need some information on what we need to do... License's etc... Thanks Richard

[longranger]

Spring will show up about 1Jul, we have a foot of snow on the ground right now the "dogs" are still asleep.:eek:

[guntotin_fool]

SOrry, that was www.varminthunter.org

[deancamp]

I'm looking for a place to shoot dogs in SD for a group of four. I would prefer to hunt with a private individual that needs the dogs thinned down. I would also consider other options. Any help with information or just point me in the right direction would be appreciated. Thanks

[walt maslen]

How about all of NE Colorado!

Ha

Walt

[deancamp]

That would work, if there's lots of dogs. What do you have?

[Varminthunter]

Hey fellow hunters. I was just wondering if anyone knows of a place I can go to just plunk around (prairie dog shooting) with my rifle or compound bow in or near Colorado springs? I always go with my Fiance in Arizona cause there is so much BLM land it's so fun and helps with my accuracy. Thanks God Bless

[arizona hunter]

When will you be in Arizona and where? Our prairie dog season closes from April 1 to June 15. June 16 you can have at 'em again.

[KDMac]

I'd like to talk with taylorce1 about places to shoot prairie dogs around Salida. We are at an RV park in Howard for the next 3 1/2 months. Thanks--KDMac

[flyguyskt]

emailed you about South Dakota!

the gfp put out maps of dog towns on public and private land. most land owners will let you shott dogs all day for 100 bucks! some for free. ive even had them bring out lunches their wives made for us while i shot em!

[sourdough44]

Winner, Murdo, Wood, SD, Millette county chamber of commerce, VHA etc. Just do some research, ask around & go. If you drive a ways I think it is worth it to pay a little to get right on the dogs. We had it tough with the rain in early June but still got some good shooting in. A great time had by almost all, some dogs didn't appreciate it.

[fineredmist]

You can get some decent shooting on the Indian reservations in SD but you will need to buy there permits and you will have to be "guided"($$$$$$$) by an approved guide. As with all guides, some are great and some are not so great.

[fishcharmer]

When I was in high school, me and my buddies were paid by a farmer to shoot all we could. 25 cents a PD. I used my 700 BDL 25-06 with a 6-24x50AO scope on it. Zoom right in on those little critters and explode them. Good times.

[p.a.t.223]

Hi my name is dave iv bin stationed here in colorado springs co
and would love too do some parirey dog hunting if any one out there could
Help me it would be great or any one with some land and would like some
help with some varment re location let me know plz or any
Info on this subject contact me at 719_465_9471 thank you

[Rcinit]

Any advice for finding a place to shoot P-dogs in South Dakota? I normally visit family in the north east corner of SD around June. I'm open to shooting on private land as well as Tribal lands.

[twins]

Pat223 and VarmintHunter,

Any luck finding locations near Colorado Springs for P-dog shooting? If you have, please share the locations by PMing me.
Thanks.

[A_Gamehog]

Nucla Co. is the most famous place to shoot dogs in south west Colorado,

High numbers and lots of BLM ground near Grand Junction also.

http://www.westword.com/1999-03-25/news/dog-eat-dog/

From Col Springs take 50 west to the town of Nucla. 6 hrs+ Boondocks!

I have shot them in the snow in dec and jan.

Rules and regs:

Private ground can be hunted with permission year round. I was never denied access on any private ground after asking.

Public ground is closed from the end of Feb to June 15th.

Non resident small game lisc. required 55$ for year for p-dogs

Coyote season is year round.

[twins]

I like the story. That's one heck of a trek from C/S to Nucla. Guess it's not a day trip shooting event. Thanks for providing the info.

[A_Gamehog]

After a snowstorm you can view the P-Dog holes very easily because they have a Mini volcano dark dirt color in a field of white. Don't get me wrong on hunting them in winter because the numbers are lower, but it's just as much fun because overheating of your rifle is not possible. This is in areas of one foot of snow or less.

This is a link to dog numbers in South Dakota. Google earth these sites and locate the ownership of the property.

I have a link like this for Colorado but can't find my links.

http://gfp.sd.gov/wildlife/docs/prairedog-distribution-report.pdf

The Google earth photo is a P-Dogtown screenshot from Colorado.

Let the Internet do the leg work/scouting for you......

[A_Gamehog]

Last summer outside Bass Pro shop between I-70 and the store.
The Bolder Fort Morgan area is even more "Infested" They are everywhere.
Whole city lots are covered every 5-10 ft. with a hole. But they are off limits and you will be fined in the city limits for killing them.

[mbb300]

sorry fellas for showing up late to the convo. i just got into reloading my 300 win and have made up some light loads that i would love to try out on pdogs to increase my big game shooting ability. i am sick of shooting off a bench at the range as it just doesnt feel as applicable as offhand field shots at non stationary targets. i used to shoot small game with a 22 as a kid for the same reason and it really helped. i live in denver, anyone got a cheap and relatively close spot around? also anyone know a good long distance shooting range around? coming from dense woods hunting in maine and ny im at a real disadvantage on this one.

MB

[A_Gamehog]

Most of the open ground around Cripple Creak west of Col. Springs has Dogs. All Public land closed the end of feb. Private ground is open all year. You need a small game lisc. and permission on private land. I was never refused access when asking for permission on private ground in Col.

[tyson303]

Very late to this conversation because I am brand new to this forum. I've been looking for places to hunt some prarie dogs and coyotes in CO (east of e-470) for a while now but haven't had any luck. Would love to be able to get on some land if anyone can help it's greatly appreciated.