Looking for a place to hunt prairie dogs

[trapper35]

Ive got three boys under 16 and im looking for a place to take them. Looked at some guides but cant afford 200/day per person. All of us are very safe and ethical hunters. We have never hunted prairie dogs before, but are all avid deer hunters. Not afraid to drive, were in WI. Any help would be appreciated

[sixgunnin]

How far are you willing to drive?

[DPI7800]

$200 per day, per person!?! That is robbery! Especially when you consider you are taking care of a problem for that person!

Keep looking and asking, you will find some place with in a reasonable drive to go shoot P-Dogs for a much lower rate if not free.

[trapper35]

Dakota's, CO, WY, possibly more?

[shootbrownelk]

Charging the hunter to eliminate pests seems to be the latest way for ranchers to get into our pocketbooks. It used to be that they only charged a fee to hunt big game. That has changed. There is an outfitter who leases ranches with prairie dog problems, then he takes his clients on a sod poodle safari. Nuts.....I'd never pay to shoot a prairie dog. But I guess some NR's do.
Real similar to wild hog hunts in Texas....but the Texas guys get money from the hunters while getting crop damage money from the State.

[Art Eatman]

The cost of seed and fertilizer, the cost of livestock feed: These go up faster than the prices realized by farmers and ranchers. Any way to add to their income is welcome. Always remember that the ad valorem tax man is not at all interested in the profitability of a farm or ranch operation. He will get his money or else.

[jmr40]

I have a BIL who took his 12 year old son on a road trip across the west including Yellowstone and other sights 2 summers ago. They found a guy who let them hunt for a nominal fee. I forget the exact amount, but it wasn't much. The rancher spent about an hour of his time showing them around the ranch so they'd know which directions would be safe to shoot and pointed out good spots. Basically left them alone for the rest of the day. IIRC it was in South Dakota.

[Chaz88]

I remember when ranchers would pay me to shoot prairie dogs. $200 a person! Times have changed.

[Oliver Sudden]

If we pay to help a farmer with his pest problem then soon no one will be able to hunt any thing unless he has money to spare. How are the youths going to learn the joy of hunting when a few greedy fellow teach ranchers and farmers to charge or lease to the highest bidder?
Contact the fish and game people of the states your interested in and get suggestions on land owners that will let you hunt. If they charge go else were. I shoot parie dogs for free as well as hunt pronghorn in three states. Be a good guest of the owner and respect the property is all we should want to do.

[Lucas McCain]

The way you young fellas are going to get a place to hunt isn't easy but it helps if you know how to talk to them, in their language. Be aware of the challenges and the pitfalls they face daily. Respect them and what they own. Always close gates. When you look at the ranch, the older that the buildings are, how old and how fancy the pick-ups are, the better chance you have of gaining access. Look to see how big their corrals are, count horses and four wheelers. That's a good indicator of how much land he controls.
If you know where you would like to go, order the topo maps from USGS to see what the lay of the land is. Also get a plat map of the Cty you wish to hunt and then you will see who owns what. When looking over areas stop at the BLM offices and inquire. Go to farm and feed stores and inquire there.
Also when you go to ranch and ask it not a good idea to try to interrupt their work to talk to them.
And when you go out there, wear big boy pants, don't wear the bright colored tennis shoes, no colored hair, all piercings should be removed, shed the Stanley cup t shirt, and replace that New York baseball cap with a John Deere hat or a seed corn hat. And no beer cans in your hand or on the dash.
He already has you pegged for a dude, don't advertise how much of a dude you really are.
You may think this is totally over the top, but look at it this way. What would you do if this old pickup, pulling a horse trailer, drove up on your lawn, got out wearing cowboy hat and boots, pistol on his hip and started asking questions about your place. Then he asked you if he can tie his horse up in your yard to give him a couple days rest.
"There's Your Sign"

[old roper]

I get on few ranches here in Co and doesn't cost anything but they also let other friends or family shoot. I do my PD shooting during the week.

They are in business to make money and they understand the boom in PD shooting, started here in the 90's.

[taylorce1]

The problem is how much are you going to pay for travel expenses to save guide fees? How many days do you want to shoot? You can easily find hunts for less than $200 per person in the Dakotas with a little searching. It took me less than 5 minutes to find Y? Outfitters at $125 per person per day with lunch included.

Traveling half way across the country to save money on guide fees may not save you anything in the end. I'd find something that you can do in a weekend. Gas, eating out, and hotels and incidentals can cost quite a bit as well. The thing is there are guide services that cater to all sorts of clients, some clients expect a lot more comfort than others. You just need to find a guide who matches your pocket book.

The biggest problem is you don't have the ability to go out and do the leg work to find places to shoot prairie dogs for free. There are plenty of places that'll let you shoot them if you ask. Several years ago I had great towns to shoot, but the plague wiped them out and most never came back. I haven't been able to do the leg work to find more places to shoot because of work conflicts, but I do have an eye on some promising towns.