Any Prarie Dog hunters out there?

K

K472

New member
Hi all,
I'm a new member, and just wanted to see if there is anyone else that likes to hunt prarie dogs.

I'm in Kansas and try to go on at leat 2 hunts a year with a couple of my buddies.

I currently shoot a Savage model 12 low profile varmiter. Its a 22-250 stainles barrel and I have a shrewd muzzle brake on it.

I have it topped with a Nikon Buckmaster 6X18 scope and currently shoot off a portable bench that I can move around out in the field.

I have attached some pictures of my poodle puncher.
 

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Welcome! Any number can play. Plenty of room in the toybox.:)
The old .22-250 has been doing good for over seventy years, now, every since Jerry Gebby got it all worked out from the old .250-3000. He was a Nebraska gunsmith and varmint hunter. My uncle put one of his barrels on a Mauser action, back in the late 1940s. Tack driver.
 
Nice to meet you.
My uncle got me into the dog hunting about 18 years ago. I was living out in SW Kansas then and was able to go pretty regularly.

I live in SE Kansas now and evidently they don't like the water:)

But it does make the trips I do take PD hunting a lot more special.
 
I don't know about prarie dog hunting, but I sure love prarie dog shooting! I go to North Dakota every summer. I also have a savage 12 heavy stainless barrel, but in 223, the lower recoil lets me see them get popped in the scope. I use my 6mm for windy and long shots, but its falling out of favor with me because I can't see my shots hit because of the scope jump, and thats half of the fun for me! My favorite prarie dog gun now is a little savage 17hmr. sneaking into a dog town and popping them at 150 yards is loads of fun, doesn't work to well on the federal land but on the private ranches that don't get shot up so much its a hoot!
 
Not prairie dogs but woodchucks (ground hogs). They're just a fat prairie dog as far as I'm concerned.

We use 22-250, 204ruger and 17HMR. All but the 17 create a wonderful, glistening, pink mist.:D
 
Not many P-Dogs in my part of the country (SW Idaho.) But I do hunt "whistle pigs", aka Columbian Ground Squirrel. Kinda 1/4 scale P-Dog.
 
22-250 is a great cartridge that rig must be recoilless with the break on it.
You’d have a good view watching the red mist.
I had thought about putting a break on mine but the barrel shot out and it sits in the safe awaiting a new stock and barrel.
 
I like watching them pop to. The brake lits me do that even with the 22-250.

We usally try to paln the first trip around the first part of June here.

The pups are up and while small not as spooky.

Best I've done on them is 7 with 3 rounds:)

I haven't come anywhere close to the 1000 yard club. My farthest has been around 480 paces.

How do you like the 6mm?
 
I have never gone on a dedicated P-dog hunt but have been in on some shooting several times while primarily after other species. I have however picked up a good prairie dog rifle. It is a .17 fireball VSSF with a Bushnell 4200 scope and this rig is just screaming for a trip to western OK.

Evan
 
I like it best to shoot in teams. One spots while the other shoots. Its a blast!

I like watching the dog as my parter gos after them especially if it a tough shot (just their head up enough to see them)

If he misses I get to shoot plus a little ribbing, but it usally goes both ways Ha, Ha.

Let me know how the 204 & 17 fireball work if you get the chance to try them out.

I will take some pictures this year and post them when I get back.
 
We were hunting ground squirrels yesterday and today. Snowy and slushy but alot of action. Yesterday I was shooting my 25.06 ( very windy too) it's a Ruger M77 heavy stainless varmint 26" in the fat lam stock. It has a Leupold VXIII 6.5-20 on it. I'm shooting 120 gr nosler BT's and in a gusty 15 to 20 mph wind with almost no windage correction. Saw 1 Badger too. It wasn't his lucky day apparently as I was cocked and locked on a squirrel at about 100 when he showed up in my view at about 300. Today I was shooting my .22lr as was my buddy and we were using alot of english beyond about 35 yrds in that wind.:D

P-dogs are up north a ways and I may get a trip in on them in a month or so.

Ken
 
I'm set up for it. I have a VSSF in .22-250 with a brake, aftermarket pin spring and custom trigger. It's outfitted with a Leupold VX-III 4.5X14. I live where there are none. We did go looking for them last spring but it was a late winter and we had no luck. Maybe next year after I get vacation at the new job. Hopefully I can hold on to this job through the tough times. It's the job I've always dreamed of.
 
Our family uses quite a variety of rifles for prarie dogs. Some are only used when the situation permits, but can be quite fun.

.22 WMR
.22 Hornet
.223 Rem
.220 Swift
.243 Win
.30-06
.300 Win Mag
.300 Weatherby
7.62x39mm
7.62x54R
7.7x58 Jap
8x57 Mauser
.375 H&H

Other cartridges have been known to appear, but aren't used as frequently.
Taking an oddball cartridge or rifle out can make for an interesting day.
 
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.22 WMR
.22 Hornet
.223 Rem
.220 Swift
.243 Win
.30-06
.300 Win Mag
.300 Weatherby
7.62x39mm
7.62x54R
7.7x58 Jap
8x57 Mauser
.375 H&H
Click to expand...

The .270 Winchester should have been prominently featured in that list. (brain fart) All of us have quite a bit of fun spitting 100 grain hollow points at the dogs, at 3300 fps+.
 
troy_mclure said:
i just gon an encore in .204. i also got a muzzle break installed too.
Click to expand...

Troy, I mean no offense but what is the functional purpose of a muzzle brake on a 204? The muzzle hardly wiggles with the shot to begin with, I mean, the cross hairs don't even move. Seems like a brake is just a good way to redirect the noise back at the shooter.:confused:
 
my encore(single shot rifle, 28" bbl) had quite a bit of muzzle jump, especialy at 300yd. the brake essentially eliminated that.
 
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