Prairie Dog Shooting Questions

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dball01

New member
Dang, I hate to admit it, but it sure is difficult for me to get in the prone position, and up again, when shooting at prairie dogs (well, I am 76). Sooo, what is your favorite way, with a longer bipod so you can shoot in the sitting position, or a table of some sort so you can use rest and rear bag? Any particular brands? Thank you all.
 
While I never hunted PD's or any game I could just stay in one spot... I would think the table type setup would be best.

Place for food and drinks as well as optics and ammo. Then the gun is on a nice high clean spot to rest and cool with the action open.

I have seen contraptions that range from a simple card table and folding chair on up to real snazzy easy take down wooden rigs.

Brent
 
BTW, I am only a young 41 but I have engaged in harmful activity since I was 7 and aspired to be a stuntman... from toes to the top of my noodle bowl, I have seen severe injuries all my life and now proning out would hurt going down and up not to mention the sore neck from looking forward from prone.
Brent
 
I would go with the table type setup. If you did have to be very portable, I've used a folding chair and shooting sticks.
 
I use seated position, and Stony Point expedition bipod, which is long enough to use in seated position.
 
I have a few spots I like to go, they all have old fence posts or other junk to use as a rest.
If you can find an old stump, car, hay bale, etc....... use it, works great for cover too.
 
Last few years I've used a camp stool and a fence rail for deer hunting. I'd bet that the same thing for varmints would work to.
 
Well when shooting P-dogs in big numbers at long ranges it is sometimes good to be mobile. The tables that rotate are good but don't always lend themselves to the uneven hills the the targets favor. They tend to be cumbersome and not as portable as one likes. I have a short folding stool and shooting sticks. This gets me up enough to avoid that "neck cramp" and is still light and solid. Every shooter has to find thier own nitch but on live targets mobility is still king.
 
Personally I have been using a carbon fiber camera TRI-POD, with a rotating gun rest head on it, along with folding chair of the type that collapses into a roll up bag. Had an upholestry(sp) shop modify an old canvas back pack to accomodate both the tripod and chair,,room enough for ammo, water, snacks, first aid kit. Its the same rig I take with me when setting up for ground blinds when deer hunting. The tripod has shown to be alot more stable than sticks, although probably not as precise as prone;; none the less I still manage to account for most of my shots inside 400yds.:D
 
Call me "old school", but I use a shooting pad (for laying or sitting on), and shoot from prone or sitting position most of the time. I occasionally use trees or posts as rests, but I prefer and I am used to field expedient positions. I never use a bipod, tripod, monopod, shooting sticks, or whatever, I use a sling. I never use a shooting chair, I sit in the dirt (I know. Eeeeeeeuuugghh! Gross!).
 
I tilt the steering column up to use as a brace, and set the window height as appropriate. A folded towel pads the glass. I believe in comfort.

Otherwise, some sort of shooting table in the bed of a pickup seems reasonable.
 
If you have an old utility trailer, 2 wheel trailer about 8'-10' long, put a jack on each corner and two tables on top. Makes it sturdy, a place for you and a hunt partner and an elevated position to view from, especially the longer shots, you have a spotter. I don't have pics of mine, but the wife and I use it and it works great. Trailer was bought used for $150 and the jacks are about $30 each, but hey, its portable.
 
I say get yourself a good portable bench, I hate laying on the ground for long periods of time.
 
gkdir

Hey you bent my ear! Got pics? Sounds worthy of study. I may want to try it out. I hunt a lot with handguns and this may be great for longshots.
 
mechanics crawler

i don't know if his idea is original or not but a buddy of mine took a mechanics crawler and using his ingenuity he fitted it with 20 inch bike tires. he propels himself along using his feet to push himself forward and never has to stand up.
 
We've used several ideas.....one is long Harris bipod while sitting in a beach chair. Pretty comfortable being low to the ground, plenty of area around the chair to keep ammo, drink, spotting scope etc. When not using the bipod I prefer a camera tripod that has been fitted with a quick attach leather rest.

bipod.jpg


bipod.jpg


One of the guys at work built this prairie dog trailer with swivel benches and rests.....pull it to your hunt, unhook and start shooting.

portablebench.jpg


portablebench2.jpg
 
I've used a "Work Mate" portable bench/vise, and a folding stool. Also I will drape "camo" around the bench and me.
 
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