Why hunt prairie dogs?

For the vermin I shoot... If I ain't eating it/feeding it to the dogs I ain't touchin' it... I just leave it lay.
Brent
 
They don't get a chance to rot. They get recycled by coyotes and buzzards and any other meat-eater that wanders by...

Nutria in the water in Louisiana? Think gar, gator, turtles, and a whole bunch of fish nibbling away on the carcass.

Some years back I watched the cleanup by nature of a dead cow. Mostly coyotes and buzzards. Within three days there was little left but hide and a bit of meat on the bones. By the end of two weeks, nothing but scattered bones, bleaching in the sun. Burping buzzards and coyotes picking their teeth. And the ants batted cleanup; they eat the tissues connecting the bones--which is why bones are scattered.
 
I live in prairie dog country and started shooting them when I was a boy back in 1949. Do not pick up a prairie dog. Its the fleas on the p dogs that carry the plague. During the spring time when the pups first come out one can get in a lot of shots within 70 yards so a 22 LR HP bullet will do . A 22 WMR 22 Winchester 40 grain HP bullet is good for shots out to about 125 yards. Past 125 yards the 40 Gr bullet from a WMR drops off fast. I now like the 17 HM2 and 17 HMR rifles. The 17 HM2 for shots out to about 80 Yds and the 17 HMR for shots out to about 150 Yds for clean kills. Past 150 yards a 223 Rem will also get in a lot of shooting but now I use the 204 Ruger which is flatter shooting. I ll also be trying out a 17 Fireball this year. When the prairie dogs dig their holes they build up a mound and distroys an area about a yard accros plus they eat up a bunch of grass. I have read that 100 prairie dogs will eat as much as one cow. That is why the cattle ranchers wont to limit the prairie dog population.
 
Tuzo,

I tend to be in your camp of hunting for food. That being said, when I learn that there are animals on the land that I am hunting that either: A) Compete with me for the very food I am hunting. B) Kill livestock C) Spread disease -- then I am able to cross into the varminting frame of mind seamlessly.

I recently spoke to a private land owner who has everything from turkeys, quail, deer and pigs. The owner also has coyotes, crows, and ground squirrels. The land owner allows all to be hunted within reason. It is viewed as land management. I can go with that.

Cheers,

DG
 
Tuzo said:
We do have an imported pest called a nutria that damages canal walls and levees.
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Years back, my dad bought my mom a coat made from Nutrias. He had a newspaper clipping with pictures of these strange creatures. Someone was holding what looked like a giant rat by its tail. The coat was actually really nice. You would never know it came from such an ugly creature.

If you have open range on these things, you might see if the pelts are worth anything. I will be waiting for my royalty check for hooking you up with such valuable information. :rolleyes:

Fly
 
I used to hunt them in Washington amd Idaho when I was a kid. I can't wait to move back and try my 90grn hollow points chambered in .270:eek: I live in West Virginia as of now, not a lot of them around where I live at. the ones I see I do commit to the almighty. The cyotes around here are tough to get, the law kind of frowns on shooting inside the city limits:eek::D and thats where I see most of them. Heck, when I ride to work I have to worry more about hitting a deer a block from my house than I do going down the highway!:eek:
 
Racoons as marsh pests

In the marshes of southeast Louisiana racoons have become an out-of-control pest. With few, if any, natural predators the racoon population has bloomed. They raid nests and kill migratory waterfowl and are known to carry rabies. I have seen people hunt racoons at night with a decent searchlight shooting them out of trees and on shorelines.

Seems that in addition to prairie dogs, nutria, and urban coyotes, we can include racoons in the mix of shootable pests.
 
Fly - Been a long time since I checked fur prices, but I would be surprised if it was worth the time and effort to skin them these days.

I had a buddy when I was in High School who ran a trap line and he did pretty well selling Nute pelts.

Funniest thing was he saved the carcasses and did a midnight nutria carcass dump at our rival high school...Oh the good old days:p
 
But disease transmission threat is also pretty high. Just like wild hogs, prairie dogs are possible carriers of BAD diseases. I understand bubonic plague is carried by them. it would take only a few cases of cattle infected with ANY disease to severely interrupt the meat industry and it would hurt the farmers and consumers real fast and real bad!
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I agree with your thinking, but i'm going to be a science geek here: Most, if not all of the diseases and viruses they carry are host-specific, meaning that they only affect certain species, and most, if not all do not affect cows or humans or any other thing we eat. Plus, when the meat gets cooked, so do the diseases and viruses. But as for broken legs...

But in no way, shape, or form am I saying I oppose shooting them. I just felt like being a science geek for a second:D
 
T-Ray, I understand host specific but the threat of a germ modifying to hit other hosts exists.
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Very much so, although it takes a long time and many different mutations to change hosts. That's why bird flu is made up to be a big deal, which it very well may turn out to be...(contraversial but please for anyone-lets not start that issue) The way to prevent bird flu :D is for everyone to hunt :D

Just felt like spreading some light on this stuff.
 
What is the name of the group of supposed gunowners that support obama ?? This thread reminds me of it by proclaiming ... I am a hunter but.....

I am a Rancher and i want the vermin off my land by any means . If someone can enjoy shooting them then fine heck i do myself however i will still spread poison where they eat treated grain and go down the den to bleed out as it takes effect . They damage my land , occationaly they damage livestock due to the burrows . We are dry this year and i have about 300 acres that are worthless pasture due to the rodents while i feed cattle bales/grain/ that i will need this coming winter not to mention the extra cost on supplements . As a result of both the weather and the prarie dogs all our cattle are not producing milk as they should , all the calves are under weight , and 7 have been pulled off momma cows simply because they could not produce enough milk and the calves would have starved to death . On a normal year ill have one or two bottle babys . All this without even mentioning that they are plague prone and yes it transfers to humans .

For the record Yes i have eaten prarie dog , its about like jack rabbit or other grass fed animal of similar size .
 
$1,000 gone, gone, gone.
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If the rancher is only raising meat cows, that might be a good number. I have a good friend who raises registered black angus by Calgary. Those aren't food cows, but to make the breed better. She wouldn't tell me how much she pays for her cows, but they can get very pricey.

I would go up there and shoot gophers (richardson ground squirrels) for her. She lost a young bull a couple of years ago due to a gopher hole. She was not too happy about that. He sure was tasty though. ;)

redneckrepairs,

If you really want someone to shoot your vermin, I would be happy too if you are close enough.

bob
 
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