Prairie Dog Hunt - Tips Anyone ?

[TinManMike]

My son and myself are going on a prairie dog hunt in June in western Kansas. First time for this type of sniper shooting.
Been watching some videos and have talked to the land owner but we are looking for any helpful tips for this type of hunt.
Any do's or don'ts, equipment, etc.

I think we have a pretty good idea of what we are taking, but always looking for more intel from people who have done this.

Thanks for any tips in advance !

 

[lifeandliberty123]

bring lots of ammo

 

[rOmiLaYu]

.22-250

 

[poopdaddy]

Shoot them

 

[mfoster]

Good rangefinder,Plenty ammo,spotting scope ,some type of shooting bench,

 

[BIBS]

My son and I go every year in kansas as well. It is our favorite kind of hunting...In my opinion you will need:
1) Good quality binoculars for each of you.
2) A good spotting scope. Not a must but very helpful at distances beyond 500 yards.
3) An accurate gun(s). Should have good to very good glass on it. My son and I shoot 308 and 6.5 creedmore. You obviously don't need a gun that size to shoot prairie dogs, however you need it to fight the wind which averages 12 to 15 mph and higher. wind is brutal at the longer distances. 700 yards out to 1200. last year in September it averaged 26 mph! Good ole kentucky windage will only go so far....but there are shooters that are far better the me. these dogs average about 4 1/2 inches wide and 11 inches tall!
4) Zero your gun to the best of your ability before you get there.
5) We use match grade ammo.
6) We shoot an average of 75 to 100 rounds each per day. If you are just blasting away with Ar's...at shorter distances you will need more a lot more.
7) A Kestrel for wind, temp etc etc. Basically a portable weather station. I use a kestrel 5700 elite which has Applied Ballistics software built into it....I believe this is a must for windy days and long range.
8) If you're driving: take cooler, shooting mats, folding lawn chairs, pop up canopy, (it was 106 degrees in August) shooting bags. We actually take a Polaris buggy
9) We use flag markers (we make them) for our longer shots. It can be very difficult and time consuming getting your partner on the same dog you are zooming in on at 700 yds.
There are going to be some folks that say you do not need these larger calibers. However your hit rate will go up...besides 100 to 200 yard shots gets boring after a while. Depending where and when you are going, the guys shooting the smaller calibers will have cleaned out most of the dogs at shorter ranges, so you get forced into longer shots.
There is more.....but I think I have covered the main items. The above is what we have learned that makes it "fun" for us. We go to relax and enjoy the time with my son.
Please feel free to Pm me and you can give me a call if you like.

Hope this helps,

Bibs

 

[TinManMike]

Thanks for the tips from everybody ! We are shooting 224 Valkyrie rifles with pretty decent glass.
The bino's, spotting scope, bags, etc on the list with a canopy already.
Mini weather station is good to know. Have plenty of time to research before the hunt.

I was born and raised in Kansas, so I know all about the wind out there !

Thanks again and keep them coming.

 

[davis211]

Don't know if this is correct procedure but it worked for me. I clean my barrels after 40 rounds: 2 wet, bronze brush, 3 wet and 3 dry. My first trip to WY resulted in a ruined barrel (.223) from improper cleaning--nice key hole groups at 100yds - but we were firing about 400 rounds a day.

All the stuff from guys above along with a good rifle rest.

 

[jeshoffstall]

Let me know if you are shopping for a spotting scope. I have a Leupold SXI Ventana I was going to list, it has been used once at the rifle range. 15-45x60. Comes with Tripod and Case.

 

[edindah]

Went to South Dakota seven years straight, P'doggin. First year, started with .17 HMR, but winds negated any distance shots so I used .22-250 as a back up. I really needed a good scope as those critters get real small after 25 yards! Did a lot of hunting on National Grasslands as there were plenty of Dog Towns, but many were shot out or the dogs would go to ground after the first volley. Last few years, most of us wound up using ARs in .223. Longest shot taking out a Pdog was almost 700 yards with a .45-70 and iron sights. (Not by me with these old eyes, but our host - with much younger eyes. We were also a group of 7 to 8, which is way too much for any concentrated area. I saw best results from 1 or 2 folks with benchrests, chairs and shade cover. Stay hydrated.