Here in Wyoming, the prarie dog population looked like it was falling over the last few years. The areas I used to hunt had fewer and fewer every year. The areas I hunted were always open areas where you could see 5 to 6 hundred yards across, usually devoid of any sage brush. I'd take out my Swift or my 2-250 for those 3 to 4 hundred yard shots. I went out across the sage a few days ago, searching for new pd towns, and noticed that there were mounds all over the place, but now, they are almost all in some pretty thick sagebrush. I spent four hours glassing and picking off dogs in some pretty thick stuff. I used my 17 HRM since the farthest I shot was 200 yards, the shortest was about 75. I used up 5 boxes of those "scarce" 17's. Guess the dogs finally realized they'd have a better chance to survive in cover than in their traditional "towns". Prarie dog evolution. Who'd have guessed.