Author Topic: P dogs (Read 710 times)

XMarine · « **on:** May 19, 2004, 01:23:29 PM »

Just thought I'd let everyone know the babies are out and just waiting to be shot.We just got back from a 3 day huntGuess I'll start reloading for next trip!

KN · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2004, 01:52:05 PM »

Glad to hear it. I'm heading out next week for SD. Taking my two daughters with me. Age 14 & 12. The oldest has gone the last two years but it will be the first for my youngest. She sure is excited to go. KN

wipartimer · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2004, 04:44:45 PM »

How much ammo do you usually go thru? My Dad is going to wyoming in a couple weeks and he's wondering if 500 rounds is enough? He plans on shooting for 3 days. Thanks

KN · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2004, 05:36:13 PM »

Not nearly enough if the shooting is good. I once went through 1500 rounds in 2-1/2 days and would consider that average. I don't go through nearly as much with my girls along since I do a lot of spotting for them. KN

squirrel_hunter6 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 20, 2004, 04:44:35 AM »

I was curious to find out if anybody eats Prairie Dogs? Since I live in Alabama, the only place I have ever seen Prairie Dogs is in the zoo! I guess that they would have as much meat as a squirrel.

From what I have read, it seems like everyone uses extreme velocity rounds when shooting Prairie Dogs. Can you not get close to them to shoot them with a 22lr?

scruffy · « **Reply #5 on:** May 20, 2004, 04:50:08 AM »

eating - pdogs carry all sorts of disease and plagues, they're a giant rat in that respect.

22lr - Just imagine a large expanse of nothing. It's not easy to sneak up on anything....

later,
scruffy

skb2706 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 20, 2004, 09:23:47 AM »

My son and I go four or five times a year maybe more. I plan on 1200 rds. of various ammo including 22lr. for both of us for two days. Thats 300 rds. each per day...but we make a social visit out of the trip cause my sister owns the farm otherwise we would shoot more. Take several guns as they will get hot and if the weather is hot they will stay hot a while. I take everything from my 6mm. 22-250, 223, .221, 22 lr.

Sneakin up on prairie dogs is like sneaking across a pool table.... not going to happen. I would rather eat my neighbors cat than pick up a prairie dog. ......besides being short tailed, bucktooth, flea carryin, inbred little farm rats they stink to high heaven. If you take the average 50 gr. projectile......launch it around 3800-3900 fps apply this said projectile to the average bodied prairie dog you get this mess that is hard to explain.....but truly not appetizing at all. Kinda like throwing one into a running lawn mower.
If the dogs you are shooting at have not been shot at much then the first few you can usually shoot pretty close. The more hits they take the farther their "zone of safety" is....usually starts out for us that we will get shots at about 50-100 yds. and by the end of the first day the shots will be in excess of 300 and some over 400.
I won't get a chance to go again for a month but by them they will be out in force.
Good luck .......shoot straight..............don't save the big parts

ghostZ · « **Reply #7 on:** May 20, 2004, 10:54:21 AM »

Quote from: skb2706

...Kinda like throwing one into a running lawn mower....

That may be one of the funniest descriptions I have ever heard.

Wlscott · « **Reply #8 on:** May 20, 2004, 01:08:00 PM »

If you're doing it right, about the only thing you could make out of one is soup :grin:

When we were kids, before we got into high powered rifles, a 22lr is all we shot them with. If you walk in and sit down for a while, they'll get used to you to an extent. They'll start popping out of their holes. Especially if they aren't shot at very much. You can pop a couple, then wait for them to come back out.

If you use a 22lr you won't get to see them perform amazing aerial acrobatics though :shock:

KN · « **Reply #9 on:** May 20, 2004, 01:45:04 PM »

The acrobatics is half the fun!! I have shot a few with a 22 and its not very exciting. They usually crawl back to their hole before expiring. KN

XMarine · « **Reply #10 on:** May 23, 2004, 07:11:25 AM »

We usually take 2 guns each and about 400 rds per gun for a three day shoot.There is three of us and the dogs spook quickly.22lr would be a waste of time.I shoot a 17 rimfire out to about175yds then switch to 22-250 for the longer range and show!!P dogs can fly hehehe Bring a good spotting scope,you can't sneak up on them.

bigbore442001 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 24, 2004, 09:05:45 AM »

I had a ton of fun a while back shooting them with a 22 WRM Contender. You would be surprised how close you can get to the PD's if you study the lay of the land and be willing to do some belly crawling.

skb2706 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:19:53 AM »

oh I've done my share of sneakin up on 'em just to bust the dumb ones. Problem is that puts my face a little to close to the ground and there are some very unsavory crawlin critters down there. Last year at this time I found three rattlesnakes in one afternoon and I wasn't lookin for them. My preference is my shootin table and chair....next would be a mat and bipod from prone but we still look around on the ground first before we put anything down.

SD Handgunner · « **Reply #13 on:** May 27, 2004, 11:07:47 AM »

When I first started shooting prairie dogs back in 1980 the only guns we took were centerfires. Then one day we had a realazation. We'd pull into a spot and start shooting. After a few shots the noise of the centerfires had them spooked pretty good. The next year we took along a couple of Rimfires and used them at the start of everyplace we set up. We would normally get in quite a bit of shooting with the rimfires before they were either dead or finally spooked. Then out come the centerfires until the shooting would slow down, then it would be time to move again.

One morning (the last day of the trip) we decided we were going to shoot for a couple hours and pack up and head for home. My shooting buddy and I grabbed his 7 1/2" Scope Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum with some 180gr. Remington JHP's I had loaded and headed out. All we took was the gun, ammo and my crossed shooting sticks. We just went for a walk in the morning sun. When we'd spot a prairie dog at what we determined to be in range one of us would set up in a kneeling or sitting position with the Redhawk on the crossed shooting sticks and make the shot while the other spotted. We managed to take quite a few prairie dogs that morning in about an hours time at ranges approaching 100 yards, and had a lot of fun in the process.

Shooting Prairie Dogs can take on many different forms. Me, I prefer sitting at a portable shooting bench with a T/C Contender, Super 14 .223 Remington with a 3x12x Burris Handgun Scope in front of me. However the little walk about my buddy and I went on with the Redhawk was also quite enjoyable. The bottom line is that is what shooting prairie dogs is all about, at least for me, ENJOYMENT.

SD Handgunner