Prairie Doggin'

[TGUNTER]

I shot them when I lived in Oklahoma and have a few guns set up for the task but just havent made time to go fo a long time now.

 

[DRob]

How "eastern"?

I know some guys shoot around Zortman which is on the Ft. Belknap Indian Reservation. Check with the Zortman Motel & Garage, seriously. Not very "eastern", though. Lots of town or county chambers of commerce will keep a list of ranchers who may allow prairie doggin'.

The Custer Battlefield is a must-see if you're in SE Montana.

 

[42769vette]

good luck, i started thinking about a praire dog hunt a day or so before this thread poped up so ill be interested in seeing how it goes for you

 

[JettaKnight]

I know some guys shoot around Zortman which is on the Ft. Belknap Indian Reservation. Check with the Zortman Motel & Garage, seriously. Not very "eastern", though. Lots of town or county chambers of commerce will keep a list of ranchers who may allow prairie doggin'.

The Custer Battlefield is a must-see if you're in SE Montana.

Eastern = Baker. No need for a ranch, my family owns property.

 

[DRob]

Well heck

Eastern = Baker. No need for a ranch, my family owns property.

We'll all go there and shoot!

 

[DRob]

A dog town

Here's a Google Earth view of one of dog towns we will be shooting. Each dot is a p dog burrow. For reference, the pond at the bottom of the image is about 1/2 acre max. The dog town is actually 5-6 times what you see here.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Here's a Google Earth view of one of dog towns we will be shooting. Each dot is a p dog burrow. For reference, the pond at the bottom of the image is about 1/2 acre max. The dog town is actually 5-6 times what you see here.

Damn, that looks like one heck of a place to spend a few days. Im excited for you.

 

[DRob]

So far, so good

Survived the first day in the dog town. Shooting was a little slow this morning so we took a break, ate lunch, and went back this afternoon. As usual, late in the afternoon things picked up. It cooled down a bit, the wind slacked off, and the dogs came out. Set a new PR at 481 yards with the Savage .204. Back at 'em in the morning!

 

[teddy12b]

What's the body count up to for day one?

 

[DRob]

Back in IN

We got home yesterday afternoon, safe and more or less sound. I was tired! Haven't even taken the rifles out of the truck yet. I'll start cleaning them shortly and do an inventory to see just how much we shot. The round count and the body count are down this year. We had 2 very windy days which rendered light bullets pretty useless and required considerable "KY windage" not to mention keeping the dogs down. Luck of the draw. SD has had rain so the grass was deeper than usual which will hide the dogs. Even late afternoon, when the dogs usually come out in larger numbers, it was windy enough to keep them down. My grandson did whack a suicidal pup at 36 yards which is just about how far the pieces scattered!

It's always good to get out even if the shooting wasn't the best. 2012 is an extraordinary year for us in that we'll only be there one time. We intend to fix that next year!

Edit: Inventoried the ammo. Three of us fired a total of 1212 rds in 2 days. Not very good!

 

[JettaKnight]

Nothing in Eastern Montana

Not one single prairie dog, rabbit, squirrel, nothing.

We hiked all over the 320 acres in Montana and didn't see a thing. So I'm bringing back a lot of ammo - unless I do some hunting here in Seattle.

 

[teddy12b]

Not one single prairie dog, rabbit, squirrel, nothing.

We hiked all over the 320 acres in Montana and didn't see a thing. So I'm bringing back a lot of ammo - unless I do some hunting here in Seattle.

The hunting might have stunk but I bet the view was incredible and that it beat a day a work.

 

[JettaKnight]

The hunting might have stunk but I bet the view was incredible and that it beat a day a work.

It was relaxing. We found a marker on a far corner of the property that no one
recalls ever seeing. I'll post pictures when I get home.

PS - Went to Glacier NP and I OC'ed my XD the whole time. Park was packed, but no one noticed or cared.

 

[teddy12b]

PS - Went to Glacier NP and I OC'ed my XD the whole time. Park was packed, but no one noticed or cared.

Always amazes me how the further west you go and further away from the beaten path that you get the more people are glad to see someone carrying.

 

[257robertsimp]

I have made three trips to SD for PD's, lots of fun and non-stop action, if you get a good town that hasn't been shot alot.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Any chance of good PD shooting in mid-October, or does it start getting cold up there, keeping them under ground?

 

[Netranger]

First timers this fall. Headed out to SD the 3rd week of October to pheasant hunt with my 2 GSP 's and my 27 year old son. Thought we would try to prairie dog hunt one morning or two if we can find a place to do it. Any pointers for a couple of newbies???

 

[Principal Skinr]

First timers this fall. Headed out to SD the 3rd week of October to pheasant hunt with my 2 GSP 's and my 27 year old son. Thought we would try to prairie dog hunt one morning or two if we can find a place to do it. Any pointers for a couple of newbies???

Yeah, I'd like to know if the 'dogs are out at that time. I've got some time off that week, too.

 

[Netranger]

You can't bird hunt until noon each day so alot of folks either goose hunt or PD hunt. Thought it would be fun for my old .222 or my new .223...and a good excuse to finally get some optics for my AR. ;-)

 

[Netranger]

Yeah, I'd like to know if the 'dogs are out at that time. I've got some time off that week, too.

If memory Serbs me right from past years...the rattlesnakes come out for the fun too. Had a buddy of mine tell me of the morning where he spent the whole time shooting out of the bed of his truck, and when he hopped out to go check his kills, he was surrounded by 7-8 nice sized rattlers. He hopped back up in the truck and dispatched the snakes as well. When he returned to the rancher's house and told the story, the rancher said, "oh, yeah...I should've told ya about them snakes." then he just laughed. It was funny since we weren't there to experience it but you have to be on your toes.