Anyone have a good place to hunt prarie dogs that isnt ungodly expensive?

[Pbgunrunner]

I'm looking to take my dad on an impromptu prarie dog hunt next month. Unfortunately I cant afford the $300+ per day per person fees it seems most are charging. Anyone have a good suggestion of a place to go that's affordable? Thanks!

 

[OG10]

Pic a state call game and fish/dnr explain what you want to do, seek advice,Some states have a "hunt planner" they have always been very helpful good luck.Google search is your friend .

 

[sourdough44]

Years ago I went with a guide, same one twice. Now I go on my own, have dogs aplenty. No I don't go where the guide brought me, that spots off limits.

It took me some effort to put it all together, I really can't just post where on the net. I will say, in no particular order, here's a list of information that was pieced together. I have a few more years with the Son's going, then maybe I'll post it all.

Start with google searches, local chambers of commerce, maps, historical & county prairie dog populations, more maps of public access land, google earth, word of mouth from other hunters, local game officials/wardens/biologists. One of my biggest tips was from a big game hunter, he had no interest in prairie dogging. When in the neighborhood, may as well join the crowd & talk to the waitress at the local diner.

As posted on another thread, check out the On X Hunt app, one State $29.99. I think the 20% off is still active with the code GROUSE from RGS. They even have a feature on the app to turn on prairie dog town locations(historic). Then correlate with google earth, check access with ownership.

 

[valkyrie.rider]

It has been years since I went, but the area around Zortman, Montana was the best PD hunting I ever did. There was public land and you could buy a license to hunt on the reservation for a reasonable price

 

[204_ruger]

Cool. Hi I don't want to high jacket your post. I too would like to go next yr. If I went for 2 or 3 days. How many rounds do u shoot? I have never been on a p dog hunt. Will be shooting a 204 ruger. 223 rem bolt gun . I would be better off shooting like a 34gr hp . I have 30gr 35gr 40gr Bergers too.Thanks

 

[Pbgunrunner]

Take a few guns, they get hot! I use a .22, a .17hmr, a .233 and a 6.5 cm for long stuff. I take 1000y rounds for all but the 6.5 (dont shoot it as much). Sometimes I bring alot of ammo back, sometimes i dont! Lol

 

[IAshooter]

PM sent.

 

[Montana'eer]

My front yard, lol.

Got one bugger stupid enough to venture into my garden. He doesn't know it yet but he's dead.

 

[KY_Windage]

Cool. Hi I don't want to high jacket your post. I too would like to go next yr. If I went for 2 or 3 days. How many rounds do u shoot? I have never been on a p dog hunt. Will be shooting a 204 ruger. 223 rem bolt gun . I would be better off shooting like a 34gr hp . I have 30gr 35gr 40gr Bergers too.Thanks

If you are going to blaze away at every one you see within 700 yards, you can go through a lot of ammo. It's easy to do that the first time you go, because you have never had shooting opportunities like that.

You will get a LOT more hittable opportunities if you are suppressed, but you can damage both your suppressor and your barrel with too high a rate of fire. It is also disconcerting to return to a big town you shot a few months earlier and find only mounds, because you over-shot the town and the few you missed could not stand the suddenly concentrated predation by badgers, snakes and raptors.

P-dog towns are the best "long-range precision shooting schools" you can go to, if you utilize them properly. If you do not have a very accurate setup, it will soon be apparent, especially if you shoot with someone who does. I can work at any distance I feel like, and I can see my impacts to help me figure out what I did wrong. I can go out on a windy day and pick whatever direction I want (head-wind, tail-wind, quartering, etc.) I want to work on. You can learn exactly what a 25-mph crosswind does to your bullet at 200, 300, 400 yards, etc. Spotting for your friend you can watch his bullets sail downrange, staying pretty straight until they start to slow down, then curve dramatically over into the target -- major fun.

I now take 100 - 150 rounds per day, and I don't shoot many inside 200 yards. If I shoot an average of once every 2 minutes, that is 30/hour, or 150 over a 5-hour shoot. That is plenty, and leaves some for my next trip.

Here is one of my rigs at work: