PD shoot coming up

[sw282]

Great write-up RB. Nothing beats shooting prairie dogs. Being a South Carolina boy, there are none where l am. US Army introduced them to me around the time of Desert Storm in 1990. l have been shooting them on a regular basis since. l dont usually have the luxury of multiple rifles for my PDS shoots. My trips tend to be short 2 day outings with one rifle. My limits are set by airline travel. l shoot a 222Rem because its most accurate and does not heat up like other popular calibers. Bullet speeds and powder burned are around 10% less than a 223Rem. l prefer shooting less than 300 yards. The ACTION of the target is the real FUN. Nothing like seeing a quart size target disappear in a RED MIST after meeting a 40gr VMAX @3500fps!!

 

[jepp2]

Glad you had a great trip! I spend 2 weeks each year reducing the population (used to spend a month). Over the last 3 years, I have transitioned to only using 17 HMR/HM2, but my situation is unique. I have a very good location to shoot and go right after the pups start staying up consistently (May 10 in the area I shoot). Here is a reminder for you. They were 18 yards from me.

 

[alnpar]

I've done this once and was hoping to go again this year to Colorado But seems the guy did not wait for us and poisoned them out. So now I don't know where to go. I looked online and found a guide in SD but he wanted $630 PER DAY per Shooter. That did included lodging. Sorry, I can't pay that kind of money for a single day when you will spend extra time moving from one spot to another losing a couple hours in between. And I really don't want to shoot in big groups with people you don't know. I wanted to shoot with a group of three other friends.
Unfortunately I did not have time to look for another place as I had to travel from southern AZ to Northern VA for grandson's graduation, and then my Brother in law ended up with a medical issue, so that left three.
So now not sure if this mid June is too late to start looking / going somewhere else thinking on private land may already shot out
Any information anyone would share?

 

[alnpar]

Glad you had a great trip! I spend 2 weeks each year reducing the population (used to spend a month). Over the last 3 years, I have transitioned to only using 17 HMR/HM2, but my situation is unique. I have a very good location to shoot and go right after the pups start staying up consistently (May 10 in the area I shoot). Here is a reminder for you. They were 18 yards from me.

View attachment 471128

I got to go one time and loved shooting my .17 HMR. The furthest I measured was 235 yards. My other friends using .22 LR up to 22:250. I was content shooting off a RCBS/ R.A.S.S shooting stand. Only a few made and hard to find. But I tell you, On a three day shoot, I might have only missed 10 shots and that was due to windage!

 

[cetacea]

I've been traveling to Wy (From several different states.) for the past 25 years to shoot PD's. I have a good friend that lives there & knows every rancher within 50 miles. Finding a place to shoot has never been a problem. In my opinion some essentials for a good shoot are:
*Portable shooting bench with sand bags;
*Good binoculars;
*Rangefinder;
*Hat with large brim;
*Sunglasses;
*Lots of sunscreen;
*Bandana to cover back of neck;
*Some kind a sunshade; Beware... A full day of prairie sun will burn you to a crisp.
*Small revolver (J frame) with snake shot;
*Cooler with iced drinks;
*At least 2 accurate rifles w/at least 16x scopes and enough ammo for 300 rds/day. I quit 22 mag & 17 HMR because of too many wounded PD's. My favorites—204R w/39gr Serria, 220 Swift w/ 52 gr Hornady BTHP Match, 223 w/52gr BTHP Match and for longer range a 6x284 w/87 gr V-Max. A good AR-15 is fun but you burn up a lot of ammo chasing PD's to their holes.

 

[RLP]

My 22-250 pushes the 55 gr V-max at almost 3700 fps. Speed kills!!!!! LOL

My 20 practical runs 3950 with 40 gr vmax

 

[alnpar]

I've been traveling to Wy (From several different states.) for the past 25 years to shoot PD's. I have a good friend that lives there & knows every rancher within 50 miles. Finding a place to shoot has never been a problem. In my opinion some essentials for a good shoot are:
*Portable shooting bench with sand bags;
*Good binoculars;
*Rangefinder;
*Hat with large brim;
*Sunglasses;
*Lots of sunscreen;
*Bandana to cover back of neck;
*Some kind a sunshade; Beware... A full day of prairie sun will burn you to a crisp.
*Small revolver (J frame) with snake shot;
*Cooler with iced drinks;
*At least 2 accurate rifles w/at least 16x scopes and enough ammo for 300 rds/day. I quit 22 mag & 17 HMR because of too many wounded PD's. My favorites—204R w/39gr Serria, 220 Swift w/ 52 gr Hornady BTHP Match, 223 w/52gr BTHP Match and for longer range a 6x284 w/87 gr V-Max. A good AR-15 is fun but you burn up a lot of ammo chasing PD's to their holes.

I found the HMR VNT ammo was a nail driver but punched holes. Never knew if clean kill or not, but then again,they are VARMINTS. But I did switch over to Hollow points.(Game Point) However my Savage would not feed them into battery a lot of times. I called Savage to complain and they said they know of the problem and working on it. On another note.. not related to PD Shooting. I bought a Savage A-10 Semi auto. Piece of junk. I sent it back three different times and each time came back worse. They had my new gun in their possession longer than I did till I traded it off for a Jon Boat. Will never buy another savage. Now I buy CZ's 457's. Love both, the .22 & .17 HMR with bull/varmint barrels.

 

[wyowinchester]

Been out three weekends in a row. If you don't mind shooting 200yds out. There is more than enough targets for 3 or 4 shooters. Moved once today. Grandson had field day with the close ones. Hitting the pups at 200 and out was for the dads. Time to reload this week. Love the pic Jepp2.

 

[tnbndr]

Glad you had a great trip! I spend 2 weeks each year reducing the population (used to spend a month). Over the last 3 years, I have transitioned to only using 17 HMR/HM2, but my situation is unique. I have a very good location to shoot and go right after the pups start staying up consistently (May 10 in the area I shoot). Here is a reminder for you. They were 18 yards from me.

View attachment 471128

I also love the rimfires. .22 LR and .17 Mach II last year. Year before was a .17 WSM, .223 & .22LR. I just prefer waiting and taking the closer shots.

 

[Pete Brunel]

RBII: not familiar with this site. Is there a way to send private messages. Would like outfitter's contact info, if you could share.

 

[sw282]

I found the HMR VNT ammo was a nail driver but punched holes. Never knew if clean kill or not, but then again,they are VARMINTS. But I did switch over to Hollow points.(Game Point) However my Savage would not feed them into battery a lot of times. I called Savage to complain and they said they know of the problem and working on it. On another note.. not related to PD Shooting. I bought a Savage A-10 Semi auto. Piece of junk. I sent it back three different times and each time came back worse. They had my new gun in their possession longer than I did till I traded it off for a Jon Boat. Will never buy another savage. Now I buy CZ's 457's. Love both, the .22 & .17 HMR with bull/varmint barrels.

My ONLY Savage was a real dog too. Sold/gave it to my Son. The kid, he's 52, loves it. Says it looks COOL with its grey laminated stock and stainless steel barrel. BTW- he doesn't shoot it. Just looks at it