Rooster_Feather
Member
What is YOUR opinion of the ultimate PD gun and bullet for Prarie Dogs up to 400-500 yards?
Rooooooooster
Rooooooooster
PD Gun to 400 - 500 yards
- Thread starter Rooster_Feather
- Start date
CatShooter
New member
A heavy barreled bolt gun in .223 or similar (.222, .222 Mag), or a .204.
PD's don't take much killin', but on even a bad PD town, you will shoot a lot of ammo, and barrel heating and burning out the throat is a serious concern.
You want a gun that you can shoot often, without damaging the barrel, or having to stop shooting because of over heating.
A local fellow went on his first PD trip with a 7mm Mag "for the long shots". All the experienced shooters told him to take at least one .223 with a 1000 rounds of ammo, but he "knew better" than the rest of us.
He came back from a 5 day trip very disappointed. Fired about 150 rounds for the whole trip. With a .223, that's 45 minutes of shooting. He hit less than 20 dogs, cuz he couldn't spot his misses... and he traveled all the way from Connecticut to NoDak for that awful experience.
The .223 class of rifles will easily take PD's at 500yds.
Set yourself up on the upwind side of the town so the wind is at your "6", and it straight shooting all the way.
For bullets, the 50 or 55 grain V-Max for the .223, and the 39 BK or 40 V-Max for the .204.
.
PD's don't take much killin', but on even a bad PD town, you will shoot a lot of ammo, and barrel heating and burning out the throat is a serious concern.
You want a gun that you can shoot often, without damaging the barrel, or having to stop shooting because of over heating.
A local fellow went on his first PD trip with a 7mm Mag "for the long shots". All the experienced shooters told him to take at least one .223 with a 1000 rounds of ammo, but he "knew better" than the rest of us.
He came back from a 5 day trip very disappointed. Fired about 150 rounds for the whole trip. With a .223, that's 45 minutes of shooting. He hit less than 20 dogs, cuz he couldn't spot his misses... and he traveled all the way from Connecticut to NoDak for that awful experience.
The .223 class of rifles will easily take PD's at 500yds.
Set yourself up on the upwind side of the town so the wind is at your "6", and it straight shooting all the way.
For bullets, the 50 or 55 grain V-Max for the .223, and the 39 BK or 40 V-Max for the .204.
.
I have only done this a few times, Pdog shooting. Used misc. rifles I had with me, last time I had a Tikka 22-250, t3, Varmit, 4.5X14 leupold.
Whacked a few a an honest 400-450 yards, its really not that hard.
I found that 20-30 minutes and I was bored with this game.
Using a 22 rimfire is fun cause you gotta sneak up on the dogs. and last but not least you might try fishing for them, now that was fun.
Loop fishingline around the hole, lay down a few yards away, try to wait for them to pop up and snare them in the loop, I haven't laughed so hard for many years.
Carl
Whacked a few a an honest 400-450 yards, its really not that hard.
I found that 20-30 minutes and I was bored with this game.
Using a 22 rimfire is fun cause you gotta sneak up on the dogs. and last but not least you might try fishing for them, now that was fun.
Loop fishingline around the hole, lay down a few yards away, try to wait for them to pop up and snare them in the loop, I haven't laughed so hard for many years.
Carl
Hidalgo
Well-known member
Quote:
Loop fishingline around the hole, lay down a few yards away, try to wait for them to pop up and snare them in the loop, I haven't laughed so hard for many years.
Carl
Carl, you're a sick, sick man...... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif
Loop fishingline around the hole, lay down a few yards away, try to wait for them to pop up and snare them in the loop, I haven't laughed so hard for many years.
Carl
Carl, you're a sick, sick man...... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif
Jay Johnson
New member
Quote:
What is YOUR opinion of the ultimate PD gun and bullet for Prarie Dogs up to 400-500 yards?
Rooooooooster
Rooster it depends a little on the wind. On most days a 22-250 will be pretty consistant to beyond 550 yards. On real windy days however I go over to my 6MM Remington which even in the wind will deliver consistant hits beyond 500. But I'll have to say my real work horse on the fields is my .223 it shoots more than twice the dogs of other guns combined. It is really in it's element to around 480 if it isn't blowing.
In the 22's I'm using a 50 Gr. V-MAX and in the 6MM I'm using a 70 Gr Blitzking or an 87 Gr V-Max.
What is YOUR opinion of the ultimate PD gun and bullet for Prarie Dogs up to 400-500 yards?
Rooooooooster
Rooster it depends a little on the wind. On most days a 22-250 will be pretty consistant to beyond 550 yards. On real windy days however I go over to my 6MM Remington which even in the wind will deliver consistant hits beyond 500. But I'll have to say my real work horse on the fields is my .223 it shoots more than twice the dogs of other guns combined. It is really in it's element to around 480 if it isn't blowing.
In the 22's I'm using a 50 Gr. V-MAX and in the 6MM I'm using a 70 Gr Blitzking or an 87 Gr V-Max.
Last edited:
The difference between a 400 yd. pd rifle and a 500 yd. pd rifle can be considerable. Check any trajectory table and that is where the big seperation begins with most pd caliber rifles. In other words ...what makes a great 400 yd. may not be a great 500 yd. rifle.
22-250 AI 52 gr. Amax will get the long ones for me...past that I will break out the 6mm.
22-250 AI 52 gr. Amax will get the long ones for me...past that I will break out the 6mm.
There ya go BCB, thats where we got the idea. Picture three old friends, all of us in our 50's, havent seen each other for 2 years.
We are up on the home place, 6000 acres in Montana, driving around in the farm rig about 5 mph, yup even had a beer. we start talking about that site, head on in get the fishing pole, rig up a slip loop deal, and go to get a pdog.
I tell ya I thought I was gonna laugh myself to death, but nope we never did get one, few closeys, we are gonna try again.
Carl
We are up on the home place, 6000 acres in Montana, driving around in the farm rig about 5 mph, yup even had a beer. we start talking about that site, head on in get the fishing pole, rig up a slip loop deal, and go to get a pdog.
I tell ya I thought I was gonna laugh myself to death, but nope we never did get one, few closeys, we are gonna try again.
Carl
kyotekiller25
Well-known member
Wind is your biggest factor in PD shooting. I knew that going into it and still did ok with my .222 w/40g VLC at 3700fps for the 250-300 yard shots, then I broke out the 220 swift w/55g NBT at 3925fps for the 500-600 yard shots. The swift was a heck of a lot more consistent then the .222 at hitting dogs in the wind, I shot a hell of a lot more dogs with my swift then the .222 just because the wind would push the .222's off course wayyy easier and wayyy more. If I had my 25-06 w/115g NBT at 3200fps I would have been trying for that 700-800 yard shot, but I did not bring it. I thought my swift could do it, but not in that Montana wind. I made some consistent hits right at 500 with my swift in the 20mph winds, but after that, it was just shoot and hope the wind pushes your bullet into them. THis is just my opinion, but I dont think a 223 is a great pdog gun at 500 yards in windy conditions. My swift was having a hard time and it launches bullets on average at least 600fps faster. Its not a matter of "IF" the wind blows, its a matter of how "HARD" the wind blows when your shooting pdogs. I would say it would be hard to beat the 204, 22-250, or 220 swift for 400-500. Drop can always be easily accounted for, its wind drift that gets you every time. Only good thing I see about the 223 is that its so cheap to shoot/reload and barrel life is so long, that you can afford to shoot and shoot and shoot. Kinda sounds like my .222, cheap to shoot and long barrel life, however that dont mean to much on the prairie at 400-500 yards, it eats those little bullets up, JMO.
NM Leon
New member
A .223 will work well to 500yd and a little further, a 22-250 to 700 or so. You will need more than one rifle though (I take 4) in order to keep shooting while barrels cool. You might want to take something that will buck wind for long shots, and something for short shots too.
Mike Pearson
New member
A .204 has better wind-drift than a Swift, let alone a .22-250 or .223 at those ranges. It ALSO has less recoil than a .223 (but slightly more than a .17 Remington). Yeah, I know, you COULD use a really fast twist .223 and humungous 70+gr. bullets. But if you do, what kind of terminal performance are you going to get at 400-500 yards??? I realize that not alot is required for a prairie dog but I'd prefer a V-Max at around 2,000fps than a 70+gr. bullet that started from the muzzle at well under 3000fps.. Can't imagine that opening up too well 5 football fields away!
Wyocoyoter
New member
When I roll into a PDog town I start with a 22 target pistol until they get smart to that, then the 22 mag rifle until they get smart to that, then the AR 223 until they smarten up to that and then the 22-250 for the ones way out that think they are really safe.
I shoot in the morning until about 10:30 or 11 and take a break, eat lunch and snooze. Begin again around 4:30-5 in the late afternoon. This way I avoid the heat of the day and the mid day winds created by the thermals.
Makes for an all around fun trip.
I shoot in the morning until about 10:30 or 11 and take a break, eat lunch and snooze. Begin again around 4:30-5 in the late afternoon. This way I avoid the heat of the day and the mid day winds created by the thermals.
Makes for an all around fun trip.
BuzzBee
New member
As for the ultimate PD gun, these are the key ingredients that I would be looking for myself but your opinion may differ.
A gun that can consistently hold ½ MOA or better is a must.
Chambered in a cartridge capable of pushing 70~80g Varmint bullets at 3300 fps or better at muzzle. Being able to hit your target at that range is great, but having the ability to blow them up offers much better entertainment value. With a 70~80g bullets going at that speed will retains enough energy at 500 yds to put on the show and recoil is fairly mild so you will be able to see the impact through the scope.
Cartridge efficiency is very important as barrel temp and mirage will limits the number of shots you can take/make, multiple shot attempts within a relatively short period is not unusual on a PD hunt, so able to keep the barrel cooler is essential .
This gives you a rough idea what to shop for, a lot of factory guns today are capable of this task, but if you are contemplating on having one building then the possibility is endless.
A gun that can consistently hold ½ MOA or better is a must.
Chambered in a cartridge capable of pushing 70~80g Varmint bullets at 3300 fps or better at muzzle. Being able to hit your target at that range is great, but having the ability to blow them up offers much better entertainment value. With a 70~80g bullets going at that speed will retains enough energy at 500 yds to put on the show and recoil is fairly mild so you will be able to see the impact through the scope.
Cartridge efficiency is very important as barrel temp and mirage will limits the number of shots you can take/make, multiple shot attempts within a relatively short period is not unusual on a PD hunt, so able to keep the barrel cooler is essential .
This gives you a rough idea what to shop for, a lot of factory guns today are capable of this task, but if you are contemplating on having one building then the possibility is endless.
BuzzBee
New member
This is the rig I started building last fall, I'm still waiting on a stock to finish up the project.
It's 6mmx47 Lapua build on RBLP Panda, 26" 1-10, I can push a 80g NBT 3470 @ muzzle, low .2s @ 100.
I just got it sighted in at 400, we have so much snow this year I have not made to the dog towns to see the actual performance yet.
It's 6mmx47 Lapua build on RBLP Panda, 26" 1-10, I can push a 80g NBT 3470 @ muzzle, low .2s @ 100.
I just got it sighted in at 400, we have so much snow this year I have not made to the dog towns to see the actual performance yet.
Mike Pearson
New member
Yeah that .243 would definitely get the job done alright but I have a question I gotta ask you and that is, how does your shoulder hold up after a couple hundred (or more) rounds fired pretty much non-stop? Can't argue with the .243 as a windbucker though! -- Mike
CWeeks
New member
This is all great advice a .223 is arguable the absolute best all around for the price accuracy and deadliness the best gun you can buy. I shoot a savage .223 with my own reloads of 55grn Vmaxs' and it has performed high above my expectations. I would however take the advice of these fellas posts and buy a heavy barrel. Good luck.