Prairie dog 1st timer

R

Rhett Steele

Active member
Got a call and invite for a prairie dog hunt. It's still in the works, nothing confirmed. It was just an inquiry from a good friend asking who in our group of knuckle draggers of who all was interested. Having never gone on one, I was the first to reply, YES!!

I was thinking cheap ammo. 17hmr, maybe 22 or 22mag, and ar15 shooting ball ammo. I have other center fire options, but was thinking on the cheap end of ammo.
Any suggestions? How many 1000 rds do I need to prepare for?
 
It depends on where you're going. If public lands, or towns that get shot a bunch, you won't find many within rimfire range. I would not shoot FMJs. The hits will be pretty lackluster. A highly frangible varmint bullet like the v-max, varmint grenade, etc would be much better.
To me, the fun of it is not seeing how many I can shoot, but making them do cartwheels with a 22-250 and 53 v-max @ nearly 4000 FPS.
 
As mentioned by SupressYourself, do not bother with FMJ's.

Take along a rimfire for those up close shots, 0-75 yards.

My favorite is the 20 VarTarg with 40 gr Vmax. I still use some 32 Vmax, but when the wind picks up on the prairie, you need a heavier bullet. The 32 gr gives you an explosion on the PD, but in a higher wind it may take you several shots for a hit, unless you're really good at calling the wind. The 20 VT does not heat up the barrel as fast as a 223, 22-250, etc.

Also, what ever you take have some type barrel cooler. An old dish towel, piece of cloth, etc., laid over the barrel sprayed with a mist of water to keep it wet, will keep the barrel cool.

I also use a 20 Practical as my backup. Since I hunt alone, the 20 VT always goes first, very low recoil allows you to see your hits and misses through the scope when set on a low power.

I also only use specialty pistols and not rifles.
 
K9TXS said:
As mentioned by SupressYourself, do not bother with FMJ's.

Take along a rimfire for those up close shots, 0-75 yards.

My favorite is the 20 VarTarg with 40 gr Vmax. I still use some 32 Vmax, but when the wind picks up on the prairie, you need a heavier bullet. The 32 gr gives you an explosion on the PD, but in a higher wind it may take you several shots for a hit, unless you're really good at calling the wind. The 20 VT does not heat up the barrel as fast as a 223, 22-250, etc.

Also, what ever you take have some type barrel cooler. An old dish towel, piece of cloth, etc., laid over the barrel sprayed with a mist of water to keep it wet, will keep the barrel cool.

I also use a 20 Practical as my backup. Since I hunt alone, the 20 VT always goes first, very low recoil allows you to see your hits and misses through the scope when set on a low power.

I also only use specialty pistols and not rifles.
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Agree with all above. Depending on location, fmj might even be prohibited so check regulations.
I favor the 204 unless wind is bad. When wind whips on the prairie, I generally step up to 243.
 
I go to ND and Wyoming and use a .204R with 32gr or 40gr., shoots flat. IMO I wouldn't mess with a 22LR, after the shooting starts they'll be further out. How many rounds depends on alot of things, I take a minimum of 400rds.
 
The rimfire rounds are fine on private ground, where not much shooting occurs. If shooting public or guided hunt you will need an accurate,longer range setup. FMJ is a no go anywhere for me, factory rds are not accurate enough anyway. You will have more fun hitting pd than shooting at them. 3 day shoot, guided or public ground 100-200 rds per day. Group of guys shooting, volume of shots can go either way, depending on how competitive individuals are. Some groups will shoot quick, not spot hits/misses, poor ranging= more ammo expended. If guys are interested in hitting pd, more spotting and ranging help and experienced long range shooters = fewer rds tend to be fired/more taking turns.
When I go with a group(more than 2 shooters) I leave the AR's home, unless the other shooters don't have any. Than I take one(suppressed) so other shooters can try one. Not factory AR, but a bench type setup(heavy barrel, light trigger) usually 17 rem/20p.
Wet barrel wraps swapped in and out of the cooler will keep you shooting and prolong barrel life of over bore cartridges. The 204R is a favorite of mine. A good bolt gun, slow twist 223 shooting 40 gr vmax is a close second. A plus for the slow twist (1/10-1/12) 223 is a 53 gr vmax is a legit 300-500 yard shooter. And just takes a slight scope adjustment to rezero.
 
spotstalkshoot said:
The rimfire rounds are fine on private ground, where not much shooting occurs.
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Bingo, when the lull hits (as in they pretty much all go underground), usually breakout the rimfire use as a "walking" varminter. The noise you make will walking will get them to come out to see what is going on. Especially in the spring with the pups, they are just so curious.
On the AR's I'll differ I do take them with suppressors. The load for the .223's are speer 50gr TnT's or 55 gr Nosler Varmageddon's pushed by H335 for everything it will do accurately. Never, never FMJ, the explosive effects of the Varmint bullets (doesn't matter the brand, although I really like the speer TnT's) is the best part of the fun.

spotstalkshoot said:
If guys are interested in hitting pd, more spotting and ranging help and experienced long range shooters = fewer rds tend to be fired/more taking turns.
Click to expand...
This pretty much describes the way the group of guys I go with are, and do. Seldom do we really heat up the barrels, Pretty much one shooter is on one (called) and maybe a backup shooter (rare). Usually we will put slight pressure on, get a lull do a walking hunt, then move to another field, shoot then return alternating the fields.
Trying to keep from educating them.
The terrain will dictate the range and volume of fire. Where we generally go is rolling , and sometimes flat fields having to watch out for the irrigation pipes.
But we always hunt private land with the Rancher's permission.

Your hunt will be different for sure. Depending on number of days, I would say 500 to 1K for the rimfire. About 2K if more than 2 days
 
We do a LOT of p dog shooting here. Even on private ground, shots are very limited with a rimfire.
The wind is always blowing enough to blow your bullets around, no matter what you shoot. Remember, your target is less than 3" wide. Plan on 250 plus shots after the first shot. 300 plus are very common. If you can take two guns, if it's a "Hot" town, you can let one cool. The last hunt I did, I got 300 confirmed kills and shot 400 shells. We shot A LOT.
We find a suppressor helps, but we feel that if you can stay out of sight or are in camo, sit low, or shoot prone, you get more shooting. I shoot a 6mm Rem with a 27" heavy barrel with 55 gr Varmingeden bullets at 4200 fps. At 400/500 yards, even a slight breeze will move you a foot or more.
They are a blast once you get the hold and range down.
 
17HMR is occasionally useful if you find a field that hasn’t been shot. Unfortunately, most trips they are not pulled out of the truck. If you have room in the truck I’d take it.

Most setups start with a 223 / 22-250 or better yet a 204Ruger or 20Practicle.
 
Thanks for all the info, keep it coming. I have a 204ruger and a 243, looks like if this trip happens I'll be taking them. It too looks like I need to get the rock chucker lubed up and making ammo. I'll have several months to make ammo.
 
My favorites are a 17 hmr, 22 k hornet and a 223 Ackley. In the part of Wyoming I’m at we have smallish towns here so I’ve never shot more than a hundred or so rounds total in an outing and honestly, most of the shooting is done with the little 17. These are at isolated towns that don’t see many shooters. In well known towns the pups are pretty skittish and you’ll need a better rest and something that will reach out 200+ yards.
 
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