Prairie dog guides

Sam, I must admit there are several ranches that I hunt every year that if I had left tracks, as in your photo, that are clearly off the two track, I would become "persona non grata" almost immediately.

For anyone new to this, be sure you understand what your rancher expects. I have several that are very fussy, I have a couple of others that don't care if you drive all over the place. If it's the least bit muddy be darn sure your rancher is OK with you being out there at all. To keep from being PNG'd just make sure you know ahead of time.
 
The rule always was, if the gate was closed, you closed it behind you. If open, leave it that way.

Never leave the 2 track. When you turn around do it gently. Every blade of grass is valuable and should not be hurt.

Nowadays there is a lot more concern over ownership and control, etc. Probably brought on by slob shooters who tore things up.

HM
 
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Nowadays there is a lot more concern over ownership and control, etc. Probably brought on by slob shooters who tore things up.



Hey halfmile, unfortunately you are correct. Many times we have to cover up for the "slob shooters". Too bad it is still illegal to drop a x-hair on them. I didn't say that.

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All prairie dog towns are not the same and the states that they are in are not the same. Never shot dogs in Colorado but lived there for several years and the towns are no where near the size and breadth of the towns in WY and SD. In the picture below you can see the size of one town in SD, those dog hole mounds went on for several miles. In center left of the picture you can see what happens when the dogs eat all of the vegetation.

The point is that we all use different methods of taking dogs. Some people like to stalk and sneak up on them. The majority of the shooters just setup benches and shoot at the dogs as far as they can see them. My method is to move and shoot and most ranchers that I frequent do not have a problem with this as long as I kill a bunch.
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You are correct....where I shoot pds is checkerboarded in to farm lands. We stay on the two track or splitline of the fields as much as possible. In a field that may be 1 mile square its not hard to stay off the turf and still have all the shooting you could ask for....totally different than what I have seen in places like SD and WY.

PS we can't shoot from a vehicle of any kind here either...not even a trailer connected to a vehicle.
 
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I find that if I want to just kill large numbers then driving around the town about Memorial Weekend is the best because all the young dumb ones will let you drive up close and shoot several times before they go down. If I want to work on my rifle marksmanship, then I lay down on a high place and shoot for a few hours at whatever range they come up. I enjoy some of both but the guys I hunt on would much rather have me drive around a little and get a big slaughter. You can go cheap if you do your homework but it will take you lots of hours on the phone or traveling to the area and doing a lot of talking and not much shooting for a while till you find a place. If you can find a rancher who will let you hunt and you take care of them, you're in and often the neighbors will ask you to shoot also. The rancher that I do most of my shooting on puts us up in his house and his wife cooks for us and we have had a great relationship for many years. Good luck and I hope you find some.
 
If it were any cheaper for me...it'd be free. My sister cooks for us and puts us up ....brother in law finds us places to shoot. Thats pretty cheap.
 
The BOSS Ranch in Marathon Texas offers a quality reasonably priced hunt for Pdogs. Guides are very helpful and friendly and there are lots of targets.
 
Just to reiterate what others have said about use of ATVs.
DO NOT LEAVE THE TWO TRACK!!!! Private land (unless it is your land) or BLM makes no difference. Anyone that blazes their own trail across our prairies is an inconsiderate jerk. Do not do it! It is the quickest way to at best ruffle a lot of feathers and possibly cause one of our good old boys to go to jail for assualting your ignorant ATV riding a...
 
"So you would suggest I take the 7000lb. diesel truck across the pasture instead of a 600lb. four wheeler? Seems to me, a lower weight vehicle would have a much lower impact"

MnYoteRookie,
Actually you can't take any vehicle or ATV off of designated roads at least in Wyoming. I posted above because sam had mentioned my state and shown pictures of himself being extremely irresponsible and in violation of my states law. I just wanted to clarify for anyone who may be thinking of coming out to Wyoming. This way if you are going to break the law at least you will know you are breaking it.

What I've always done is shoot the prairie dogs closest to the road and then HIKE a couple hundred yards further into the prairie dog town. I carry a small back pack with bullets, water, snacks and my foam pad. I use a bipod and do most of my shooting from the prone position. One buddy actually packs sand bags with him. After a day of shooting we are sometimes several miles from where we parked the truck. Most times as we hike back to the truck the prairie dogs we had been shooting are back up and ready for round two. There is no need for an ATV unless you just want to spare your rig the hard miles on the nasty roads getting into the prairie dog towns.
 
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Actually you can't take any vehicle or ATV off of designated roads at least in Wyoming. I posted above because sam had mentioned my state and shown pictures of himself being extremely irresponsible and in violation of my states law. I just wanted to clarify for anyone who may be thinking of coming out to Wyoming. This way if you are going to break the law at least you will know you are breaking it.


I hunt and shoot in YOUR state 3-4 weeks a year. The worst violators of the off road shooting is the locals. Rarely do I see any locals out of their truck whether it is pd shooting, Antelope or Deer hunting. Ask any of the ranchers, they would rather see a non-resident hunting on their land. Rancher's use ATV's more today then they use horses because of the lesser impact on the grass. When it comes to PD towns the grass is pretty much gone already!!
Sing me another song..........!
 
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If it were any cheaper for me...it'd be free. My sister cooks for us and puts us up ....brother in law finds us places to shoot. Thats pretty cheap.



Hey SKB, are you saying you're CHEAP? I think you are being way to hard on yourself! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
YoteNaylor,
I'm not trying to hijack your thread so this is my last post on this topic.

For anyone interested in prairie dog shooting or any other recreational activity in Wyoming that involves an ATV here is a great site to check out regarding ATV use and laws as they apply to Wyoming.

http://wyotrails.state.wy.us/trails/HuntingandATV1.pdf

Here are a couple of the highlights:

"It is illegal to shoot from any motorized vehicle,
EXCEPT for holders of a valid WG&FD Permit
for Hunters with Qualifying Disabilities"
(See picture of ATV with shooting sticks above for an excellent example of what not to do)

"ORVs are mostly restricted to travel upon only
established roads and trails. They may be operated
upon public lands only when on roads, trails or
areas designated “open” for motorized travel by the
appropriate local land manager."

"Operating an ATV or trail bike off roads or
trails in a manner that damages or unreasonably
disturbs the land, wildlife or vegetative resources
is prohibited."
(If you are unsure what this means see picture above with the tracks in the grass for another great example of what not to do)

Sam, thank you for giving such great illustrations of how to be an irresponsible ATV user.
 
Those rules pertain to "Public Land" and if you recall I was speaking of a ranchers private land. I have never been denied access to any ranch in WY or SD with my ATV.

Shooting from a vehicle in WY is allowed if you have one foot on the ground. In SD it is two feet on the ground and the firearm must be encased when in motion.

I know the rules better than you do!

Who are you kidding, WY residents never get out their trucks, it is the "normal" way for you to hunt.
 
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If it were any cheaper for me...it'd be free. My sister cooks for us and puts us up ....brother in law finds us places to shoot. Thats pretty cheap.



Hey SKB, are you saying you're CHEAP? I think you are being way to hard on yourself! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



cb - the cheapest.

my wife even guides me for free or at least it may only cost me a couple of beers and some food
 
SKB, now here we have a MAJOR disagreement!

Nothing a wife does is free.

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"ORVs are mostly restricted to travel upon only
established roads and trails. They may be operated
upon public lands only when on roads, trails or
areas designated “open” for motorized travel by the
appropriate local land manager."


"Operating an ATV or trail bike off roads or
trails in a manner that damages or unreasonably
disturbs the land, wildlife or vegetative resources
is prohibited."



Isn't this refering to irresponsible riders that actually rip-up and tear-up the grass, not just ride over it??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

If just riding over it caused so much damage wouldn't they make sure no one did it. Not even the disabled?

I am not trying to get involved in any disputes. I personally perfer to shoot, then walk a bit, then shoot some more.

Good luck, -Ron
 
I'll re-state some of my earlier post and comment on subsequent posts.

If you are on public land, obey the law and common sense. Respect the land you are hunting.

If you are on private land, obey the law AND abide by the wishes of the land owner. Be sure you understand what they are.

What the landowner does on HIS land grants me no privileges what-so-ever. He may drive a D8 back and forth across his property but that does not extend any such right to me.

Similarly what the locals do, good or bad, does not excuse me from good hunting etiquette. Just because others do bad does NOT mean I have a right to copy the act.

There are no excuses for bad form!
 
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Just remember to bring a pistol or riot shotgun. I know enough natives down there so they don't give me any trouble, but they are two of the poorest places in America and they don't care for tourists. Camp/stay off the Rez and drive out to where you are going to shoot. Many people never have problems, many get robbed blind when out shooting. You won't hear that on the news.



NEVER leave your vehicle unattended if you run into a gas station either. They wait for it to happen. Sidearms are a good idea to just show them you mean business.

On a good note, there's MILES of prarie dog towns down by Pine Ridge. Insane actually. You could give a 50 a good workout down there.
 
NorthernWY,

You should really watch who you step on around here!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

I have shot with SamSpade ! I met him here. He shared some spots with me! He's a good old boy ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Heavy on the "old " part! LOL. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif He is not some guy tearing everything up ,like it's super cross. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif Just putting around on his atv and shooting pd's. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Yes , private land with permission.

Tim
 
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