Prarie dog gun

F

farmin

New member
Howdy,

I live in the panhandle of texas. We have a prarie dog problem. The land is flat seems like forever. I started hunting the prarie dogs with a .17hmr and this was fun for a while but it seems like these dogs are getting smarter and the shots are getting farther. I switched to an ar15 that I have in .223 and it has also been fun for a little bit but this is not an ar15 with a 24inch barrel. I need a new gun for long range prarie dog.

I am open to all easily available calibers. I do not reload yet so would like to stay always from anything that requires reloading. What would be the best out of .204, .223, .22-250? It can get very windy up here. Shots will be 100-500 yards. There are lots of dogs and the shooting would be very fast with lots of rounds being fired quickly.

.204 ruger
seems like a nice choice for a flat fast round but I have read that wind affects it more.
Expensive

.223- seems like a very capable round but will drop quicker
More available rounds

.22-250 seems like a good compromise but will the barrel get to hot too soon? I have read about people being worried about shooting the barrel out.
Expensive, recoil?

Gun would most likely be a savage model 12 btcss with a leupold vx3 6.5-20. Of course I also go back and forth on whether I should buy and d tech ar15 for this hunting.

So what say you?

Thanks
 
Personally I'd go with the .223 or 22-250. I already have a .223 set up for this type shooting. It's shooting a 53gr Vmax pretty darn quick and that particular bullet has a high BC for its weight and caliber so it does fairly well in the wind.
I encourage you to start hand loading, so you can fine tune your shooting.

Or I can come out and help you with your P-Dog problem.........lol
 
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I would get a ghillie suit and a fox pro !!!
We have an all clear prairie dog chirp on ours and it works very well if your all camoed up !!!!
 
I have all three calibers and use all 3. I like my 204 for the P-dogs if the wind isn't blowing. When the wind is blowing I like the 22-250.
But there is an other option and that is a 243. The 24 caliber WILL buck the wind better.
I agree with the comment above, you need to start reloading.
I have a 6MM-BR and that covers all the wind, no wind and fuel efficiency issues.
But you do need to reload and have the proper rifle to take that cartridge.

The most common rifle, ammo and JUST one gun option would be the 223.
CH
 
I would suggest eventually getting 2-3 rifles for it. that way you can let one cool down and grab another. Otherwise you'll burn up barrels quick.
 
I have killed prairie dogs with those and an lot more calibers. And everything (except the rimfires, natch) has always been a handload. Everything. But if you are absolutely certain that you will never shoot handloads then the .223 wins hands down. I have killed prairie dogs over 500 yards (over 700 yards with the AI version) with mine and it works well for most everything.

If you got a good bolt gun in that caliber with a very good scope sitting on top of it you are in pretty good shape. You will find some brand of ammo that will work good in it. And if you got a fine shooting AR to go along with it then all the better. The 22-250 is your best bet for "out chonder" shooting but honestly, you can kill with the .223 almost as far.

My .204 has killed a bunch of pasture poodles as well, but there is not quite the variety of ammo for it as there is that the .223 has. Sure a good PD round though.

Your choice for the M12 with the 6.5-20X Luppy is a fine one.
 
get a couple 22-250's They'll do the long range. Make sure you get the heavy barrel on them and switch rifles when one gets too hot.
I'm headed to TX around May. I can help with that kind of problem.
 
.223 or .243. I did a PD hunt this fall with my 243AI, shooting mostly fire forming loads, and it was an absolute blast. Shots out to 450. Once dialed in they didn't stand a chance.
 
With reloading ruled out, .223 is your best bet. I've shot them with .20 Vt, .204, .223, and .22-250. Most fun with the .20 VT and .204. The .22-250 heats up too fast, and cools too slow. Lots of good .223 ammo available, priced reasonable is the most logical choice for you. Just my opinion.
 
Another thing to consider for me is whether I'm by myself or shooting with a partner/spotter. If by myself I want a smaller round, ie 223 or 204 as I can get back on target to see hits and misses and make corrections if needed. Larger calibers like 243 aren't fun for me if shooting alone.

My main pdog guns are a pair of heavy barreled ar's in 204 and 223AI. Given your situation I would go with a long barreled 223 because of not reloading.
 
My main p-dog rig is in .223 and have no issues to 700 yards (if I have to) with a 50g vmax out here. I shoot very open areas to rolling hills. Low recoil & can watch my hits, lower noise than the 22-250.
1 gun is all I use and I don't baby it.
I use a barrel wrap I made & keep it wet when Im shooting a ton of shots in a row.
 
I carry a 223 paired with a 17HMR. I typically will shoot one till the barrel gets hot (usually 10-15rds) then move to the other. The .17 is typically limited to 250yds and i have stretched to 223 out to 475. Hopefully my current AR build does what I'm looking for and I will carry a pair of 223s.

Jim
 
I am a 204 enthusiast for p/dogs. Relative light recoil allows me to watch the action unfold in the scope. The 32 gr bullet zeroed at 250 yds leaves no hold over the animal on most shots,and just leaves reading the wind. A varmint hunter reticle can help with wind issue. IMHO all the calibers mentioned are very good. An heavy barreled accurate rifle with good trigger, and reliable quality optic is important. Think that trigger time, knowing your equipment, reading the wind are the keys to enjoyable,successful P dog outings
 
If you are ruling out reloading, I would stick with .223, even though it will suffer at longer ranges. The ideal round for your purposes would be a .243 or other 6mm variant. This year was my first after PDs, I took both a .223 and a 243AI. The .223 was good within 300 yards, but past that the wind made the 243AI rule. Once we were dialed in on a group of mounds, it was ruthless to 500 yards.
 
I have also shot prarie dogs with a wide variety of cartridge and I think that since you don't reload your best bet is the 223 money wise. If you want to spend a bit more on shells the 204 would be the best bet. I personally start with the Fireball family (17 Mach 4, 17 FB, 20 Vartarg, 221 FB) till I kill them all out to about 200 or so then I get out the 20 Tactical and clean up the rest. Some patches that are a little more shot up I just start with the Tac 20. When I know there will only be a few shots fired on a small, shot up colony I might use the Swift or the 25-06. If you see a pattern here you will soon discover you can never have to many Varmint weapons.
 
Without reloading I would have to agree that the .223 is your best bet. I would highly advise that you start reloading as it will offset the cost of high volume shooting and also allow for you to work up loads for your rifles. Reloading is very addicting and there are a ton of wildcat calibers to choose from if you go that route. I would also say that flat country and long ranges also provide a substantial amount of wind, to remedy this I would recommend a 6mm caliber, in a 243 or the inherently accurate 6br. They have better BC and because of this will buck the wind better than the 22 calibers. It is also nice to see your shots on the p-dogs so a heavy rifle will work to your advantage, unless you bring along a good spotter. Also, if you are worried about burning up a barrel, the 6br is a good choice. I have heard of people shooting thousands of rounds without loss of accuracy if they don't load terribly hot, and if you were to only neck size I have heard of 20+ reloadings on Lapua brass. Savage makes a LRPV which would serve you well or you could get a model 10 and swap barrels extremely easy.
 
Agree, .223 if you do not reload. And as you have read, you can never have enough PD rifles. The most common are the .204, .223, 22-250, but there are many more like the .220 Swiff, .243, 6mm, etc. Some us the .17 and .221 fireballs, and the list goes on forever, just like the PD downs.
 
I had Bill Wylde build me a 28" heavy varmint, unreal accurate!!! With lead in the butt, gun barely quivered. I started on the outside of a "party" worked my way in, looked like the Battle of Gettysburg had happened on that p. dog town.
 
Originally Posted By: BOBTAILSI would suggest eventually getting 2-3 rifles for it. that way you can let one cool down and grab another. Otherwise you'll burn up barrels quick.

X10! Most guys bring several rifles on prairie dog shoots just for this reason. Loading is also the best way to go. The initial cost is a little investment but I don't know many guys that would care to fork out that much cash for factory rounds when you are talking that much shooting volume. A lot of the guys I know go through around 500 rounds a day.
 
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