I started shooting prairie dogs when I moved to North Dakota in 1977. I average about 7 trips a year, as the dog towns are not too far away. I've used 222, 223, 22-250, 243, 17 hmr and now the 17 WSM. A typical day I'd burn up 500 rounds of 17 WSM, and conservatively average 80% on my hits. Currently, I'm on my 4th 17 WSM(Savage, Franklin Arms, Ruger, Volquartsen). Conditions have to be fairly good with winds no stronger than 15 mph. I have a Leupold 6.5x20 mounted on all of the guns mentioned. I use a portable swiveling bench with sandbags. I also use a Leupold range finder. My longest shots are at 300 yards with the majority in the 125-175 yard range. The 20 grain pellet has plenty of knock down for PD shooting. I have also taken several coyotes with the same load/gun. Therefore, I have done my fair share of reducing the prairie dog population. As a side note, shooting prairie dogs keeps you in good shape when it comes to all the other hunting you may do.