I remember as a teenager back in the 1970′s hunting prairie dogs for the local ranchers with several of my friends. We were all using .22 rifles with riflescopes and shooting from a distance of 50 – 100 yards. It was a great way to hone our shooting skills during the hunting off seasons.
One of my best prairie dog hunts was up by Rock Springs, Wyoming. One of my friends knew this rancher that lived up there who was always telling him about the prairie dog problem he had on his land. Four of us drove up there one weekend and met with the rancher.
He told us the approximate location of a large prairie dog town, so we headed in that direction on foot. After about two miles we started to see a couple of prairie dog mounds but nothing substantial. After another mile or so we were beginning to wonder if we were heading in the right direction. We decided to hike up the highest hill to get a better view of the area.
We got to the top of the hill and all stood quietly amazed as we overlooked the largest prairie dog town I have ever seen. There was easily over 50 mounds with prairie dogs running all over the place. We ducked down on the back side of the hill and discussed our best shooting position.
We quietly moved into position placing us about 60 yards from the first mound and probably about 110 yards from the furthest mound. We would shoot for about 2 -3 minutes until they all scurried away into their holes then wait quietly for about 10 – 15 minutes for them to come back out. We went through over 15 boxes of .22LR shells that day.
Today prairie dog hunting is an industry all by itself, with specialty guns, bench setups and riflescopes capable of distances of 500 – 1000 yards. There are even bowhunters hunting prairie dogs now. Most prairie dog hunts are still on private land assisting ranchers and farmers trying to protect their herds and crops.
There are hunting guides and outfitters who will give you a fully guided hunt on some great properties that are full of prairie dogs. Because prairie dogs are very leery, the most effective method of hunting them is at a distance making it a great way to hone your shooting/hunting skills for other game such as deer or elk.
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