SD National Grasslands....PD Numbers down

[vonb]

I'm planning a trip out to SD in June for a pdog hunt. I called the Wall Forestry office and spoke with one of the Rangers there. She mentioned that the numbers were down 73% on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland due to plague. Is anyone else here similar?

 

[17Hunter]

I was in Kadoka SD last June looking for PD's. Spent 1.5 days looking and never saw a prairie dog. It doubled as a family vacation, so we just ended up spending more time in the Badlands and Custer State Park. I was told the same thing by the Wall Station. Seemed to prove to be true. Good luck.

 

[DHuffman]

There are some towns south of Lemmon on the National Grasslands. They're probably smaller than the ones down in the Wall Kadoka area but I've been on a few of them this spring and didn't notice any shortage of dogs. They are pretty educated though you have to either be patient or reach out long.

 

[SDWhirlwind]

There are some towns south of Lemmon on the National Grasslands. They're probably smaller than the ones down in the Wall Kadoka area but I've been on a few of them this spring and didn't notice any shortage of dogs. They are pretty educated though you have to either be patient or reach out long.

Yea, we could use more out of staters, another 100+ to go with the first 100+ should make things much better. Shortly there will be 3-4 out of state trucks per town and half with campers parked in the middle of them strategically so nobody else showing up can shoot safely. They stay from 3 days to 10 so patiently wait in line!!! Oh, and bring something to scare them out to at least 1000yds and you should fit right in!!

Was out 2wks ago and fired 11 rds in 2 1/2hrs so they are "educated" real well, but patience might give you a chance to make them a bit more educated? Oh, and only seen 3 holes with a couple of young ones on each so a bumper crop also. Perhaps a bit bitter from being called nearly everything the last 30yrs because "this is OUR town" but suppose it is all my fault they aren't getting the shooting they thought they would. After all, the locals have no business being out there! There is good reason they have been poisoned on 95+% of private land, eliminated name calling and everything else that came with it.

 

[DHuffman]

Yea, we could use more out of staters, another 100+ to go with the first 100+ should make things much better. Shortly there will be 3-4 out of state trucks per town and half with campers parked in the middle of them strategically so nobody else showing up can shoot safely. They stay from 3 days to 10 so patiently wait in line!!! Oh, and bring something to scare them out to at least 1000yds and you should fit right in!!

Was out 2wks ago and fired 11 rds in 2 1/2hrs so they are "educated" real well, but patience might give you a chance to make them a bit more educated? Oh, and only seen 3 holes with a couple of young ones on each so a bumper crop also.

Whatever they're gonna come either way if you're that butthurt I told a guy the towns are small and the dogs are educated I'm not really sure what to tell you. Would you like me to delete my post?

Where you at?

 

[DHuffman]

I bet the pheasant hunters really piss you off huh?

 

[DHuffman]

I've seen the clowns you're talking about, set up in the middle of a town or how about the idiots all camo'd up crawling through 2" tall grass with AR's puttin' the stalk on them. If you think I'm the problem you need to take another look at it.

 

[johnfred1965]

Last time I was in SD, we set up on a rise overlooking a town 1000yds deep and probably a mile wide. Plenty of room for anyone to set up and shoot. After we had been there about an hour, we see two guys with a trailer pull up about 500yds away. No problem. Then they pulled a golf cart off the trailer and started driving around the town. What a couple of A holes. needless to say, we packed up and found another town.

 

[DHuffman]

Last time I was in SD, we set up on a rise overlooking a town 1000yds deep and probably a mile wide. Plenty of room for anyone to set up and shoot. After we had been there about an hour, we see two guys with a trailer pull up about 500yds away. No problem. Then they pulled a golf cart off the trailer and started driving around the town. What a couple of A holes. needless to say, we packed up and found another town.

I get limited chances to hunt at home in SD. If I experience something like that there will be a conversation and if the diplomacy fails I bet the game warden is going to show up before too long.

 

[JSH]

Wow, this sounds as bad as some of the water fowl forums I used to frequent.

 

[johnfred1965]

I get limited chances to hunt at home in SD. If I experience something like that there will be a conversation and if the diplomacy fails I bet the game warden is going to show up before too long.

I don't know if enforcement is much different, but we were shooting on the Souix Reservation, I want to say Campbell county. This was a few years ago so there might have been more dogs then. Every morning at breakfast at the diner we frequented, one or two farmers would recognize us as out of towners and ask us if we needed a place to shoot. We met a lot of good people and made some good friends.