Prairie dog rifle

[Dusty Stevens]

Tikka

 

[Peebles24]

Tikka

I havent seen a heavy barrel one for the cheap price point.

 

[daniel brothers]

black friday.... bass pro... savage 12... 299.99

 

[Peebles24]

For $600 or less I would suggest either a Rem 700 SPS heavy barrel or a Savage heavy barrel, personally I have had pretty good luck with the 700 SPS heavy barrel the ones I have owned seemed to group right around 3/4" - 1" for 100 yard 5 shot groups which is more than adequate for 300-400 yards. I have no experience with Savage except for shooting a couple of friends heavy barrel 223's and they seemed to group about the same as the Rem heavy barrel. To me the Savages feel "clunky" but they get a lot of good press about their grouping ability and since you already have one you are probably used to the feel of them. The downside to the Rem 700 is that if you are a trigger snob you probably won't be happy with the trigger.

I am assuming you are a reloader from reading your post - cartridge recommendation:
223 Rem using a 40 gr Hornady V-Max or Nosler Ballistic Tip there are numerous powders that will get you 3750 - 3800 fps out of this combination. This is my go to load for my 223's and it has killed PD's out to 500 yds, the drop and drift pretty much mirrors the 22-250 with 50 gr bullets and is a lot easier on barrels and also allows you to see your hits/misses. It also creates a lot of carnage. What you will likely find though is that most PD shooting takes place in the 125 yard to 300 yard range beyond those ranges hit ratios start falling pretty quickly.

I am in the camp that is against using a 22 LR on PD's, even with head shots. There is usually wind on the plains and as you know the drift of a 22 LR can be hard to compute at 100 yards, I like shooting PD's but I hate to see any creature suffer and IMO there is just too much chance of not getting a quick kill shot with a 22 LR. I tried the 17 HMR for a couple of years within the 100 - 125 yard range and was less than impressed with it - just too many crawl offs.

I have quite a few decades of PD shooting under my belt and many thousands of them have fallen to my rifles - just to let you know that I have done more than read about it.

drover

I have never done a pd hunt and i dont like to see animals suffer either. I am confident i could not miss a head shot out to at least 50 but if they are tough to kill i will leave the 22lr at home.

Yes i do reload but will contemplate whether or not to even load for a 223 pdog hunt. Box ammo would save a lot of time but lose significant accuracy. Probably will load just hate to think of ladder testing and then single stage loading however many rounds i need to take.

How many rounds should i take?

As i have never even been to North Dakota and my friend just got there this week he hasnt started looking for a spot yet even. He just started a new job with a oil company, i think it is nw of bismark.

 

[alleycat]

Over 20 yrs of shooting them.We start with .223's until the wind & distance becomes an issue then 6 BR's with 70 gr bullets.We have muzzle breaks on the BR's to watch the PD's explode.If they don't explode it isn't any fun.We take turns shooting because watching ea other is also great fun.For longer distances more HP is needed but not nearly as much fun,hotter barrels,less barrel life,more powder,etc..Also we factory ammo for the .223's so we don't have to do so much loading. 14 X scope would work but 20X or so is better.

 

[Peebles24]

Over 20 yrs of shooting them.We start with .223's until the wind & distance becomes an issue then 6 BR's with 70 gr bullets.We have muzzle breaks on the BR's to watch the PD's explode.If they don't explode it isn't any fun.We take turns shooting because watching ea other is also great fun.For longer distances more HP is needed but not nearly as much fun,hotter barrels,less barrel life,more powder,etc..

Barrel life is exactly why i was thinking a relatively cheap 223. I could just have a 6br barrel cut for my kelbly panda action. I think 284win and 6br are same bolt. 6br has pretty good barrel life and i have been wanting one over a year.

 

[drover]

I have never done a pd hunt and i dont like to see animals suffer either. I am confident i could not miss a head shot out to at least 50 but if they are tough to kill i will leave the 22lr at home.

Yes i do reload but will contemplate whether or not to even load for a 223 pdog hunt. Box ammo would save a lot of time but lose significant accuracy. Probably will load just hate to think of ladder testing and then single stage loading however many rounds i need to take.

How many rounds should i take?

As i have never even been to North Dakota and my friend just got there this week he hasnt started looking for a spot yet even. He just started a new job with a oil company, i think it is nw of bismark.

If you don't want to reload this is the answer - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1836223300
Fiocchi 223 with 40 gr V-Max, I doubt that this is the best price but it is an accurate, realitively inexpensive ammo.

If you do want to reload then a 40 gr V-Max or Ballistic Tip over 26.3 grs of VV-133 shoots extremely well in every 223 I have owned - that is my go-to load for myself and most of my friends who have seen it perform. At a less expensive price point H-335 is an equally accurate powder but it can cause an occasional pressure spike on hot days with hot chambers, I have pierced a few primers using it. Just don't let it set in a hot chamber on a hot day. There are a lot of good powders for the 223 and it is hard to find a load that doesn't shoot well with thae 40 and 50 gr bullets.

Rounds - I figure on shooting 300- 400 rounds per day in good towns, more than that becomes tiresome and turns into work rather than fun.

drover

 

[farmerjohn]

Barrel life is exactly why i was thinking a relatively cheap 223. I could just have a 6br barrel cut for my kelbly panda action. I think 284win and 6br are same bolt. 6br has pretty good barrel life and i have been wanting one over a year.

Don't know why more people don't do that, in the picture is one of my sons shooting one of my 600 yd rifles, just take a take off PPC barrel and rechamber it to straight 6br or a bra. 55 grain noslers are bad medicine. You already have your platform and scope...

 

[Peebles24]

Yeah my f open rifle would be ideal and I have heard 6br is about the easiest tuning round out there.
12-42 br nightforce

Can get a barrel cut for about 350ish.

 

[5spd]

Savage fv12 from cabelas on sale again with a rebate. They will do the job your require out of the box and I'd bet you'd be pretty happy with it.

 

[farmerjohn]

Yeah my f open rifle would be ideal and I have heard 6br is about the easiest tuning round out there.
12-42 br nightforce

Can get a barrel cut for about 350ish.

If you are going to start with a new one I would use a 12 twist and a throat for the 70 grain bullets, mine handle everything from 80s on down the 14 twist short range barrels will do 70s on down...
John

 

[jepp2]

I am confident i could not miss a head shot out to at least 50 but if they are tough to kill i will leave the 22lr at home.

My experience is that you will get very few shots under 100 yards, and most of those will be where they are just showing an eyeball (translation, not much dog to shoot at).

How many rounds should i take?

I take 7,000, but I stay for a month. And I normally quit when I get to 200 hits for a day. Since I normally shoot about 30 rounds per hour, that is close to 8 hours of looking through binos and scopes.

 

[Peebles24]

My experience is that you will get very few shots under 100 yards, and most of those will be where they are just showing an eyeball (translation, not much dog to shoot at).

I take 7,000, but I stay for a month. And I normally quit when I get to 200 hits for a day. Since I normally shoot about 30 rounds per hour, that is close to 8 hours of looking through binos and scopes.

I will be staying less than a week. Probably wont go out all day everyday either. Still have to look into North Dakota regulations as far as licenses ect...

 

[mikeinct]

If two of you are going, balance it out. A rimfire , a twenty caliber. a 223 & a 22-250. Some 6 mm/243 whatever for the longest shots. plan on 250 to 350 shots per day . I like your scope choice. 12x42 NF BR. Have fun, enjoy yourselves. mike in ct

 

[DHuffman]

I've shot a lot of Prairie dogs in SD over the years. A .223 is great for about 3 shots then the close up dogs are pretty educated and not offering shots.

I've had much more fun shooting 6BRs, 6x47 Lapuas, 6 Creedmoors, 6.5 x 47 Lapuas, 6.5 Creedmoors and even 6.5-284s

If you concentrate your efforts out past 300 yards or better yet 400 and farther the targets are there. With a little recoil management you can spot hits and it's easier to get back on the scope the farther out the target. The old fat dogs that have never been shot live out there at 600 yards and beyond, they don't even know what's going on when you whack one. LOL

I'd rather spend an afternoon making a few hits out past 400 than getting a few at 100 then waiting an hour for one to pop up. When the pups first start coming out it's a slaughter for a while up close but they get smart quick too.

 

[JSH]

I think we may have over whelmed him.
He wanted to be in the $600 area if I read right.

I have to say a Savage action. The reason, about as easy to swap barrels and try a different caliber/cartridge as it gets.

I will second the above on Fiocchi ammo,204 and 223 has shot well in several for me. Well enough that I would have a fair bit of time in working loads up.

Also if you can’t see your acrobatics that is half the fun.
My four heavy guns weigh anywhere from 19-37 pounds.
Choate stocks, fill with #9 shot.

Discussed with several guys I shot with, right hand shooter use a left bolt gun. Allows you to keep your head on the stock and run second shots quicker.

Cartridges. Myself for the bulk I run I prefer a non wildcat for the largest majority of shooting. I look at it as tools in a tool box. One should have more than a hammer and screw driver 22-250 and 17hmr/wsm.

Once he gets in the field we will have him hooked.

I had sold off all my dog rifles after getting divorced, no time to do much with two kids to take care of.

Forward 15 years, kids gone and me with no adult supervision. Went on a last minute dog hunt. One year to the day I had pieced together 4 rifles. That doesn’t included the CZ’s I bought to try cartridges in.

Lol, you have been warned ;-).

 

[JSH]

Uh, we have not even started on benches,chairs and stands yet.......

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/00008hlst/high-low-shooting-table-dark-earth
Should be on sale some time I would think.
Between five of us we all really liked this. Points on the legs that will go into the ground about 3”. Can be used sitting or standing.
We got into some terrain where the brush was to high when sitting and this worked great for standing. Set it up and shoot over the top of fences, rather than hauling everything to the other side.

 

[hunter67]

I have a 20vt and a 223ai and a 22-250 fast twist shooting 75gr pills. The 22-250 is good for about 5 shots then cool down, the 223ai is good for 10 but the 20vt can just go and go and go. I shoot them all suppressed. And like what has been said before your hit percentage starts to go down as you go over 400. My 20vt will go to 400 no problem. If I had to choose one it would be the Vartag

 

[Mark W]

On my last trip I took 17 HMR, 204R, 223, 6BR Improved, and 243 Win.

The 0 Freebore 6BR Improved with 70 Grain Blitzkings was by far my favorite gun on that trip. The only thing close to for performance in the wind was the 243 with 87 vmax, but the recoil made it not as fun.

 

[powderbrake]

So my best friend is moving to north Dakota currently and we have been talking about doing a prarie dog hunt for 25 years, looks like 2020 is the year for us.

Now i need to prep some rifles.
I know my 22s will be good out to 100
And I'll probably take my savage 6.5cm i have used for 1k comp, dont want to shoot it to much to fast due to barrel life and ammo cost, but if i see some at 800 plus yeah I'll try it.

What i need is a good 223 that i can depend on out to about 5 or 600 yards i think. Know i have never been on a pd hunt so i may be way off base but i think a cheap to shoot 223 will be good 200 to 600 yards. Problem is i dont have one. What should i get cheap. Thinking heavy barrel bolt gun or on the upper end a psa heavy barrel ar. Trying to stay around 600 bucks or less i already have a scope or 3 laying around.

Help and suggestions will be much appreciated

Thank you
Chad

I recommend :
1) leave your 22 rifle at home. If they are within 100 yards you can hit them with a 22 pistol or the 223.
2) Take your 6.5 for the distance shots.
3) buy a Rem 700 223 Varmint for the rest of them. Use whatever highest power scope that you have. No matter what you do in the future, having an accurate 223 bolt gun is fun.
4) buy a cheap wind meter and ballistics app for your smartphone

DO NOT make a huge investment, because after you have tried to shoot prairie dogs in the North Dakota winds, you will probably decide on something else for next year.

I have been shooting p dogs for over 50 years, starting when we antelope hunted in Wyoming, and shot pdogs while we waited for our antelope to be butchered and frozen. We found out pdogs were more fun than antelope.
I used my Sako 243 in those days, but switched to a Rem 700 Varmint in 223 when I just hunted dogs (now working on my third barrel). Tried a heavy barrel AR in 223 (magazine projection out the bottom is inconvenient on rotary table), then I went to a 22-250 (because of the wind) and am working on it's third barrel and it is my back-up gun, then I went to a 6BR single shot custom gun (because of the wind). I now shoot the 6BR with an 88 gr Berger Varmint (high ballistic coefficient), which is like a Berger 105 hybrid without the boat tail, and I am working on my third barrel.

P dogs will not let you shoot the area very long before they duck back into their holes, out to about 400 yards or so, so you either have to move, or wait them out, or just shoot the long shots. Since we shoot off rotary tables, we don't move very often, so I have chosen to invest in stuff that will help me in the long shots in the wind. A good rotary table, rangefinding binoculars, a good front and rear rest, wind and atmospheric measuring equipment and a good ballistics program. Also a supply of cold beverages while I am waiting for them to show their faces. For reference, our regular group of 4 shooters use a 6BR, a 22-250, and two 204 Rugers.

I also recommend you consider the binoculars, rangefinder, table & rests (or bipod and rear bag to shoot off the hood of the truck, we used a tarp on the hood, and 4 bungee cords to fasten it down), a wind meter, and a ballistics app for your smartphone. You do not need all of this, the binoculars are probably the most important item, rangefinder the second. Again, do not spend big the first trip, you will probably change your mind about what you want next year.