Do Prairie Dogs Come Out When it is Raining?

[centershot]

So it looks as though several of our days of shooting will have rain. Should you even bother to go out? Do not mind getting wet, but not if they do not come out.

 

[mongo chicago]

Generally no, not very much. Also a consideration is the chance of getting stuck in the mud. As you can see in the pic, the tailgate is almost touching the ground.

 

[Tommie]

They go underground during rain.

 

[people]

It is not worth going out. They will come out but usually only after a day or two of rain and then only long enough to get a little food then they go down. Then the rain has to be pretty light.

 

[DownWindPredatorControl]

See a lot of Pds around Denver when the sun is shining, none when it is raining lightly or heavily.......

 

[Rustytigwire]

My first dog day in western oklahoma was off and on showers, flat fields with greasy slick surface mud. Next morning 3 to 4 inches of snow, great to have better traction. You may not burn up a barrel but it sure was a great time. Plenty of shots overall.
Cant have adventure if you dont go out.

 

[SBS]

Generally no, not very much. Also a consideration is the chance of getting stuck in the mud. As you can see in the pic, the tailgate is almost touching the ground.

Looks like a pretty stable shooting platform!

You're right, pretty tough to get out there when the surface is wet; mud fills up the treads on the tires and it's like trying to drive on "slicks". We have had a pretty good afternoon of shooting after rain in the morning with sun out shortly afterwards. Main problem is access with a vehicle. Prairie itself is driveable sooner than the dirt/gravel roads to access it.

 

[CT10ring]

So it looks as though several of our days of shooting will have rain. Should you even bother to go out? Do not mind getting wet, but not if they do not come out.

PD's like sunlight. The sun casts sharp shadows from overhead winged predators, and ground stalkers. clouds - not so much.

 

[Prairiedogger]

We had 3+ inches of rain Memorial Weekend. I took a few hours Mon and shot a few dogs. Still raining, they were out eating. They love the sun, but still come out to eat. Lots of little ones. There was a steady light rain all morning.

 

[CT10ring]

Generally no, not very much. Also a consideration is the chance of getting stuck in the mud. As you can see in the pic, the tailgate is almost touching the ground.

been there, too. it's some sticky stuff.

 

[Prose]

I like to bring a boat so when it rains I go fishing instead of PD'ing.

 

[mongo chicago]

Here are a couple of more pics for your amusement

 

[DogBuster]

Rain......no

but soon as it clears & sunny.......bang bang......

IF you can get to your shootin' spot..........

and back out........

don't be the Mongo above post ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[mongo chicago]

By the way, that was a friend in the pics, not me! My Toyota pickup and skillful driving made it through.

 

[CT10ring]

Here are a couple of more pics for your amusement

View attachment 1108381 View attachment 1108382

well that would be S. Dakota.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

To all the Yahoos who think they have to drive on the muddy roads and tear the hell out of them. Don't. The one thing that really pi**es me off is mudruts.. Why?

 

[5spd]

Must depend on the p-dogs as Ive shot them in afternoon light rain/mists many times, (those short 5-10 min bursts) In heavy rains nope.
Winds out here have little effect to a certain point IMO. A pal and I shot 700+ p-dogs Friday and it was 13-18 mph all day long. It was in the mid 70s and sunny though.
Sunday was cloudy all day and they were out in force again.

 

[tstowater]

The fastest way to piss off a rancher is to tear up their roads. One of our favorite places to shoot prairie dogs is on a long dirt road. The rancher flat out said not to come down that road if it has rained. Also, if it is raining, we haven't found shooting to be very good anyway.

 

[GT Accuracy]

See a lot of Pds around Denver when the sun is shining, none when it is raining lightly or heavily.......

Denver has to be the king of prairie dog profanity. The amount of those little buggers flipping us hunters off at nearly every read light near broomfield and Thornton, astounds me

 

[AckleymanII]

Remember, P. dogs do not have to come out and drink when it is raining, they tunnel all the way down till they hit water! If you ever see a black p. dog, you know he hit oil.
Hee Hee!