powderbrake
Gold $$ Contributor
We just returned from a 5 day prairie dog hunt in South Dakota. We had great weather on Monday, wind was only 5-6 mph ( I could not believe we were in SD with such light winds), and we bagged quite a few. We shoot from rotating benches, there were 4 of us. I shot my 6mmBR, one shot a 22-250, and two shot 204 Rugers. All of us have wind meters, laser rangefinders and ballistics programs on our iphones, so we are not shooting fast, and if the dogs go down we have a beverage and wait, they come back up.
We typically shoot a town for a few hours , then pack our stuff and head to a new town and set up. Sometimes we get 3 towns in a day.
We were never at a virgin PD town, there is a lot of hunting pressure out there, and we had some shots in the 100 to 200 yard range, but we had lots of shots in the 250 to 500 yard range. The light wind meant we could hit those way out ones, and there was no mirage. GREAT hunting.
Tuesday it rained on us, only got a couple shots off. Of all the pd trips I have made in the past 35-40 years, I have only been rained out 3 or 4 days, so while disappointing, it has to be expected.
Wednesday was a repeat of Monday, low wind, great hunting. One of our guys who is relatively new, who had a new Savage in 204 Ruger, hit one at 475 yards, his longest, and it was at the end of the day. He was really pumped up after that hit.
Took the day off Thursday, two of our group went home, and two new shooters arrived that evening to join in our hunt.
Friday was different. Strong winds, 10 to 20 mph, but steady from the west, gusts of only 5-6 mph so the windage adjustments were not too bad. We did well for the conditions.
Saturday started off with the same very strong 20mph winds, but by 10 am the wind was dropping, and by noon, it was 3-5 mph. Sunny, light wind, great hunting.
Here's some pics of a town.
We typically shoot a town for a few hours , then pack our stuff and head to a new town and set up. Sometimes we get 3 towns in a day.
We were never at a virgin PD town, there is a lot of hunting pressure out there, and we had some shots in the 100 to 200 yard range, but we had lots of shots in the 250 to 500 yard range. The light wind meant we could hit those way out ones, and there was no mirage. GREAT hunting.
Tuesday it rained on us, only got a couple shots off. Of all the pd trips I have made in the past 35-40 years, I have only been rained out 3 or 4 days, so while disappointing, it has to be expected.
Wednesday was a repeat of Monday, low wind, great hunting. One of our guys who is relatively new, who had a new Savage in 204 Ruger, hit one at 475 yards, his longest, and it was at the end of the day. He was really pumped up after that hit.
Took the day off Thursday, two of our group went home, and two new shooters arrived that evening to join in our hunt.
Friday was different. Strong winds, 10 to 20 mph, but steady from the west, gusts of only 5-6 mph so the windage adjustments were not too bad. We did well for the conditions.
Saturday started off with the same very strong 20mph winds, but by 10 am the wind was dropping, and by noon, it was 3-5 mph. Sunny, light wind, great hunting.
Here's some pics of a town.
Good post, thanks for sharing
