Need some advice on hunting Prairie Dogs

[Rus]

Some of us where I live are wanting to find a good Outfitter to book some prairie dog hunts with. We have had too many dry runs for the last 3 years. Long drives, high fees, very few shots. Anyone have any experience with any good Outfitter that can provide some guaranteed good hunting and lots of shooting. Please LMK. Thanks Rus

 

[bhoges]

Re: Need some advise on hunting Prairie Dogs

I used a few places like b&d in wood south dakota but I think he is out of business now. There was a guy in Nebraska that was good. Ive heard nothing but bad things about all the Indian guides. Get Varmint Hunter magazine and start calling. Its already late in the yr to book a spot.

 

[Rus]

Re: Need some advise on hunting Prairie Dogs

Thanks I'll check out the magazine and I'll keep on trying. I will find a good place to hunt. If not this year then maybe the next or the one after that. A man who loves to hunt and shoot never quits.

 

[Rus]

Re: Need some advise on hunting Prairie Dogs

THANKS to all who PM'd me with info and advised here.

 

[Cold Bore]

Re: Need some advise on hunting Prairie Dogs

Ive heard nothing but bad things about all the Indian guides.

Same experience here when I was trying to find a good hunt myself a few years ago.

I ws pretty much told to avoid them. They're happy to take your money, but then the problems just start to multiply.

 

[its only light]

Screw the tribal land. Go to the public grasslands in Pierre South Dakota. Try to get there early in the season. I believe it opens on public land June 15th. There are plenty of dog towns to go around and you don't have to pay the tribe for nothing.

 

[CaptainMal]

Wyoming.

It's one word but one word you should remember. My wife and I have gone different places there and each time we found lots of shots and on public or free private lands.

 

[5spd]

Wyoming.
It's one word but one word you should remember. My wife and I have gone different places there and each time we found lots of shots and on public or free private lands.

SSssshhhh.....WY dont have ANY p-dogs OR coyotes.................................................. !
I have already run a tad over 400 rounds into p-dogs since the middle of last month.
Places are hit n miss & depends on the sun/weather right now, but they are popping out.
The most popular BLM & state spots get hit hard on weekends, so you need to be an early season shooter. April - May-June is best IMO. I cant remember what month CaptianMal above was out to WY but he did get some shooting in if I recall on BLM spots.
I have access to many ranches & most of them will let shooters who stop & ask (thats if they have p-dogs), but have told me dont tell anyone since they will be flooded & they have ranches to run.
If you look at the states BLM land maps you could be pretty lucky or call the DF&G & talk to a warden for good public areas since you will never have time to drive/look/spot & ask.
There is an outfitter up in the Casper WY area that does p-dogs & the rest....cant recall his name though.

 

[Rus]

Thanks to all. Will be leaving on a trip soon. Rus

 

[CT10ring]

Rus, stop in at the local coffee shop in small towns early am and you'll find the older ranchers having coffee. They will give you good intel, at least have for me.

Moorcroft Wyoming comes to mind. Happy shooting, headed out myself June 1. Post some of your info, finds and adventures. Too many dogs? Barrels easily replaced.

Also had an awesome Lakota Sioux guide some years back. Super guy, dependable with good access, and I
don't think I ever saw so many PDs since anywhere since. Think it was just lucky timing on res, no poison.

 

[NO-GO]

I went with friends last year to rosebud, TOTAL BUST! Plague went thru there, but they will not tell you that, I never uncased a rifle. I live in SD and have few small towns I shoot a couple times a year, not big enough for group shooting. They are out there, but hard to find. Check out ground squirrels in WY, MT lots of shooting and fun. Good Luck.

 

[CT10ring]

I went with friends last year to rosebud, TOTAL BUST! Plague went thru there, but they will not tell you that, I never uncased a rifle. I live in SD and have few small towns I shoot a couple times a year, not big enough for group shooting. They are out there, but hard to find. Check out ground squirrels in WY, MT lots of shooting and fun. Good Luck.

Exactly, the WHOLE state of SD has no PD's. nope. None. You sir are clever. I
Am going to head to STURGIS, DRIVE X to X, to X ranch. then head to WY.

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Great! More out of state hunters coming to WY!!! Outfitters to shoot p-dogs? Wtf? I believe in my lifetime I will see all hunting reserved for the wealthy. This flood of out of state money has created a real problem for the locals. Can't blame the ranchers I guess. I still have a few spots to shoot but it sucks that there are so many others shooting in the same town. I don't go back east and try to do whatever people do out there? Hard to draw an elk tag here now, unless your from out of state. I hoped pdogs would be left alone but I guess that's out now too. If its like this here in WY, I can't imagine all the people in other areas! I wish my sons could experience the good old days. They'll probably get turned away from shooting on land my grandpa shot on because someone from Minnesota is leasing it. Good thing my family has deeded land. Need to put up the no vacancy sign up at the state line again!!

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Not to worry Popkes. I have just about wiped all the Wyoming Pdawgs out in my lifetime..

 

[CT10ring]

Great! More out of state hunters coming to WY!!! Outfitters to shoot p-dogs? Wtf? I believe in my lifetime I will see all hunting reserved for the wealthy. This flood of out of state money has created a real problem for the locals. Can't blame the ranchers I guess. I still have a few spots to shoot but it sucks that there are so many others shooting in the same town. I don't go back east and try to do whatever people do out there? Hard to draw an elk tag here now, unless your from out of state. I hoped pdogs would be left alone but I guess that's out now too. If its like this here in WY, I can't imagine all the people in other areas! I wish my sons could experience the good old days. They'll probably get turned away from shooting on land my grandpa shot on because someone from Minnesota is leasing it. Good thing my family has deeded land. Need to put up the no vacancy sign up at the state line again!!

Hey. You might want to make your every thought about you -- a little less so. Altho I understand why you want to preserve what is yours-you live in WY and apparently - IT IS YOUR LAND. Your right to shoot on your land, seems easy to protect. As for me, I drive to shoot west of where I live for a lot of reasons. I have only been turned down 1 time in many many requests to shoot PD's. I am not wealthy, respect the landowners/ranchers who are willing to trust a stranger shooting on their land. I do not know about others, but as for me, I am incredibly grateful of the trust given me. And I don't consider myself a PD "hunter." with an outfitter... Makes for a good laugh, tho. payment from wealthy guys from back east- 6 pack, shared. can't say I blame you. put up the sign on your land.

 

[J.d. Popkes]

I'm just sayin it sucks that tourists come in and interfere with this now too. Big game hunting is never free now, that's if you can draw a tag where there is private land. And public is a joke to me. I gave up on the hopes of getting a big bull on public so I held my nose and put in for an area where there was a big ranch that charges to hunt. Never draw, like 5% chance. Come to find out that if I had drawn the ranch was already booked solid, why, out of staters draw 3 months sooner and had it locked down already anyway. I foresee the rest of the hunting going this way too. Commercialized. And it never fails, the people that you see are from blue states that support gun control. I'm sure the people don't, just sayin. I live here because I don't want a bunch of people around, and that's just me. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here. I have never heard "I sure wish there were some more people from New York here". I'm sure there are some fine folk that travel thousands of miles to shoot varmints. The ONLY thing I'm trying to say is its the beginning of the end for free uncrowded pdog shooting. I never thought I'd see someone pay 1500 bucks to shoot a turkey. They do. And guess where they go when they got some free time before they go home? Pdogs! Nothing I can do about it I know. I can say what I think though, for now. At least some people make money off them. Oh and by the way, if some local guy wants to take his kid turkey hunting, who is the landowner gonna let in first, him, or the dude that pays, or the outfitter that pays? So the local man that just wants to take his kid hunting gets hosed! Anyway I'm done with it whatever. Make all the funny jokes u want, prove me wrong. Come hop in the pickup come hunting season and I will drive ranch to ranch and show you what I mean. Have fun bashing me though!

 

[CatShooter]

I won't bash you - you are dead right.

And it works both ways. I have very good friends that live in Sag Harbor, all the way at the end of Long Island, NY - it is rich people's summer time playground.
They are middle class working people that live there all year around, and have lived there since it was farm land.

Now, in the summers, they stay home, and do their grocery shopping on Tuesday mornings (they get time off from their employers).

They can't even go into their own town on weekends between July and September.

People give up a lot to live off in rural areas in terms of convenience and amenities... to them, the quality of rural life is worth it... but then the people that they wanted to get away from, follow them there and it sucks.

As Yogi Berra once said, "This place used to be nice, until all the people came and made the nice go away."

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Thanks! I was really waiting to get bashed, sure it will come.

 

[Nomad47]

We all squawk about having our our little piece of heaven to hunt on and we all complain about strangers intruding. But our ancestors did that very thing to the American Indian. And none of us are willing to give this country back to the Indians.

 

[North Fork]

I think varmint hunter magazine had a lot to do with ruing prairie dog hunting in the west i remember when ranchers use to pay you to shoot prairie dogs.