Made one last trip to the Dakotas PDn October 8-15. Rode out Wed with my friend Terry on short notice with two warm days forecast for Th and Fri.
My home away from home for a week at Terry's PD Headquarters....
Left my 6x6 home and used one of Terry's Rangers with front dash shooting capability.
Th. Day 1: 160 dogs
Went to a new town for me in PM and shot till Dusk. It was steady all day with a real nice flurry as last shooting light hung on.
Came up a rise and crested a ridge to slew of dogs on an upslope. Kept shooting from one position for about 30 rounds with only the top half of ATV exposed, moved about a 20 more yards over the crest for another 20 rounds. Probably had about 35-40 down in this last half hour.
Had to keep moving my line of fire as the local herd moved across the prairie.
Terry had two nice antelope herds around him....no decent bucks though.
Fri , Day 2, 50-60*, 144 dogs and one coyote
Went to a familiar town, once again steady all day but with 15-25 MPH winds. Covered about a section of ground, large white raptors abound at this town constantly eating dead dogs and flying overhead.
Had a coyote come in and start eating one of my dead dogs I had shot earlier in the day. I was shooting from an elevated side hill and noticed it off in the distance. Through the naked eye, at first I thought it was another large raptor, maybe an eagle.....binos proved otherwise. I had time to range it, crank up the elevation to 375 and fire away. It had its head down eating as I pressed the trigger holding on its shoulder. I misjudged the wind and hit it in the ear hole...not a great shot but effective. Note the PD that was it's last supper....
Weird how it just ignored my PD shooting as it was eating. Through the scope I thought it might have the mange, but it looked perfectly healthy up close.
Sat, Day 3. 63 dogs
Cold front came in overnight, 40* and 30-40 MPH...not comfy.
Went to an little town nearby.... only about 80 acres. Shot a few but dogs were really spooked and had very few shots.....maybe 10 dogs down.
Terry told me about a town he's noted on G. Earth but never explored so I headed for it. It was a mini bonanza over about a half section Most of the town was soaking wet despite relatively dry conditions. I was wary of dropping the ATV into a soft spot.
I don't think it had been shot all year. It wasn't great but considering the cold, overcast, and 30-40 MPH I'll take it. We headed back to Headquarters early today.
Harvest in full swing...Sunflower seed storage....200-300 foot tubes.
Day 4, Sunday, 30-40 MPH, 50*, low 40s wind chill and overcast....all ingredients for a poor day. No shooting today.
Headed for towns I call OK Corral, Adobe Walls and Barn Swallow House...the birds live in the house flying through broken windows.
Arrived at Barn Swallow House, got of the truck and saw very few dogs out. We looked at each other and agreed....too cold.
Day 5, Monday warm 60*, 0-10 MPH, sunny and partly cloudy.....389 dogs.
Got an AM start since it would be our last day of shooting....another cold front was moving in and we needed to winterize Headquarters before we left for home.
Went back to Day 1 Town, dogs were everywhere and eating profusely after the cold, wind and overcast of the two previous days.
I chose to shoot the same terrain as Day 1 since I was familiar with it however I added another half section I hadn't shot day 1. I only covered half the acreage I had planned because the dogs were cooperating.
Ended up with 389 for the day, my 2nd best all-time. Terry had 527...total 816 for the day.
The War Wagons....
SUMMARY:
756 Dogs in four days shooting.
600 20 VTs
385 222s
200. 223s
1185 Total fired
63.8%
My % was down considerably due to higher winds than normal , mature dogs, longer shots and just generally tougher conditions than normal. I've averaged right at 80% for my previous three trips.
I was hesitant about using Terry's Ranger ATV and dash setup vs my 6x6 and rear shooting platform with ball mount and rear shooting bag. My hesitancy was unfounded....once I got used to it it was more comfortable and nearly as accurate.
I'll be adding a front shooting platform to my 6x6 for the 2026 season so I can shoot seated from the front for initial shots and/or standing from the rear 270* platform for sustained fire.
Until then....good shootin' to ya.
My home away from home for a week at Terry's PD Headquarters....
Left my 6x6 home and used one of Terry's Rangers with front dash shooting capability.
Th. Day 1: 160 dogs
Went to a new town for me in PM and shot till Dusk. It was steady all day with a real nice flurry as last shooting light hung on.
Came up a rise and crested a ridge to slew of dogs on an upslope. Kept shooting from one position for about 30 rounds with only the top half of ATV exposed, moved about a 20 more yards over the crest for another 20 rounds. Probably had about 35-40 down in this last half hour.
Had to keep moving my line of fire as the local herd moved across the prairie.
Terry had two nice antelope herds around him....no decent bucks though.
Fri , Day 2, 50-60*, 144 dogs and one coyote
Went to a familiar town, once again steady all day but with 15-25 MPH winds. Covered about a section of ground, large white raptors abound at this town constantly eating dead dogs and flying overhead.
Had a coyote come in and start eating one of my dead dogs I had shot earlier in the day. I was shooting from an elevated side hill and noticed it off in the distance. Through the naked eye, at first I thought it was another large raptor, maybe an eagle.....binos proved otherwise. I had time to range it, crank up the elevation to 375 and fire away. It had its head down eating as I pressed the trigger holding on its shoulder. I misjudged the wind and hit it in the ear hole...not a great shot but effective. Note the PD that was it's last supper....
Weird how it just ignored my PD shooting as it was eating. Through the scope I thought it might have the mange, but it looked perfectly healthy up close.
Sat, Day 3. 63 dogs
Cold front came in overnight, 40* and 30-40 MPH...not comfy.
Went to an little town nearby.... only about 80 acres. Shot a few but dogs were really spooked and had very few shots.....maybe 10 dogs down.
Terry told me about a town he's noted on G. Earth but never explored so I headed for it. It was a mini bonanza over about a half section Most of the town was soaking wet despite relatively dry conditions. I was wary of dropping the ATV into a soft spot.
I don't think it had been shot all year. It wasn't great but considering the cold, overcast, and 30-40 MPH I'll take it. We headed back to Headquarters early today.
Harvest in full swing...Sunflower seed storage....200-300 foot tubes.
Day 4, Sunday, 30-40 MPH, 50*, low 40s wind chill and overcast....all ingredients for a poor day. No shooting today.
Headed for towns I call OK Corral, Adobe Walls and Barn Swallow House...the birds live in the house flying through broken windows.
Arrived at Barn Swallow House, got of the truck and saw very few dogs out. We looked at each other and agreed....too cold.
Day 5, Monday warm 60*, 0-10 MPH, sunny and partly cloudy.....389 dogs.
Got an AM start since it would be our last day of shooting....another cold front was moving in and we needed to winterize Headquarters before we left for home.
Went back to Day 1 Town, dogs were everywhere and eating profusely after the cold, wind and overcast of the two previous days.
I chose to shoot the same terrain as Day 1 since I was familiar with it however I added another half section I hadn't shot day 1. I only covered half the acreage I had planned because the dogs were cooperating.
Ended up with 389 for the day, my 2nd best all-time. Terry had 527...total 816 for the day.
The War Wagons....
SUMMARY:
756 Dogs in four days shooting.
600 20 VTs
385 222s
200. 223s
1185 Total fired
63.8%
My % was down considerably due to higher winds than normal , mature dogs, longer shots and just generally tougher conditions than normal. I've averaged right at 80% for my previous three trips.
I was hesitant about using Terry's Ranger ATV and dash setup vs my 6x6 and rear shooting platform with ball mount and rear shooting bag. My hesitancy was unfounded....once I got used to it it was more comfortable and nearly as accurate.
I'll be adding a front shooting platform to my 6x6 for the 2026 season so I can shoot seated from the front for initial shots and/or standing from the rear 270* platform for sustained fire.
Until then....good shootin' to ya.
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