Pics of Prairie Dog hunt

[powderbrake]

I just recently returned from a 4 day prairie dog hunt in South Dakota. We had a great time and shot a lot of prairie dogs. ( sorry no pics of dead dogs). There were 4 of us shooting, we all had rotating tables, and all used some ballistics app and rangefinders.

Here is my setup. 6BR shooting 88gr Berger High BC Varmint bullets from my Custom Metal Products rotating bench. The antenna has a piece of light yarn, it's my wind flag. I use a set of Lieca Geovids to range the dogs, and Applied Ballistics on my iPhone to get my windage and elevation clicks. I use a Kestrel 3500 to get the wind speed, temperature and the local barometric ( station) pressure.


My buddy was shooting a Savage Long Range Hunter repeater in .204 Ruger. He also was using the new Kestrel Elite meter with Applied Ballistics and the rotating vane mount. This setup links to an iphone via Bluetooth, and updates the wind and elevations clicks continuously. Just input the yardage and the direction of the shot from a compass lying on the table and it gives a shooting solution.


Earlier he had it on a tripod, but the wind blew it over, so he mounted it to the bench.



One of the other guys was shooting a Savage model 10 in 204 Ruger.



and the fourth guy has a Savage Long Range RBLP in 22-250



The hunting was pretty good, we take lots of breaks for water, lunch, snacks, and beer. We bring our folding chairs and when the dogs get to hiding , we relax and wait a while.
Cant post more than 5 pics, so I will continue in the next post.

 

[powderbrake]

To continue:
Here is a pic of the mounds at one spot.


I was driving my Tahoe, and it was pretty full with a couple rifles each, and two tables and all our ammo and gear.


The other car was a Cherokee, and it is a bit smaller, so they had to pack a lot tighter.



I built a box to fit in the rear of the Tahoe, which allows a space for the tables. Almost all of the two table parts except the leg assembly from the Midway table will fit in the box.



We also shot some off the hood in some smaller towns. Used a bipod on an AR15 with a furniture pad on the hood, held in place with strong magnets.

It was an unusual 4 day hunt, as the wind was not very strong for 3 of the days. One day had the typical South Dakota 15 to 25 mph winds, so the long shots were more difficult, but the wind direction was steady, so the ballistics solutions were OK.

On the way back home, we stopped at Hornady in Grand Island, NE for a factory tour. It was very interesting to see the bullets being madeand hand inspected and packaged. If you are in the area take the tour. (check website for tour times)

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Nice. I wish we had towns like that here. Lotsa dawgs but spread out all over god's creation.

 

[orbitup]

Looks like you had perfect weather! How long were the shots you were taking?

 

[sw282]

SD prairie dog shooting is always great. Hornady in Grand lsle are good people too. Unlike Nosler in Bend '0', Steve rolls out the carpet to honor us shooters... Best of ALL, we got free bullet samples!!!

My third and last ''BOOLIT CRUSADE'' will be to Sierra Bullets in MO

 

[5spd]

Looks like great time you all had up there. Good to get a bunch of p-dog shooting in with friends.

 

[powderbrake]

Looks like you had perfect weather! How long were the shots you were taking?

The shots were not too long. Most inside of 350 yards. Perfect for the "tiny bullet, high velocity" rifles like the 204 Ruger and the 22-250. My 6br with the 88 grain Bergers is more suitable for the longer shots, of which I took a few.

And yes, the weather was perfect, meaning there was no rain. It was in the high 80's and 90's. Nothing ruins a hunt like rain.

 

[powderbrake]

Looks like great time you all had up there. Good to get a bunch of p-dog shooting in with friends.

Yes it was a great time. I look upon it as a vacation with my friends. We don't count "hits" or "kills" we just shoot until the dogs go down, then we stop and relax until the come back up. When they stop coming up, we move to a different town.

 

[Terry O]

SD

My third and last ''BOOLIT CRUSADE'' will be to Sierra Bullets in MO

You may want to check before you go. I heard recently the new management has shut down tours.