Prairie dog hunters i need your opinion.

[jghoghunter]

If you use just a little bit of restraint you will not burn your barrels up in one outting. I have a ruger #1 chambered in 220 weatherby rocket. It has made at least 5 trips out and I have had this gun since 94. 2 years ago I had 150+ rnds left on the last day in the last 2 hours and I brought none of them home. I came home cleaned the rifle took it to the range and my cousin and I shot 1, 5 shot group each both under .5" @ 100 yds. I was trying to burn that barrel up so I could put a fast twist on it. It still has that same barrel on it and will go to South Dakota this year again. By the way those are nosler ballistic tips @ 4150 fps. So don't be so worried about buring that barrel up use alittle restraint and have a great time and like someone said it is verrrrrrrry addicting. I've gone every year since 2002 and once in the 90's. Be very careful of the addiction it has caused us to spend alot of money to hit small targets at long distances. We currently have kills at 1760,2200 and are shooting at 3000+ yds We are shooting for 2 miles hopefully this year we will make it.

 

[Goofycat]

I use a .222 and/or a Cooper .20 VarTarg for shots up to 200 yards and a .22-250 for longer shots....depending on the wind. Besides, on a warm day, the barrel on the .22-250 heats up after about 10 shots of continuous shooting. You need to let the barrel cool on this particular rifle. The barrel cooling on the .222 is far more user-friendly, with moderate heating time, vs. short heating time for the .22-250. With two or three centerfire rifles, you can let the barrel cool on one rifle while shooting the other. I also take a .22 rimfire (Ruger action and heavy barrel) when I want to walk around and get some up-close shooting, or just to let the barrels cool down on the centerfires. I have had far more kills with a rimfire (350 in morning-only shooting on one particular day)....and don't have to reload as much when I return home. I am addicted to hearing that "thwack" sound with the rimfire, although it is more fun to blow things up with the centerfires. ;D

 

[Taxman1002587]

SkeetLee - I"m sure you will have fun and enough people have already told you about your barrel or barrels getting hot - but be careful with your ammo. Most powders are somewhat temperature sensitive (especialy at extremens of hot or cold) so if you work up a close to max load at 65-70 degrees then you go to SD and leave the ammo in your truck with the windows closed or out in the sun that ammo can easily heat up to 110+. Also don't leave a loaded cartridge in the gun (even if your bolt is open) if you stop shooting to let your barrel cool down a bit - that cartridge will act just like a heat sink and the powder will definitely be North of 120+ and if you only brought one gun your hunt might be over the moment you touch that round off.

Experience is a great teacher - You really should have a spare or backup gun.

Taxman

 

[patchhound]

Theres a few other things you should think of when planning a trip to pd land in the spring. The weather most likely wont be on your side. Its not enough to shut you down but its good to be ready for it. Last year in WY was a real cold & wet(snowy) spring. I wouldnt think of traveling down ANY dirt roads with a 2wd car or truck. Snow melts quick and turns dirt roads into crap stew real fast. Cold weather gear`s a good thing to have too, you dont know if its gona be 25 or 80...Didnt know if you thought of all this stuff yet but I figured it would be a good thing to bring up. The weather`s normally worse in SD so here`s the heads-up. I really think its best to wait till late June to take a high $$$ trip to shoot `em. Many less things to wreck your trip. Not just that but buy late June the pups are out and you got way more targets, lots more challenge too.

About the guns, I dont think a switch bbl`s that bad of an idea if you can do it w/o screw`in something up. You`ll still want at least one back-up c/f gun and a rimfire. My 17hmr gets the bbl`s cooled off real good when the actions hot.

 

[sharps]

I am but a lowly Montana Outfitter guiding P-dog hunts and shoot dogs EVERY time I go to town for groceries and I do this for a living and any damn fool that needs a muzzle brake for a
222 to a 22-250 on a 8+ pound rifle deserves to experience the
miserable percussion and blast every time they pull the trigger.If you show up with a brake you unscrew it and put a cover on it
or go home, I'm not going to be punished by some woossy who
thinks he's going to get beat up by a ten pound 223, this is some
kind of waste of good money for absolutely no purpose....I would never advise any client to put one of those things
on a perfectly good barrel, it just makes things horrible....A
supressor makes a hell of a lot more sense, at least you won't
be scareing dogs at 300 plus yards with mega muzzle blasts.

 

[people]

I do not have any breaks on my small stuff but I have fired plenty of small rifles with them on them. My Grandpa has them on some of his rifles and I have to admit they are really nice when you are shooting from a less than optimal position. They let you see every shot no matter how close they are. They do make quite the racket. When I am shooting I want to see my hits. That is the main reason to shoot PD. Even from a good position when you fire a shot it will allow you to see your hits when they are close.

I have a 22hornet for the less than 100yds and the rest is for stuff farther than 100yds. My 6mmbr and 22-250 are plenty heavy when I dig my bipod legs into the ground and push into it when shooting at the close stuff even 200yds sometimes it is difficult to see the hit. Most of the times it is not a problem but some days not so much.

Now if you think the blast is bad from a 22-250. We should go out with my 338LM and 300WM. Those will make you wish for the days of the 22-250’s. If you want we can take the break off of the 338LM and you can tap a round off. Personally I would not because the recoil pad if just a sheet of aluminum. It would break a collar bone.

A person can get a Harrell’s break for $35.00 and mounted for less than $150.00. A good sound suppressor will run a guy close to a grand plus the Gov. tax of $200.00 then do not forget the gunsmith fees to allow it to mount to your tube heck you are looking at almost $1,500.00. I do not know why the Gov. makes it so hard to get one. It is just like giving everyone around you a free pair of ear plugs. When I shoot the big stuff with the breaks I use ear plugs and muffs. Plus I am kind of used to the muzzle blast from my shorty AR15 not to mention all the 50BMG ammo I burned in the USMC.

One other thing you can do is sit more in back of them. Back when I still had my 50BMG that is what I would do when others would shoot it. That rifle could have used a suppressor. One of the problems with suppressors on the big stuff is they are not the same as a good break. One of my friends has a Barrett M99 and that thing kicks far more than the AR-50 I had. He is big money and put a suppressor on it and wow it is still not fun to shoot. The kick is a little worse but the noise is far better. It would be hard to shoot his rifle either way all day and keep good accuracy. Sometimes a good break is just what the DR ordered.

 

[hedditch]

Sharps, Wow! I am a fool for using a muzzle break. Tell me who you outfit for or the name of your outfit and I will be sure not to call you. Have you thought about the phrase, "The customer comes first" or have you thought about standing behind the shooter? I have had coyotes, fox, and badgers pick up dead prairie dogs and/or ground squirrels while I was shooting. Muzzle blast didn't seem to bother them nor the dogs and squirrels.

 

[Nodak7mm]

Sharps,

Man I guess I am a fool & wuss for braking my PD heavy guns too. I have perfectly wasted good money and sabatoged my custom barrels. I have been shooting PD's for 25+ yrs and man I wish someone would have told me that earlier. I guess the advantage of my 14# & 17# rifle with a minimal recoiling shot that allows me to spot my shots, to make my own corrections, observe through high magnified optics and hoot an holler when then the PD does its highly colorful gymanastic routine, at ranges beyond most folks belief all by myself is just a true waste of my time.

Another thing I am glad you mentioned is the concussion, I have felt that once or twice, when I was stupid enough to be where I shouldn't have been. I guess where I have always sat and "spotted" rounds/targets is off to one side and behind the shooter in a "safety zone" is not the correct area. Man I am gonna have to learn how to get up forward of the shooter and parallel to the muzzle to further fully experience the full effect....

In closing, I guess all these yrs I have been scaring them off to with my rifle's muzzle blast. Was wondering why I do the bulk of my shooting past 300 yds..

Rod - the wussy PD shooter from North Dakota.

 

[AckleymanII]

Lee, I use weighted McMillen stocks. You can order them with the forearm empty and the butt stock empty up to the pistol grip. I then mix bird shot and epoxy in the stock voids.

Nothing makes more sense than muzzle breaks on a P. dog hunt. Have the gunsmith make a Thread protector for the muzzle break and screw the muzzle break off when you don't want it...point of impact will change with/without.

Muzzle breaks are interchangable between guns, just make sure the exit hole is .050 larger than the largest caliber bullet used and switch breaks between guns.

Why go on a p. dog hunt when you can't see your hits?

My partner and I shot side by side. We both used ear plugs and Peltor electronic ear muffs and could hear each other talk at a very low voice.

I don't like Blued Shilen barrels, they copper foul more than the stainless ones.

 

[FURMAN]

Joe you are 100% correct on the 20cal and PD shooting. They are the very best for having less wind drift than the 22s,speed, accuracy, light recoil, and 500 yd potential. For volume shooting it is IMHO the only way to go. Take 2-4 of these for out to 500yds and a 6BR for a few Long distance shots, and you will have a PD battery second to no one. Larry in western Ky.

I agree 100%. One trip with 20s and I was hooked. Sold my bigger gun and built/bought more 20s. On second thought maybe you should stay away from them. They are addictive.

 

[longshooter]

I recently purchased a 22-250, and am eager to try reduced loads at 2000 fps, for close-in shots. This should reduce heat, while increasing through-put.

Perhaps a 6-250 would also work well.

Longshooter

 

[killahog]

skeet You could buy the less expensive chrome moly un lapped for for the 22br. And spend a little extra money on the 6mmbr barrell. My line of thinking is that with the 22br your shots are going to be closer range and if the less expensive barrell don't shoot as well would it really make a difference. If you are considering any of the Ackley chamberings now is the time to go that route, I have killed close to a thousand prairy dogs while fireforming, the process works well for hunting. Also I suggest you Invest in a popup canopy say 8X8 it gets hot out there.