ND PD Hunt on 9-26-2014
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 9:15 pm
The weather forecast for the area I wanted to go for shooting targets and prairie dogs was somewhat favorable. The winds were predicted to be blowing 6 to 9 mph with gusts to 12 mph, but the temperature was pegged to get into the 90º range. I prefer winds under 5 mph, but if the temperature was going to be around 90º then the faster wind speeds might feel good! I had taken three rifles along today. One was my Savage Target action in .204 Ruger. The other two rifles were ones I had the BLACKNITRIDE™ treatment done on and finally settled on loads for them. One was in .204 Ruger caliber and the other was a .17 Remington.
I finally got down near the dog town around 8:45 a.m. I spotted a prairie dog about 125 yards to the WSW of the two-track and decided to get out my .204 Ruger and see if my scope adjustments were good enough to hit this barking rodent. I had to uncase my rifle, take the thread protector off, thread on the suppressor, thrown my jacket over the hood, get a shell chambered, and get the critter centered in the scope. When I squeezed the trigger I could see the PD peel open almost like a banana!!! Red mist was on the prairie. I was thinking that the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing bullet had done a real number on that PD.
When got up to the dead PD I was surprised that there wasn’t any visible damage as you can see by the photo below.
The impact of the bullet had flipped him about 12 feet and I could see his heart lying about 4 feet from where his carcass wound up so I flipped him over and saw the view below. The 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing REALLY DID DO A NUMBER on him!!!
I put the rifle back in the rear area of the pickup cab and continued driving down to the edge of the creek where I parked for the day.
The rifle I used on the first prairie dog was built on the old Savage 12VLP .204 Ruger I bought back in early June of 2004 when the .204 Rugers first became available. I had a stainless steel 1 in 11 twist three-groove super match grade Pac-Nor barrel chambered and installed on that action and shot about 30 rounds down the tube before I had it sent in to have the BLACKNITRIDE™ treatment done on the barrel. My gunsmith threaded the end of the barrel for my suppressor. The rifle was very accurate prior to the treatment. I use 39 gr. Sierra BKs with no coating and have them seated .005" off the lands and pushed down the barrel by 26.3 gr. of IMR 8208 XBR fired up by Remington 7½ primers in that rifle. The muzzle velocity is only 3,740 fps, but it is eye-of-the-fly accurate!!! I’m using plain old WW brass with the no neck turning yet, but I’ll be turning the necks on some Nosler brass I have for this rifle. The ID of the neck in this chamber is .230" and I’m pretty sure neck turning will help the accuracy somewhat. I’m using a .225" TiN bushing in my Redding Type S die. I have a Nikon Monarch 6.5-24x50mm scope on this rifle with the Nikoplex reticle. It has 1/8" clicks and is sighted in to hit 1" high at 100 yards and is dead on at 227 yards.
I parked my pickup and put the sun shade up in the windshield and then I use old bed sheets over the side windows on the cab and do the same for the topper of my pickup to keep some of the sun’s heat out of the vehicle. I got my “stuff” gathered and headed across the creek (almost bone dry now) towards the first PD colony. I checked the wind and temperature before doing any more shooting and the winds were blowing at 5 to 8 mph out of the SSE with the temperature sitting at 65º. I did a quick sneak around to the SE edge of the colony and belly crawled about 25 yards to where I could see good enough to shoot. There were maybe 40 or 50 PDs on the hillside to the west and north of me. I took my first shot and heard the WHACK sound of a good solid hit. I chambered another round and got lined up on my second victim. Another solid hit. Most of the 40 or 50 PDs that had been out were now down under the ground. There was one prairie dog still out and I dispatched that one. So far this morning I had taken 4 shots and had hit on all 4.
I kept heading to the NW and shot two more PDs on my journey. By 10:25 a.m. I found a little rise overlooking a few PDs that were still out to the north of me. I hit on shots of 188, 190, 110 and 170 yards, but missed on a shot of 212 yards. It must have been the rifle and not me???? I moved further to the NW and shot 2 more PDs on my way. So far today the count is 13 shots and 12 dead prairie dogs. Here is one of the PDs that had a very dark coat.
The rifle above was fitted with a Bell & Carson Tactical Medalist Style 2 stock in the tan color with black webbing back in November of 2013. I removed the Savage AccuTrigger at that time and replaced it with a Rifle Basix, Inc. SAV-1 trigger set to 1 pound of pull. The AccuTrigger was acting quirky on me and had to go! I sure am glad I made the change. The Nikon Monarch 3 – 6-24x50mm scope was installed at that time too. The rig weighs in at 13.6 pounds WITHOUT any ammo in it. It is a beast to carry, but it usually hits what you point it at!!!
These prairie dogs are a lot warier than they were when I was in this dog town back May 15 and again on May 30!! I could see vehicle tracks all over the PD town, which is illegal since it is on National Grassland acres, but that let me know they had been shot at. By now the temperature was around 72º and I took off my jacket and wanted to find a place to stash it. I found a little grove of bushes and trees and hung my jacket in the crotch of a tree. I saw a nice shady spot that was calling my name and beckoning me to take a nap. So, I laid down in the shade and took a 30-minute nap.
I got up and walked toward the next PD colony to the west. I had to get up to the edge of the ridge so I crawled on my belly for about 25 yards and was able to bag 3 prairie dogs quite quickly, but the rest of the population took cover underground. I decided to move forward to a prairie dog mound and wait for about 10 minutes to see if more PDs would come up. After about 5 minutes of waiting I could hear a PD barking. I located that PD but it was not exposing much of its body—just the neck and head were visible at 100 yards as per my Leica rangefinder. I held the crosshairs right where the neck meets his shoulders and gently squeezed of the shot. I could hear the WHOP sound and knew it was a good hit. I decided to wait awhile to see if more PDs would come out, but after 10 minutes no more customers showed up. I ventured out to where I shot the last PD and took a couple photos. Here’s a collage with the photo on the left of the PD I head shot and to the right is a piece of his skull bone that was lying about 6 feet left of his body.
Shot count and body count to this point was 16 dead prairie dogs for 17 shots. I was about to get up and head further NW when I spotted a PD about 150 yards north of me. I extended the 9-13" legs on my notched-leg Harris swivel bipod, but couldn’t get up high enough to see the PD in the scope. I put my backpack up on the edge of the PD mound and rested the bipod legs on that and made a successful shot so now I have 17 dead PDs for 18 shots.
Onward to the NW to get to the north side of the creek and shoot some PDs up on a little side hill over there. Since the creek was almost bone dry I had no problem crossing over without getting wet but it was difficult walking there because the cattle had been walking there when it was wet and there were thousands of deep impressions from the cattle’s hooves and legs that were now rock hard and difficult to walk through.
I needed to stash my backpack and crawl up to a good vantage point overlooking the PD colony to the north of me. I had a full shell holder, full magazine, and the shell box with the remaining rounds in it so I wouldn’t have to crawl back to get more ammo. It was around 12:35 p.m. when I took my first shot in this colony. The temperature was sitting at 93º and the wind was still blowing from 6 to 8 mph, but now there were gusts of from 12 to 15 mph to contend with. I was able to shoot 12 PDs from this vantage point on shots that ranged from 100 yards out to 175 yards. Shot count was up to 30 shots and hits were at 29. It was 1:05 p.m. when I got off the ridge and back to my backpack. I set out my Caldwell Wind Meter and turned it on. It had been sitting in its little black leather pouch on my backpack in the direct sunlight and the temperature reading said 105.9º!!! YIKES!!! I placed the meter in the shade and it went down to 102.9º. The wind was still blowing from 6 to 8.5 mph with gusts to 15, but that sure felt good after lying in the sun shooting prairie dogs for the last 30 minutes. People just don’t realize the hardship and suffering prairie dog hunters like me go through to rid the land of these vile vermin.
I reloaded my rifle and shell holder and headed to the SW to another PD colony. Yes, there are about 5 or 6 colonies in this area. I had only 9 more shells left from this box that had 39 loaded shells when I started the day. I did have another box in my backpack though. By 1:35 I had taken 5 more shots and hit on 4 of those 5 shots so now I had nailed 34 PDs out of 36 shots. On the shot I missed, I had guessed that one was 175 yards away and after I missed I ranged the spot where the PD had been at 226 yards. I didn’t allow enough windage and I could see the dust rise up a little bit to the left of the PD and perhaps a bit low—it was hard to tell exactly. So, it is 1:40 and I have 3 shells left so I start back for the pickup.
On my trek back to the pickup I spotted a few blossoms and stopped to snap some photos for you folks who enjoy these types of photos. The temperature in direct sunlight was 105º and in the shade it was 96.2º. I could see why these blossoms were drying up. Most plants on the prairie were done blooming quite some time ago and those that still have a blossom or two are about faded away. The photos didn’t turn out very well, but here they are.
I drank some water and by 2:18 p.m. I was on my way to the pickup again. I managed to find a few more PDs to shoot at and hit on 2 of the shots and missed on the 39th shot of the day. Total body count wound up at 36 dead PDs out of 39 shots. I arrived at the pickup at 2:40 p.m. and packed away the suppressor, my rifle, my backpack, elbow pads and got my lunch and a cold can of soda out. I took the first bite of my sandwich at 2:58. I sat in the shade on the north side of my pickup using my old wooden chair I take along. I left all 4 doors on the pickup open so there was a nice breeze coming through from the south to the north where I was sitting. I finished eating at 3:07 and set the timer on my watch for a 45 minute nap. I woke up at 3:50 and noticed that my timer wasn’t running. Good thing I woke up on my own or I might have still been out there????? I left for home at 4:05 p.m. and it was 96º outside. I had my pickup parked in my garage at 5:18 p.m. and I was TIRED, VERY TIRED!!!!!
Here’s the “Hero Photo” for the day.
I hope you enjoyed the little hunt. Be thankful you weren't out in that heat.
I finally got down near the dog town around 8:45 a.m. I spotted a prairie dog about 125 yards to the WSW of the two-track and decided to get out my .204 Ruger and see if my scope adjustments were good enough to hit this barking rodent. I had to uncase my rifle, take the thread protector off, thread on the suppressor, thrown my jacket over the hood, get a shell chambered, and get the critter centered in the scope. When I squeezed the trigger I could see the PD peel open almost like a banana!!! Red mist was on the prairie. I was thinking that the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing bullet had done a real number on that PD.
When got up to the dead PD I was surprised that there wasn’t any visible damage as you can see by the photo below.
The impact of the bullet had flipped him about 12 feet and I could see his heart lying about 4 feet from where his carcass wound up so I flipped him over and saw the view below. The 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing REALLY DID DO A NUMBER on him!!!
I put the rifle back in the rear area of the pickup cab and continued driving down to the edge of the creek where I parked for the day.
The rifle I used on the first prairie dog was built on the old Savage 12VLP .204 Ruger I bought back in early June of 2004 when the .204 Rugers first became available. I had a stainless steel 1 in 11 twist three-groove super match grade Pac-Nor barrel chambered and installed on that action and shot about 30 rounds down the tube before I had it sent in to have the BLACKNITRIDE™ treatment done on the barrel. My gunsmith threaded the end of the barrel for my suppressor. The rifle was very accurate prior to the treatment. I use 39 gr. Sierra BKs with no coating and have them seated .005" off the lands and pushed down the barrel by 26.3 gr. of IMR 8208 XBR fired up by Remington 7½ primers in that rifle. The muzzle velocity is only 3,740 fps, but it is eye-of-the-fly accurate!!! I’m using plain old WW brass with the no neck turning yet, but I’ll be turning the necks on some Nosler brass I have for this rifle. The ID of the neck in this chamber is .230" and I’m pretty sure neck turning will help the accuracy somewhat. I’m using a .225" TiN bushing in my Redding Type S die. I have a Nikon Monarch 6.5-24x50mm scope on this rifle with the Nikoplex reticle. It has 1/8" clicks and is sighted in to hit 1" high at 100 yards and is dead on at 227 yards.
I parked my pickup and put the sun shade up in the windshield and then I use old bed sheets over the side windows on the cab and do the same for the topper of my pickup to keep some of the sun’s heat out of the vehicle. I got my “stuff” gathered and headed across the creek (almost bone dry now) towards the first PD colony. I checked the wind and temperature before doing any more shooting and the winds were blowing at 5 to 8 mph out of the SSE with the temperature sitting at 65º. I did a quick sneak around to the SE edge of the colony and belly crawled about 25 yards to where I could see good enough to shoot. There were maybe 40 or 50 PDs on the hillside to the west and north of me. I took my first shot and heard the WHACK sound of a good solid hit. I chambered another round and got lined up on my second victim. Another solid hit. Most of the 40 or 50 PDs that had been out were now down under the ground. There was one prairie dog still out and I dispatched that one. So far this morning I had taken 4 shots and had hit on all 4.
I kept heading to the NW and shot two more PDs on my journey. By 10:25 a.m. I found a little rise overlooking a few PDs that were still out to the north of me. I hit on shots of 188, 190, 110 and 170 yards, but missed on a shot of 212 yards. It must have been the rifle and not me???? I moved further to the NW and shot 2 more PDs on my way. So far today the count is 13 shots and 12 dead prairie dogs. Here is one of the PDs that had a very dark coat.
The rifle above was fitted with a Bell & Carson Tactical Medalist Style 2 stock in the tan color with black webbing back in November of 2013. I removed the Savage AccuTrigger at that time and replaced it with a Rifle Basix, Inc. SAV-1 trigger set to 1 pound of pull. The AccuTrigger was acting quirky on me and had to go! I sure am glad I made the change. The Nikon Monarch 3 – 6-24x50mm scope was installed at that time too. The rig weighs in at 13.6 pounds WITHOUT any ammo in it. It is a beast to carry, but it usually hits what you point it at!!!
These prairie dogs are a lot warier than they were when I was in this dog town back May 15 and again on May 30!! I could see vehicle tracks all over the PD town, which is illegal since it is on National Grassland acres, but that let me know they had been shot at. By now the temperature was around 72º and I took off my jacket and wanted to find a place to stash it. I found a little grove of bushes and trees and hung my jacket in the crotch of a tree. I saw a nice shady spot that was calling my name and beckoning me to take a nap. So, I laid down in the shade and took a 30-minute nap.
I got up and walked toward the next PD colony to the west. I had to get up to the edge of the ridge so I crawled on my belly for about 25 yards and was able to bag 3 prairie dogs quite quickly, but the rest of the population took cover underground. I decided to move forward to a prairie dog mound and wait for about 10 minutes to see if more PDs would come up. After about 5 minutes of waiting I could hear a PD barking. I located that PD but it was not exposing much of its body—just the neck and head were visible at 100 yards as per my Leica rangefinder. I held the crosshairs right where the neck meets his shoulders and gently squeezed of the shot. I could hear the WHOP sound and knew it was a good hit. I decided to wait awhile to see if more PDs would come out, but after 10 minutes no more customers showed up. I ventured out to where I shot the last PD and took a couple photos. Here’s a collage with the photo on the left of the PD I head shot and to the right is a piece of his skull bone that was lying about 6 feet left of his body.
Shot count and body count to this point was 16 dead prairie dogs for 17 shots. I was about to get up and head further NW when I spotted a PD about 150 yards north of me. I extended the 9-13" legs on my notched-leg Harris swivel bipod, but couldn’t get up high enough to see the PD in the scope. I put my backpack up on the edge of the PD mound and rested the bipod legs on that and made a successful shot so now I have 17 dead PDs for 18 shots.
Onward to the NW to get to the north side of the creek and shoot some PDs up on a little side hill over there. Since the creek was almost bone dry I had no problem crossing over without getting wet but it was difficult walking there because the cattle had been walking there when it was wet and there were thousands of deep impressions from the cattle’s hooves and legs that were now rock hard and difficult to walk through.
I needed to stash my backpack and crawl up to a good vantage point overlooking the PD colony to the north of me. I had a full shell holder, full magazine, and the shell box with the remaining rounds in it so I wouldn’t have to crawl back to get more ammo. It was around 12:35 p.m. when I took my first shot in this colony. The temperature was sitting at 93º and the wind was still blowing from 6 to 8 mph, but now there were gusts of from 12 to 15 mph to contend with. I was able to shoot 12 PDs from this vantage point on shots that ranged from 100 yards out to 175 yards. Shot count was up to 30 shots and hits were at 29. It was 1:05 p.m. when I got off the ridge and back to my backpack. I set out my Caldwell Wind Meter and turned it on. It had been sitting in its little black leather pouch on my backpack in the direct sunlight and the temperature reading said 105.9º!!! YIKES!!! I placed the meter in the shade and it went down to 102.9º. The wind was still blowing from 6 to 8.5 mph with gusts to 15, but that sure felt good after lying in the sun shooting prairie dogs for the last 30 minutes. People just don’t realize the hardship and suffering prairie dog hunters like me go through to rid the land of these vile vermin.
I reloaded my rifle and shell holder and headed to the SW to another PD colony. Yes, there are about 5 or 6 colonies in this area. I had only 9 more shells left from this box that had 39 loaded shells when I started the day. I did have another box in my backpack though. By 1:35 I had taken 5 more shots and hit on 4 of those 5 shots so now I had nailed 34 PDs out of 36 shots. On the shot I missed, I had guessed that one was 175 yards away and after I missed I ranged the spot where the PD had been at 226 yards. I didn’t allow enough windage and I could see the dust rise up a little bit to the left of the PD and perhaps a bit low—it was hard to tell exactly. So, it is 1:40 and I have 3 shells left so I start back for the pickup.
On my trek back to the pickup I spotted a few blossoms and stopped to snap some photos for you folks who enjoy these types of photos. The temperature in direct sunlight was 105º and in the shade it was 96.2º. I could see why these blossoms were drying up. Most plants on the prairie were done blooming quite some time ago and those that still have a blossom or two are about faded away. The photos didn’t turn out very well, but here they are.
I drank some water and by 2:18 p.m. I was on my way to the pickup again. I managed to find a few more PDs to shoot at and hit on 2 of the shots and missed on the 39th shot of the day. Total body count wound up at 36 dead PDs out of 39 shots. I arrived at the pickup at 2:40 p.m. and packed away the suppressor, my rifle, my backpack, elbow pads and got my lunch and a cold can of soda out. I took the first bite of my sandwich at 2:58. I sat in the shade on the north side of my pickup using my old wooden chair I take along. I left all 4 doors on the pickup open so there was a nice breeze coming through from the south to the north where I was sitting. I finished eating at 3:07 and set the timer on my watch for a 45 minute nap. I woke up at 3:50 and noticed that my timer wasn’t running. Good thing I woke up on my own or I might have still been out there????? I left for home at 4:05 p.m. and it was 96º outside. I had my pickup parked in my garage at 5:18 p.m. and I was TIRED, VERY TIRED!!!!!
Here’s the “Hero Photo” for the day.
I hope you enjoyed the little hunt. Be thankful you weren't out in that heat.
As always, an entertaining write up, and your photos are great. I know it is tuff being a dedicated "dog killer", and thanks for dispatching all those critters, and saving our brethren. 
