ND Prairie Dog Hunt on 7-29-2008--GRAPHIC PHOTOS!!!
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 8:52 pm
I left the house at a little after 6:00 a.m. on the morning of July 29, 2008, to do a little prairie dog shooting. Originally, I had intended on driving about 85 miles SW of Williston to hunt on some private land, but changed my mind and headed towards a dog town that was only about 40 miles from Williston. This was a dog town that had maybe half a dozen mounds in it 7 years ago. About a month ago I checked for it on Google Earth and that tiny dog town had expanded and now had hundreds and hundreds of prairie dog mounds.
I planned on using my Tikka Master Sporter in 22-250 for this hunt. I purchased that rifle in April of 2001. The bullet I use in that rifle now is usually the 40 gr. Nosler BT. The muzzle velocity of my load is about 4,050 fps. It does a real number on prairie dogs both far and near. My Tikka Master Sporter got its first blood in that little dog town on May 8, 2001, as you can see in the photo below. If I remember right, this prairie dog was about 175 yards away when I shot him and I was using some 55 gr. Nosler BT reloads. This Master Sporter model has an adjustable butt pad and adjustable cheek piece. It has a very unique grip area and if you look close at some of the rifle photos you'll see that the place where the thumb comes over the grip is carved out and lets your thumb sit pretty close to the grip area. It has the feel of a thumbhole stock without the thumbhole many people seem to dislike. It really allows you to have a solid grip on the rifle.
There was hardly any wind when I got to the first dog town which I knew would make for some good shooting if the prairie dogs were out and about. I glassed the dog town with my binoculars and did not spot very many prairie dogs out. There were a few mosquitoes, but I had sprayed myself with Deep Woods Off and they didn’t do any biting on me. They just bug the heck out of you by buzzing around your eyes and ears.
Since there weren’t many active prairie dogs I decided to leave my backpack with the camera and laser range finder in the pickup and just take my rifle and about 30 rounds of ammo. My first shot of the day bagged a double for me. These prairie dogs had obviously been shot at a lot. When I took one shot and I usually had to move on to another spot several hundred yards away before I would see any additional prairie dogs. I was able to find one spot where I shot a couple 125 to 150 yard PDs and then I spotted another one way out yonder. Normally, I would have dragged out the Leica 1200 Range finder to check the distance, but I had left that back in the pickup. I figured the prairie dog had to be around 250 yards away. I held right about at his neck and the bullet apparently went over the top of him. He bobbed his head a couple times, but stayed right there. I chambered another shell and held right in the middle of his body and he met Mr. 40gr. Nosler BT! I could see the explosion when the bullet hit and saw a mist of red and green!!! That sight brings a smile to the face of this prairie dog shooter!!! Another prairie dog was sitting off to the left of that one and tad bit further away. I managed to hit that one too. I stepped off the distances to those victims. The first one was 268 big steps and the second one was 272 big steps!!! I'm happy with the way the Tikka shoots!!!
It took me one hour to walk around that little dog town. I only took 11 shots. I missed on the one 268-yard shot, got one double and 9 singles, for a total of 11 dead prairie dogs.
I hopped in my pickup and headed south about three miles to a dog town that I haven’t hunted for a couple years. To my surprise, there was a lease road that ran almost up to the prairie dog town now. There were a bunch of cattle in the dog town, so I couldn’t shoot the whole town. I had to skirt around the cattle. I scared a herd of about 40 antelope when I shot the first prairie dog in that town. They came bombing out from behind a hill to the north of me. Later on, I chased up two pretty respectable mule deer bucks out of the little wooded draw I used to skirt around the edge of the cattle herd. They had nice racks and were in velvet. Either one of them would make a nice trophy for an early bow hunt. Later on in the day, I spied a female antelope and her baby on the SE end of the dog town.
I walked around this dog town from 9:15 a.m. to about 1:10 p.m. I shot only 24 shots in this second dog town. I got two doubles and 22 singles for a total of 26 prairie dogs with 24 shots. Total for the day was 37 prairie dogs with 35 shots. Most of the shots in this dog town were in the 125 to 225 yard range. I had one that was about 40 yards too, but most of the time the shots were well over 125 yards. The PD in the photos below was only 125 yards away. The 40 gr. Nosler BT really flips them and cleans them out too.
Here's the obligatory Hero photo:
And a close-up of the damage done by the 40 gr. Nosler BT on a 125-yard shot. There were PD parts spread out over about 20+ feet.
Here’s a nice little clay mound in the photo below with some rather sharp yellow scoria chunks on it that works pretty good as an elevated shooting platform.
Only one prairie dog made its presence known from this vantage point. She was about 40 yards away and barking very loudly. The bipod I have on this Tikka rifle IS NOT a swivel model so I really struggled to get the notched legs on the bipod adjusted for shooting off the slanted side of the mound. She was very patient and waited while I made the adjustments on the legs and then the Tikka shut her up for good!! Here’s a photos of the Tikka and the mouthy prairie dog.
Here’s a close-up of the mouthy prairie dog. How about some guacamole on your prairie dog taco??? That green stuff does look a lot like mashed avocado!! MMMMM, yummy!!!
Here’s a photo of one of the exit wound on a prairie dog that was 140 yards away when I shot!!! The cartridge in front of the prairie dog is one of my 40 gr. Nosler BT reloads.
This little prairie dog one was the last one I shot that day. He was about 100 yards away and only giving me a frontal shot. He had his head lifted up a bit and the bullet caught him right in the throat and made a MASSIVE cavity out the back and side of the little fellow.
I pulled him out of the hole and took another photo giving you a different view of the carnage.
When I got home, I soaked the barrel of the Tikka with GM Top Engine Cleaner to get the carbon out. Then I went after the barrel with some Montana Extreme 50 B.M.G. to get the copper out. I did the GM TEC operation again and followed that up with more Montana Extreme 50 B.M.G. When I didn’t get any more signs of copper on my patches, I put in some Montana Extreme Bore Conditioner in the barrel and ran a couple of very loose patches down the barrel to get most, but not all, of the MT Bore Conditioner out of the barrel. This Tikka barrel is pretty smooth for a factory rifle and it seems to be a very accurate rifle.
During my walkabout in this last dog town, I had stopped in the shade of some green ash trees, sat down and had a cookie and some cold water. I brushed off a few little red ants off my pants leg and did lay back on the ground with my backpack under my head for a few minutes. I would have to brush off a fly once in awhile and then I got up and got into position to shoot more prairie dogs. Before I started shooting again, I could feel some sharp sticking on my back, under my right arm and on my belt line. I shot a couple of prairie dogs, but the sharp pain on my back area was still there. I finally took off my shirt and found a bunch of those little red ants inside my shirt. Those little buggers were biting me a causing the pain that I thought was probably prairie needles or sharp pieces of grass. I got my shirt back on and finished the hunt. It wasn't until the next morning that I noticed a bunch of itching red welts on my back, on the inside of my right arm on my muscle, and about 9 bites on the right side of my rib cage under the arm area along with one huge welt down at my belt line. Those little red ants really did a number on me. Right now, it is Sunday evening, August 3, 2008, as I type this and those bites are still quite red and some of them itch like crazy. Here's a photo of the bites on my rib cage. YES, the lines on my side are bed sheet marks--after all, I had just gotten out of bed!!
In spite of the discomfort, the prairie dog hunt was a lot of fun and I'll be going out again several more times yet this summer and early fall. I find prairie dog shooting great practice for estimating distances, getting used to wind deflection and bullet drop and getting me ready for coyote season. However, when I go out prairie dog shooting again, I will be more respectful of the powerful bites of these little red ants!!!
I planned on using my Tikka Master Sporter in 22-250 for this hunt. I purchased that rifle in April of 2001. The bullet I use in that rifle now is usually the 40 gr. Nosler BT. The muzzle velocity of my load is about 4,050 fps. It does a real number on prairie dogs both far and near. My Tikka Master Sporter got its first blood in that little dog town on May 8, 2001, as you can see in the photo below. If I remember right, this prairie dog was about 175 yards away when I shot him and I was using some 55 gr. Nosler BT reloads. This Master Sporter model has an adjustable butt pad and adjustable cheek piece. It has a very unique grip area and if you look close at some of the rifle photos you'll see that the place where the thumb comes over the grip is carved out and lets your thumb sit pretty close to the grip area. It has the feel of a thumbhole stock without the thumbhole many people seem to dislike. It really allows you to have a solid grip on the rifle.
There was hardly any wind when I got to the first dog town which I knew would make for some good shooting if the prairie dogs were out and about. I glassed the dog town with my binoculars and did not spot very many prairie dogs out. There were a few mosquitoes, but I had sprayed myself with Deep Woods Off and they didn’t do any biting on me. They just bug the heck out of you by buzzing around your eyes and ears.
Since there weren’t many active prairie dogs I decided to leave my backpack with the camera and laser range finder in the pickup and just take my rifle and about 30 rounds of ammo. My first shot of the day bagged a double for me. These prairie dogs had obviously been shot at a lot. When I took one shot and I usually had to move on to another spot several hundred yards away before I would see any additional prairie dogs. I was able to find one spot where I shot a couple 125 to 150 yard PDs and then I spotted another one way out yonder. Normally, I would have dragged out the Leica 1200 Range finder to check the distance, but I had left that back in the pickup. I figured the prairie dog had to be around 250 yards away. I held right about at his neck and the bullet apparently went over the top of him. He bobbed his head a couple times, but stayed right there. I chambered another shell and held right in the middle of his body and he met Mr. 40gr. Nosler BT! I could see the explosion when the bullet hit and saw a mist of red and green!!! That sight brings a smile to the face of this prairie dog shooter!!! Another prairie dog was sitting off to the left of that one and tad bit further away. I managed to hit that one too. I stepped off the distances to those victims. The first one was 268 big steps and the second one was 272 big steps!!! I'm happy with the way the Tikka shoots!!!
It took me one hour to walk around that little dog town. I only took 11 shots. I missed on the one 268-yard shot, got one double and 9 singles, for a total of 11 dead prairie dogs.
I hopped in my pickup and headed south about three miles to a dog town that I haven’t hunted for a couple years. To my surprise, there was a lease road that ran almost up to the prairie dog town now. There were a bunch of cattle in the dog town, so I couldn’t shoot the whole town. I had to skirt around the cattle. I scared a herd of about 40 antelope when I shot the first prairie dog in that town. They came bombing out from behind a hill to the north of me. Later on, I chased up two pretty respectable mule deer bucks out of the little wooded draw I used to skirt around the edge of the cattle herd. They had nice racks and were in velvet. Either one of them would make a nice trophy for an early bow hunt. Later on in the day, I spied a female antelope and her baby on the SE end of the dog town.
I walked around this dog town from 9:15 a.m. to about 1:10 p.m. I shot only 24 shots in this second dog town. I got two doubles and 22 singles for a total of 26 prairie dogs with 24 shots. Total for the day was 37 prairie dogs with 35 shots. Most of the shots in this dog town were in the 125 to 225 yard range. I had one that was about 40 yards too, but most of the time the shots were well over 125 yards. The PD in the photos below was only 125 yards away. The 40 gr. Nosler BT really flips them and cleans them out too.
Here's the obligatory Hero photo:
And a close-up of the damage done by the 40 gr. Nosler BT on a 125-yard shot. There were PD parts spread out over about 20+ feet.
Here’s a nice little clay mound in the photo below with some rather sharp yellow scoria chunks on it that works pretty good as an elevated shooting platform.
Only one prairie dog made its presence known from this vantage point. She was about 40 yards away and barking very loudly. The bipod I have on this Tikka rifle IS NOT a swivel model so I really struggled to get the notched legs on the bipod adjusted for shooting off the slanted side of the mound. She was very patient and waited while I made the adjustments on the legs and then the Tikka shut her up for good!! Here’s a photos of the Tikka and the mouthy prairie dog.
Here’s a close-up of the mouthy prairie dog. How about some guacamole on your prairie dog taco??? That green stuff does look a lot like mashed avocado!! MMMMM, yummy!!!
Here’s a photo of one of the exit wound on a prairie dog that was 140 yards away when I shot!!! The cartridge in front of the prairie dog is one of my 40 gr. Nosler BT reloads.
This little prairie dog one was the last one I shot that day. He was about 100 yards away and only giving me a frontal shot. He had his head lifted up a bit and the bullet caught him right in the throat and made a MASSIVE cavity out the back and side of the little fellow.
I pulled him out of the hole and took another photo giving you a different view of the carnage.
When I got home, I soaked the barrel of the Tikka with GM Top Engine Cleaner to get the carbon out. Then I went after the barrel with some Montana Extreme 50 B.M.G. to get the copper out. I did the GM TEC operation again and followed that up with more Montana Extreme 50 B.M.G. When I didn’t get any more signs of copper on my patches, I put in some Montana Extreme Bore Conditioner in the barrel and ran a couple of very loose patches down the barrel to get most, but not all, of the MT Bore Conditioner out of the barrel. This Tikka barrel is pretty smooth for a factory rifle and it seems to be a very accurate rifle.
During my walkabout in this last dog town, I had stopped in the shade of some green ash trees, sat down and had a cookie and some cold water. I brushed off a few little red ants off my pants leg and did lay back on the ground with my backpack under my head for a few minutes. I would have to brush off a fly once in awhile and then I got up and got into position to shoot more prairie dogs. Before I started shooting again, I could feel some sharp sticking on my back, under my right arm and on my belt line. I shot a couple of prairie dogs, but the sharp pain on my back area was still there. I finally took off my shirt and found a bunch of those little red ants inside my shirt. Those little buggers were biting me a causing the pain that I thought was probably prairie needles or sharp pieces of grass. I got my shirt back on and finished the hunt. It wasn't until the next morning that I noticed a bunch of itching red welts on my back, on the inside of my right arm on my muscle, and about 9 bites on the right side of my rib cage under the arm area along with one huge welt down at my belt line. Those little red ants really did a number on me. Right now, it is Sunday evening, August 3, 2008, as I type this and those bites are still quite red and some of them itch like crazy. Here's a photo of the bites on my rib cage. YES, the lines on my side are bed sheet marks--after all, I had just gotten out of bed!!
In spite of the discomfort, the prairie dog hunt was a lot of fun and I'll be going out again several more times yet this summer and early fall. I find prairie dog shooting great practice for estimating distances, getting used to wind deflection and bullet drop and getting me ready for coyote season. However, when I go out prairie dog shooting again, I will be more respectful of the powerful bites of these little red ants!!!