SmallCaliberCentral

Someone told me today that if you use a woodpecker call about ten minutes after the dogs dissappear they will come back thinking its all clear. Has anybody tried this or is he full of bs.

Heck I'm game I will try it next year when I go to SD on my next PD trip. All you could do is call up a bunch of woodpeckers......Have to see were you can get a woodpecker call at..

To be honest I am not familiar with habits of pdogs, that being said I like to have a call when I go shooting our local varmint, the Richardsons Ground Squirrel, or as know locally "gopher".

The basic 'vocabulary' of Richardson's ground squirrels consists of a variety of squeals, chirps, chirrs, whistles, and teeth clatters. They also give two distinct alarm calls, which humans can easily learn to recognize.

The first alarm call is for aerial predators, which tend to approach rapidly in a straight line. It consists of a short, low-pitched chirp that changes frequency. Upon hearing this call, ground squirrels run for cover.

The other alarm call is for terrestrial predators, which tend to approach relatively slowly. This one consists of a long, high-pitched whistle with a constant frequency. When this call is heard, ground squirrels stand up and scan the area.

(The above info from a university professesors research site)


The ground squirrels react reasonably well to a call that imitates thier own, a quick call will often get them to stand up and look long enough to get a shot at. Of course the sound doesn't carry to .204 shooting distances but is perfect for walking with the .22 while waiting for my barrel to cool.

The call that I have, is this locally made one......KC's Gopher Call

http://lockhart-industries.com/prod5.html

I gotta paint it blaze orange cause the camo is just to easy to loose when I drop it (went through 2 last summer).

I find that it also helps out on a day that is a bit overcast or cooler when they are not as active. It won't work a miracle but has often gotten me a few shots after I normally would have given up for the day.

Not sure if Prairie Dogs (or what ever species you shot) would respond in a similair way but it works well on our local varmints.

I've used a coyote coaxer to get sage rats to stand up, but never done it with pdogs.