Well, that sucked...

[Mike]

Just wrapped up my annual prairie dog shooting trip, which turned out to be a tremendous disappointment. A buddy and I went to an area on the advice of a local, who said there was an abundance of stupid prairie dogs to keep our barrels piping hot for a couple of days.

2,100+ miles and less than 150 (total) shots later, I have to disagree with that assessment. I'm not really sure how the local guy missed the mark so badly with his advice, because I learned long ago to quantify expectations when it comes to "good" prairie dog shooting. I was clear about what we were looking for (250+ shots/person/day) and got assurance that we would be more than pleased. I believe that the guy was sincere in his efforts to show us a good time, but I knew the moment we got in the field that conditions were in no way conducive to an area that would meet our expectations. After moving around repeatedly and rattling off approximately 75 shots each on the first day, we cut our losses and headed home in a state of bewilderment.

While it was a very unfortunate series of circumstances, I can't really get mad at a guy for trying to help me out. His effort seemed genuine, though he definitely oversold the area and his knowledge of conditions. These things happen, so I'll roll with it and look forward to next year. I might try to get a second opinion on a new area before heading out, though.

[Bill K]

Could even be like around my area, this year. For what ever reason it is off. Not as many critters. Might be partly due to cooler weather, wind and what ever else, but the numbers are way down. Maybe later or next year.. Second opinion may not be a bad idea, however, with a new area. Bill K

[Mike]

I can understand the numbers being down, but I sure wish the local guy would have told me that instead of assuring me that I'd struggle to bring enough ammo.

[toasty]

I am not an expert on prairie dogs, but hunt and have studied them for years. Prairie dog colonies contract the plague (fatal disease carrying fleas) every 3 or 4 years. The higher the population density the higher the death toll. I'm sure this isn't the only factor in population crashes, but I've read it is by the far the biggest factor. I have burned up barrels at one location to find 1/10 of the dogs at the same time in the same location 1 year later. Perhaps he was legit on his claims from 2 years ago and because there were so many, they were hit hard. USU did a study and found that populations of prairie dogs that are hunted and/or have high predator rate fair much better during the outbreak than the colonies that are not. It was nice to learn that by hunting a colony (not to extinction) and thinning the heard, you actually help reduce the boom and bust cycles.

I hit a colony on Monday and shot 42 shots in about 40 minutes and ran out of shells. Last year at this time, I think I shot about 25 in several hours. Teach me to pack light. The good news is, there were a lot of new little prairie dogs running around, should make for a good fall shoot.

[Mike]

Toasty, the local guy went out and checked the towns a week before we showed up. He simply missed the boat on this one, by telling us that the shooting was going to be fast and furious.

I sincerely appreciate getting the help of a local, but in a situation like this it ended up doing me more harm than good. I know several places that I could have gone to experience mediocre shooting (much better than what I found on this trip), but skipped them because this place was supposed to be great. I'm not mad about the situation, but it was a disappointing and frustrating experience.

[Clint E]

Mike that is a bumm deal . Do you think the weather might have had something to do with it.
I have heard many say the population is not like it use to be due to more shooters taking to the field than ever before.

[Mike]

Clint,

We had bright, clear skies, relatively mild wind and temps in the 80s. Weather was ideal, so that wasn't a contributing factor.

[tuck2]

Plague and poison has greatly reduced the prairie dog population in the area I live. I have ranchers asking me to come out and shoot but they told me that the shooting would be much less than five years ago. There was a little p dog town three miles from where I live , now weeds are growing on the mounds. I started shooting p dogs back in 1949. Some of the pastures where there were prairie dogs when I was a teen ager are now wheat fields.

[toasty]

Toasty, the local guy went out and checked the towns a week before we showed up. He simply missed the boat on this one, by telling us that the shooting was going to be fast and furious.

I sincerely appreciate getting the help of a local, but in a situation like this it ended up doing me more harm than good. I know several places that I could have gone to experience mediocre shooting (much better than what I found on this trip), but skipped them because this place was supposed to be great. I'm not mad about the situation, but it was a disappointing and frustrating experience.

I didn't realize he had been scouting them this year. I have a few guys that I hunt with who deliver pretty much on everything they say. When they says there are a lot of dogs, ducks, whatever or shooting is good, it is always the case. Then there are guys who seem to only remember the positives, exaggerate, and never can deliver on what they say. I took my son on a turkey hunt with one of these guys this spring, we hunted all day for 2 solid days and saw 1 turkey. The way he talked the turkeys would surround you and try and peck out your eyes there were so many. 2nd time this guy has done this to me, I'll never take him at is word again in regards to hunting. Hard way to learn your local falls into the "never delivery" category.

[Bodei]

Weather conditions this spring have been unpredictable, and so has the shooting. At least so far for me.