SmallCaliberCentral

I was wondering: How many prairie dogs do you other guys shoot in a day? Not looking for the Guinness record, just a benchmark of what I can consider a good day in dog town.

Weather and the time of year have a lot to do with what we call a good day or not.

I shoot pds on private land year around so 'success' means different things at different times.

In March, around spring break, a good day is maybe 100.

In May a good day can be 300-400.

Mid to late summer its too hot to spend alot of time out shooting for me..50 or so is good.

Just before any of the big game hunting seasons we'll go out and shoot a few just to get familiar and to focus.

My method of prairie dog shooting is to just walk around the prairie dog town and when I find a spot where there's a bunch of PDs up and about, I go prone on the nearest mound and do some shooting. I usually don't get excited about trying to fire off a ton of shots. I like to space my shots out so my barrel doesn't get too hot to touch. There's really no hurry as there are usually plenty of prairie dogs to shoot.

Last Tuesday, June 5th, I spent about 2½ hours walking around a fairly large prairie dog town in the morning. I shot 77 prairie dogs during that time. Many were doubles with one bullet.

I stopped for lunch and spend a couple hours cleaning the barrel on my Savage 12VLP before going back out with my .17 Remington. I walked around for another 2½ hours and shot 70 more prairie dogs. So, in 5 hours time I delivered 147 prairie dogs to their happy hunting ground.

This last Sunday, my son and I went out to a PD town and did a walkabout that lasted a little over 6 hours. Betwee the two of us, we killed 140 prairie dogs. He was shooting my Lilja barreled .17 Remington and I was shooting my Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger. If our barrel temperatures got close to too hot to touch, we just relaxed and let them cool down for 15 or 20 minutes. Like I said, there is no hurry, in my opinion. Those prairie dogs are going to be there even if you wait for the barrel to cool off.

When I was young and foolish, I used to rapid fire 10 to 15 shots and you couldn't touch the barrel or you'd get burned. This was back about 25 years ago and there were lots of virgin prairie dog towns that hardly ever had anyone shooting in them. You could literally set up in the prone position on a prairie dog mound and shoot several boxes of shells. Now days, there are more PD shooters and the little buggers get smart real quick. This time of year, there are lots of dumb pups and you can often see 3 to 6 of them up on the mound nose to nose. In those situations you can get doubles and triples with one shot. Later on, toward the middle to end of July, there are lots of smart prairie dogs that disappear for 10 minutes or more at the sound of the first shot. Things slow down then, like an earlier poster mentioned.

I have NEVER shot much more than 200 to 250 shots in a single day. Most of the time my total shot count in 6 to 7 hours of shooting is in the 150 round range.

That last post makes me feel a lot better.

On my first PD trip, I was sure that I had shot at least a 1000 dogs. They were everywhere and I was shooting like I was in a war.

But, on my last trip I made a diligent effort to count my hits, and my best day was only 77 -- far short of the thousands that I thought I shot the first time out.

I was wondering if I was just that bad, or, if that's within tolerances.

But, realistically, the dogs within 100-150 yards disappear fast. Then, you spot one at 150-400, shift around, line up, press - press - press -bang, work the bolt, and look for more. With a bolt action, 4-shot rifle, and most shots in the 200+ yard range, it's not like shooting bowling pins, plates, or IDPA. Plus, as much as I enjoy shooting, I really enjoy hitting.

So, it's not likely anyone will think I'm using a full-auto.

I did get some doubles, but rarely. Most of the multiples were the 7-10 split type, and not conducive to 2-for-1 shooting.

With lunch breaks, potty breaks, moving to different areas, and time to just stand a stretch, there is much down time.

So, I think I'll enjoy my 77 and just try to improve on that.

Thanks

By the time day two rolls around for us we get far more selective about our shots. So even if a great day is a couple hundred on day two we may only get 100 or so. Late summer we go into the "scouting for deer and antelope" mode so pds take a backseat to that.

Wow you guys are killing machines! I got 25 yesturday (counting only the kills I could see in the scope,even if I heard the Bang-Whop but didnt see a carcass I didnt count it) and I felt very fortunate just to have the OPPORTUNITY to get 25 in a day. Now I must say, I wasnt trying to break any records. I woke up late(as usual) and did spend some of the primo morning hours scouting for coyotes for the next time. But even if I woke on time (ya right!) and applied myself to pdogs all day I wouldnt expect to get more than say, 75. And I was going to brag up how good MY new spot is!

not killing machines just lucky. Once the novelty wears off I am content to shoot a few and go do something else for a while. Its family farm land so there are always plenty of things that need done and never enough time to get them done.

Rugerdog: on my last trip, I had 1 day of only 23. Late start; spent some time getting to know the SD Gumbo; sun was in my eyes; excuses, excuses. My best day of the three was 77. Like skb2706 said, these were only the hits I was completely sure of.

Those late March windy cold days are not the days you count hits in the hundreds. There have been days when 10 good hits was all I could stand.
I would be concerned with having a good time.
I just had a friend meet me out on the farm to shoot pds. He drove all the way from Louisiana to shoot. I was very concerned that he would be disappointed if he did not get hundreds of shots per day. The way it worked out he used about 600 rds. in a total of 4 days shooting. He was very happy with the trip and has made plans to come back next year.

I will be back with more rifles and a new table if the Delrin is shipped. Hint Hint. I had a great time and it should be better next year if it doesn't snow so much and delay the birth of the pups.

Jimmy

jimmy - I'm going to knock off a few tomorrow morning. My quota for the weekend is to shoot til there are any left or I run out of bullets.
Actually with 100 degree weather and no shade i may not last long.

I have a ezup canopy I can donate to the cause when I come back. That would help with the sun. But when it is time to move it would be a pain. A large beach umbrella would be easier, just stick it in a PD hole.

Have fun and shoot some for me.

Jimmy

Got back last night from a great trip. Yesterday we discovered a new area or actually an old area with different access. Made all the difference too. We set up and shot one spot for nearly three hours and probably killed 150 or so before the heat and black flies got to us. We did the umbrella thing and had misters, cold drinks, bug spray going pretty much the entire day. Connected on one shot in particular at 460 yds. that was my long for the weekend. Beyond that the heat waves (mirage) was incredible, almost like looking thru water.
Saturday was a bit slower because the first two places we set up had been hit pretty hard prior to us being there. Still had a good day and lots of pds were killed, skinned and baked all in one spot. My young son, as usual posted a higher hit percentage than me (I think its younger eyes) but he also took time out to get acquainted with the new 9mm and a couple hundred rounds of ammo to plink with.

I am glad ya'll (Louisiana slang) had fun. I hope you left enough breeding stock so there will be some when I get back next year.

Jimmy

No shortage of remaining targets although they tend to be a bit more cautious. Son got one double for sure but I think I was blanked on those. I did however get two jacks that wandered out in the field...in harms way so to speak.