SmallCaliberCentral

Well, this trip had been planned since last year and to say the least I was pretty pumped. We started off in Oklahoma on a couple smaller towns and had pretty good shooting for a half day. The one big place that we wanted to shoot had been poisoned out so we headed to Elkhart, KS. where we had been going the last few years. The numbers were down last year due to the plague, but this year there were almost no dogs at all. If I shot more than 25 rounds in two days that would be stretching it. Even our faithful "honey holes" were desolate. We did move north and east and found some more active towns, but nothing like last year or the year before. I heard a lot of stories of big numbers 75-100 miles north, but can't confirm them.

So, if you are headed that way or have a trip planned beware they are few and far between.

I'm not trying to protect my area or my spots as most of where we shoot in Kansas is on the grasslands anyway and is open to the public. We met a group of guys that had driven 12 hours from IL. and they were thoroughly disgusted at the numbers.

Matt

Matt,

Thank you for the field report. I'm still trying to figure out where to go, if I can fit a prairie dog hunt into my schedule this year. One of the areas that I am considering is Southwestern Kansas. Your post is much appreciated!

Mike

What's the deal with the Pd's? do they frequently have the plague wipe them out? we had the same issue where we hunt in Texas, had it not been for the jackrabbits we'd had a total bust on our hunt!

c2m: Yep, plague is very common in PD towns. One year you have a town a couple miles long by a mile wide, non-stop shooting for days. Then you return a year later and all you see is overgrown mounds with nary a dog in sight. It's a very common thing, and really illustrates the value of having someone in your local shooting area to be able to contact for a "dog report" prior to leaving home. With the price of fuel now, and how dear time is to all of us, advance tele-scouting is getting to be more of an important issue than ever before.

If you don't know anyone personally in an area you plan to shoot, a call to the local fish-n-fur office or even a local feed store can shed light on the varmint population to avoid a complete bummer once you arrive.

Actually in KS your best bet is to contact the County Weed Control people. For whatever reason they are responsible for pd control.

My experiences shooting in the SW KS area were much better...not great but certainly better than 25 shots in two days. Maybe ten times better.

A buddy of mine and his wife left Indy today, heading for OK, to do a little shooting if possible, and for sure so she can play in a softball tourney. They don't always get their dawgs, but they still have fun wherever they are. OK has a lot of gun museums and cowboy stuff to entertain them, if nothing else.