hunting in south dakota for 1st time

[leeloader]

Was wondering about good outfitters to book with. Ive been talking to the Palmer ranch and some others just dont want to get ripped off

[Joe O]

http://www.ultimateprairiedoghunting.co ... directory/ Try this link I haven't hunted SD,but will this year,with a long time


SD hunter on Indian reservations.

[Mike]

For what it's worth, I would not suggest going onto the reservations with a local "guide". I went that route once and will never do it again because the shooting was terrible. There were plenty of prairie dogs, but they were all highly educated (read: been shot at A LOT) and dove in their holes at the mere sight of a person or vehicle.

[Rick in Oregon]

Agree with Mike above. Had a similar experience on the Ft. Belnap Reservation near Havre, MT a few years ago. The 'native American' "guide" drove to a spot to shoot, sat in his truck and slept for a couple of hours, then woke up and just drove away. About that time as Mike mentioned, there were no dogs above ground, as they pretty much dove for cover at the first shots, all the way out to 350+ yards and beyond; highly educated dogs. I'll never shoot on an Indian Reservation again, and another reason I much prefer shooting ground squirrels....usually found in much higher numbers, are MUCH more tolerant of shooting, stay up longer, and are just plain STUPID.

If you want to find a good PD outfitter, loook in the classified section of Varmint Hunter Magazine. There's probably 50 guides and outfitters listed at any one time. You can also check out their forum online, lots of experience with PD's over there as they're located in Pierre, SD.

[Joe O]

Thanks Mike and Rick.I'll be on the lookout for that problem.No choice as to location,as will be traveling with a friend hauling both out SXS buggies,and he has shot this area 6-7 years.We'll see.

[Mike]

Joe, one other thing to keep in mind with the local "guides" (can you tell I'm not a fan?) is that the law requires a guide to be with you at all times. Most of them will come and go throughout the day, but if you're caught without a guide present you can and will be fined.

Your friend might have a very good guide and much better experiences than Rick and I have had. I really hope that's the case for you.

[Joe O]

Joe, one other thing to keep in mind with the local "guides" (can you tell I'm not a fan?) is that the law requires a guide to be with you at all times. Most of them will come and go throughout the day, but if you're caught without a guide present you can and will be fined.

Your friend might have a very good guide and much better experiences than Rick and I have had. I really hope that's the case for you.

I hope so too Mike.My shooting partner has been using this guide for more than three years,and yes,they come and go.We will be mobile(shooting from Carts)and will be seperated half the time.I don't have many options on this shoot,so hope it works.We'll be shooting for more than a week.

[Mike]

I hope so too Mike.My shooting partner has been using this guide for more than three years,and yes,they come and go.We will be mobile(shooting from Carts)and will be seperated half the time.I don't have many options on this shoot,so hope it works.We'll be shooting for more than a week.

If you want to push the issue, guides know that they are supposed to stay with you the whole time and that's technically what you are buying with their "service". I don't know how often people get fined out on the reservations, but I wanted to bring it to your attention just in case you weren't aware of the rules. I hope you have a great shoot. Just remember one thing. Pictures, pictures, pictures.

[leeloader]

Just got back from the palmer ranch in south dakota and what a great time. There was so many dogs and not enough ammo. Ended up shooting 2500 rounds between 3 people. im going to do a bigger write up soon with tons of pics but have to go to work.