I have heard that South Dakota has the greatest prairie dog density of any state.  is that true?  If so, where are the best places to go and look for them.  I'm thinking of coming up there for a few days this summer if the Prairie Dog shooting is as good as I've heard.

Thanks!

The western part of the state has a lot of big prairie dog colonies. I have hunted a few on private land a once through a guide on a res. The trip on the res was not a very good one for multiple reasons.

So public land is a better way to go?

Well the prices i have looked at for hunting on a reservation are outrageous. They make you also pay for a guide that brings you to the land and then leaves. However if money is not an issue for you, there is very good shooting on most reservation land because of the low numbers of people that hunt them

Yeah, the people on the res were very rude, they stuck a guide with us that didnt know jack shit, he rushed us, took us to crappy spots when we knew there was better ones (talked to other guys staying at the same place) and a few other things. I am pretty sure he took us off the res to a few places that were public land. They tried to triple charge us for the hunting permit, claiming it was only for one day and you had to get a new one every day, luckily one of the guys in our group hunted the same place a month before.

What are the names of a few public areas that would be good?  Sounds like it might be good to avoid Indian reservations, unless someone knows of any that treat people well?

I'll be bringing a pop-up camper and can get to pretty remote areas.  I've got a Jeep that is ready for the most rugged of trails.  I figure we'll find a decent camp ground with showers and electricity, and then head out from there with just the Jeep.

Any other advice or suggestions are welcome.

That was just one bad trip. I am sure many people have had successful trips on a res. Just watch out for some of the things I outlined. I am not trying to bash on any res, just keep your heads up.

Be a Man, leave the camper and pack a tent....


no but really just go like a camping trip bring some fun toys, maybe some big rifles to make the dogs turn into mist. tools just in case...  depends on how light or heavy you want to pack, if you bring the camper you might as well bring some spare tools and weapons.

Also think about getting a license to shoot coyote as well if you plan on camping. if there are coyote sometimes they will come in to clean off the dogs and then you can shoot them as well.. find a furrier and sell the pelts. takes time to skin them and if you do try and get as much as possible , tails and faces can sometimes increase the value of a pelt.

This camper is nothing but a glorified tent with wheels (and a heater and fridge for beer! )
I hadn't thought about Coyotes, but that sounds like fun, too!  I'll be bringing My Remington (A)R15, and a .22 magnum rifle, as well.  If I get my .308 R25, I'll be bringing it, too.  I'll bet it would disintigrate a P-dog!

Is a certain time of the year better for shooting than others ?  What is the season for Prairie Dogs!

+1

also no point in trying to shoot dogs in the winter...

good luck, i have wasted alot of time on that 1 Meltdown. They probelly will just keep handing you off to the next guy, no one wants to give a solid answer.

They've also been shot at all summer and will bug out after a few of their brothers turn into mist, I'm told spring is prime time and will find out for myself this May. Did a trip last Aug, shooting was good but like I said they wise up real quick after the first few shots. Also, the Aug trip we hunted on the res. and had a great guide and stayed out w/ us all day. IM if you want his name and #, he's out of Rosebud.

I dont think he did anyone a service.

In the future - NAME - the reservations you are making comments about. They are NOT all alike, nor are the people remotely the same.

Where I live tin ND there are NO outrageous fee's, nor required guides, and the people bend over backwards to be helpful to everyone.

Lets try and at least maintain some illusion of not stereotyping. Make a better catch on that next time MOD.

What on earth would you need a silencer for to shoot pasture poodles......if you're afraid they might hear you.........back up farther and shoot them for farther out.......make a sport of it and learn to hit something farther away than 100 yards.

I've heard some people say the reservations are the way to go.  Anyone have a couple they can share that have provided you with a good experience?  What kind of fees might they charge?  I've heard the reservations have fewer people out shooting, but then again, SD looks pretty big to me, so how much of an issue might that be?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to learn as much as possible from all of you so that I can make the most of the few days I hope to spend there.  

Thanks for all of the help and information!  I've been to SD once a few years ago, and had great experiences with everyone we met.  

Here we are out West of Winner. Beautiful day and pretty good shootin.

Yeah dude take a chill pill. My brother just had a very good trip out on the Pine Ridge res. I am pretty sure the bad trip I had was the Brule res.

You can try Carla at Carlas Last Call, in Wood, SD. The guide charges $50.00 per day per gun. You can stay right there at her bar which has nice trailers for rent. We had a pretty good shoot, and the guide was OK. The earlier in the season you go the better, say early May. Be sure to have a few at the bar, where you can meet the locals, whom will turn you on to some great ground. I hope this helps.

If you can't find her number e-mail me @ [email protected]

If you can't find her number e-mail me @ [email protected]

West River area there are alot of areas that are "school sectionals", land leased by ranchers but are open to walk in by anyone.  North of New Underwood there are quite a few good places to go shoot Prairie Dogs.  If you're going to be doing it fairly often you can look up the information on the SD state page and actually order maps that show you where the school sectionals are.  And don't let any Rancher bullshit you....you don't need permission to be on the land, and it's not his property.  They give you any shit, tell him to call the state conservation officer or a sheriff's deputy....which they won't because they know they're wrong.

How much shit would they give a couple of guys holding AR15s with loaded 30 round mags?  

I'm planning one trip, but it could well become so addicting that I come back again every chance I get!  I'll go ahead and get the maps.  I was a Geography teacher before I became a principal, and I have an addiction to maps, too!

I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate the help.  I am learning a lot and feel like I'll be well prepared when the time comes.  It will be most likely mid June or early July.  I hope the PDogs are not skittish.

Thanks!  I have found the phone number and address!   I'm going to call for info.

Wow, rattlesnakes!  I hadn't thought of that.  So snakeboots are a good idea!  It might be a good idea, then to carry a handgun with bird-shot for snakes, or do you just slowly back away and leave them alone?  The only rattlers we have in Indiana are in one county, and they are endagered.  I've been there hundreds of times and have never seen or heard one.

The link had a wealth of information.  Thanks!

And beware of ants. I went out with a "guide" from the White River area and he was insistent that I lay prone on this particular spot. Below the spot was a den I saw a snake go into and above it was an area inhabited by some species of fire ant. Those little bastards can bite!
But if you've never been to Mellette County before I definitely encourage you to do so, It's some beautiful ground

You know with ranchers you just can't say...They're a little slower out that way.  They'll probably show allow for contempt for you, but if you stand your ground (provided you're in the right) they should back down.  All ranchers that lease school sectionals know they have to allow walk-ins to the leased land, they just don't like to admit it.

I'll show them plenty of respect, even if I disagree with them.

Been hunting both Dakotas for a few years now.  I've shot on Reservation land, public land, and private land.  We had a bad experience on the Standing Rock Reservation 2 years ago.  In a nutshell, you are required to hire a "tribal approved guide" on the SR res.  Ours was almost 3 hours late, explained it off as "now you guys are on Indian time".  He showed us the shooting area (which WAS really nice - lots of prairie dogs and lots of space) and left.  About 2 hours later some of the locals showed up, armed with everything from Winchester 97s to M1 carbines, and explained to us we were on private land, and the guide had no permission to get on the land or let us shoot there.  They were quick to explain that for $1200 we would be welcomed... after we had already paid our guide $1200 for the 3 days of shooting!

Public land is real good - but be prepared to have company, and drive quite a ways to get to the next good spot.

Personally, since I prefer to shoot rather than drive, I'd go with a guide.  Get references and call them, pay your mony, and burn out some barrels!


Check with the VHA (Varmint Hunters Association) for some suggestions.

Is $400 a day typical for a guide?

That trip was $100/mn/day with six of us.

$75 to $150/man seems to be the going rate.  Our new guide is $115, and his wife brings out lunch every day.  He's also got a time rule - less than 10 shots in 20 minutes and he's ready to move, at our discretion, of course!

Some can say what they will, but at least now people are naming the when and where - thats real info.

And I have no reason to chill, I was only speaking frankly and openly, like men do. With little confusion, and to the point.

As for info, in another thread I said try Fort Berthold in North Dakota - GF number 701-627-4760. losts of dog towns, little competition, no guides, no BS - just alot of shooting in some pretty country.

A sticky would be good on this topic.  

I look forward to coming up there this summer and dropping a grand or so into the SD economy.  

A permanent tacked Praire Dog forum would be nice here in the SoDak area.......why don't our SoDak moderator take and run with it to make it happen?  I spend most all ove my summer right on on the Missouri River guiding walleye fishing and some pasture poodle hunts although the fishing takes presidence over the dog shooting cause i make more at it. But if on a select basis someone would contact me and we could come to terms........I could give them all the doggie shootin they could probably handle. I just don't have the time to do it all the time cause being a walleye fishing guide keeps me far busier than even i want to be the most of the time. The best part about the fishing thing over the pasture poodle shooting is..........walleye tastes much much better than any prairie dog i've ever found (bits&pieces).

What is the magazine capacity in SD for PDs?  Just wondering if I need to invest in a hunting mag.

My fav is a 100rnd drum, nice and compact with high capacity

Our gun and hunting laws are very lax compared to other states. I mean c'mon we shoot everything that moves regardless if it is our state animal or not. However if you break the laws we do have the consequences are brutal. I've seen people who got caught poaching get penitentiary time equal to criminals transporting smack. And if you go out west there is one game warden in particular that is extremely harsh and overlooks nothing. There were a bunch of guys trying to get him fired claiming harassment and getting petition signatures. Guys claimed he would dig and dig until he found something. But what people don't realize is that if you are hunting the trout troopers have full right to look through your gear and verify all compliance is met. And me personally I would not go on res land. The last 9 months has seen quite a few guys getting popped by GFP in court. Most have been guides that did not have permission to go into res land, not having proper licenses etc. One group had a guide take a group of undercover DCI agents and they hammered him.

And there are some farmers/ranchers that are pretty bold. I had one speed down an unmaintained road and almost slide into my rig. Then he proceeded to yell that his cattle scattered on the other side of his house asked if we were going to help round them up and we were within 660yds he was going to call the sheriff. I was holding my AR at the time and my 2 friends that were with me are cops. We ranged the house (which were on the corner of the sectional and cattle out beyond that.) out to be over 700yds. Friends flashed their badges and advised he was more than welcome to call the local sheriff as we were not in violation of the law and that if he would like to press the issue further they would be more than happy to write up charges on him that they just witnessed. He scoffed and walked back to his truck cursing and sped off.

I deal with alot of farmers and ranchers and 99.9% of them are salt of the earth good people. But every once in awhile you will run into an asshole just like anywhere else. Seems out west you meet a few more since you have more ranchers and farmers who charge to hunt their property and there is a larger conflict right now (especially northwest SD) between landowners and GFP over coyote control, and hunters are caught in the middle.

If I'm not mistaken, there is no magazine limit for varmit hunting.