I visited my brother in Texas this weekend and got to do some prairie dog shooting.  My son and I took a Bushmaster 24" national match with FIRSH, cheapo 3x9 scope,bipod and cheap gunshow reloads.  When we left for the trip, we were only planning on doing some plinking so we didn't take any premium ammo.  Imagine my surprise and pleasure when my son and I began pulling off 200 to 300 shots with ease.  I shot one at 450 yards as verified by a laser range finder.  One of the little beggars shot 10 feet straight in the air when my son hit it, but most of them just blew up without so much as a wiggle.  If you have an AR you have to do this at least once in your life.

You know I heard the sametime about prairie dogs.  Ranchers love to hear this kind of stuff from what I've been told.

I would love to have a trip like that, I believe that it can be done in the western NY farming area too.

It's nice to hear folks taking their kids out shooting.

Purpose built AR15 for varminting.
[url]http://home.bak.rr.com/varmintcong/jpar/jpar.html[/url]
15 pound unloaded weight is a bit of a bear to haul around in the field but it's ability to make hits at long range allows a person to sit in a good spot and command a LARGE area.


My record for "aerobatics" is about 6feet straight up with the bugger landing a good 12-15 feet away from point of impact, poor little ground squirrel never knew what hit it.

It's amazing when you can still hear the "pop" from 300+ yards away even when you are wearing hearing protection.

uglygun,  We were standing in the back of a 4x4 pickup so weight wasn't an issue.  The bipod was the perfect height when we used the truck top as a rest.  You are right about the pop, but some of them made a very satisfying thump too.  That is a sweet looking rifle in your link, is it yours?

Yeah, it's mine.    Built it back before LesBaer, Wilson Combat, and many of the others were around offering accurized AR15s and the selection was so broad.    Now days people have a lot more selection available and can get similar if not the same performance for less money.    Back when I built this rifle up about the only companies out there to choose between without going totally custom with a NRA Service Rifle smith were DPMS, Bushmaster, Olympic, and JP Enterprises.

With some of my better handloads the rifle averages 10 shot 3/4 inch groups and my handloads are pretty far from being as tuned or meticulous as what others go through when making accurate handloads.

In my 20" BUSHMASTER A3, the WW 45 Gr. JHP shoots very well.

THE AR15 RULES IN A DOG-TOWN!!!!!

I've been bustin' pups since '85 with ARs.  The first was a 24" SGW FF that was shooting (with handloads) 1/4" 5-shot groups at 100 yards.  We had Leupold 6.5x20 Vari-X IIIs and were using shooting benches.
Now my goal is to shoot 'em with a suppressed M16.  Yeeehaaaa!     -TF

Check out [url]http://www.dogbegone.com[/url]. That's some funny stuff in the video section...

uglygun,
what kind of mount is that?

Triggerfish,

Can you steer me toward some good dog shooting in Arizona?

Thanks,
Ken

Ken,
I'm STILL trying to find an answer to that question.  Hell I've seen 'em running around the gas station at Costco... however, the management frowns on hunting in the parking lot!  I moved here about 2 years ago and have tried to get locals to let me in on the dog towns.  I probably would keep a good secret hunting spot to myself, so I can understand the reluctance.  I am going to have to get into a group that hunts PDs.  -TriggerFish

Are prairie dogs considered pests?  I'm not trying to be a jackass, but shooting live animals for fun to see how high they fly up is pretty crass.  If population control is the reason, it makes it a little easier to swallow though.

dramine, to the point that they are rediculously out of control even.


Didn't you hear of the recent plague outbreak, "monkey pox" or some crap, that broke out in the midwest all starting with a prarrie dog town....


It's not the first time either, here in California the ground squirrels have been known to be plague carriers as well.

But other than the fact that they are gross little flea ridden desease mongers, yes they are terrible pests to crops and farm land.    You tell a rancher that you "Have gun and will travel" and if they aren't flooded with dozens of similar offers it is VERY likely you've just made a good friend.

Plus it's really quite challenging, those little pups learn quick.    Maybe at the start of the season you can wax the things with a simple 22lr. while walking the fields, but give it a few weeks where "every miss is an education" for those little squirrels, soon you have to step up to something more serious.     What happens is the things quickly adjust their comfort zones for which they will allow a person to approach, once you get within it they are GONE.    That's when you break out the long range precision rigs and start ruining their day from 100 yards on out to as far as the limits of man and machine will allow.


Yeah, they blow to little bits and leave disgusting rings of red muck all over the grass.    But it is part due to the high velocity rounds needed for long range shooting and due to the fragile rounds that are designed to blow to bits at the impact with the smallest of objects so as to limit ricochettes and pose less of a risk down range.    That's my well reasoned excuse for the touchy feely types, for other shooters into similar shooting there generally isn't such a thing as "too big a mess" or "too violent".

I really don't call this "hunting" but more like "varmint busting" or simply "Squirrel shooting".    It has it's challenges but it's nothing like trying to call in coyotes or set up on a flock of crows or other "hunting" type endevors.

davidp14, it's an Armalite 1 piece mount.   30mm model for the 6.5-20 Leupold LongRange.


Once I get my AR10 built up it's either getting a 8.5-25xLongRange or it's getting a 5.5-22x Nightforce.

That sounds like a lot of fun. I have always wanted to shoot some of the prarie dogs myself.

The disease thing is only part of the problem with prairie dogs. In a rural area like where I live, the entire economy depends on farmers. These little guys cause huge problems with cattle since they burrow massive holes all throughout the pasture. A broken cow doesn't fix itself and until you've seen the pricetag on a cow, you haven't had sticker shock. The farmers out here are more than happy to let you out in the pastures as much as you want to get rid of these things. I've actually had them call me to ask if I could round up a few shooters for a weekend of fun in an effort to clean up a pasture. It's a lot of fun but it's also a necessity in some areas. And I agree with the coyote thing. Calling those guys in is a true challenge, but it's also a lot of fun. Good luck guys.

Triggerfish,

I've heard there are some in the Seligman area but haven't checked it out yet. A friend of mine did take a ride around there and said he didn't see any and that all the land appeared to be fenced private land.

I'll let you know if we are able to find a good area.

Ken

uglygun, very good response to dramine's question...I'm glad you didn't say "what are you, a pu***" or something like that.  I don't hunt much, but would shoot ground hogs, do to the reasons you mentioned.  I guess it's just the Druid part of me that clings to the "if you shoot it, eat it" mentality.  

I've seen dead hogs that were a lot more, er, intact hehehe...what kind of ammo are they using?  I hear the Sierra Blitz Kings are especially harsh to pups.  Of course, I suppose anything moving at 4000fps is gonna cause some damage when it hits!  (I'm thinking more along the lines of my .22-250).  

Thanks, Ken.   -TF

For you few AR fans out there, you have not lived, until you have spent some time in a PD town with an AR.  I have a BM XM15 that sees a lot of duty against PDogs.  I have been shooting PD's for a long time, but only the last year or so, with an AR.  The reaction that I usually get from guys is "yea, you want to set up and spray away".  These guys have no knowledge of AR's, or how quickly that you can make follow up shots, even at long distances.  I routinely make follow-up shots on wounded ones, or on second or third dogs that take to running.  With my long legged Harris BP, I usually walk to a good vantage point, and set up in a sitting position.  The BM is extremely lethal.  My gun loves the 52 Grain A-Max, and even though it is designed to be an "accuracy" bullet, it is great on the PD's.  A good trigger, and good optics, and you are set.

For me, the AR works much better than the 22-250 and 220 Swifts that I have shot, as it is easy to see the shot.  For me, this paramount to my shooting pleasure, being able to see exactly what happened at the target.  Also, I find that the lighter and slower 223 bullet may drop a bit more than a 22-250, but that is why they make target scopes.  Grab a few clicks, and you are in business, way out there. With my chrome lined barrel, I do not worry about over heating, or throat erosion, or the other issues associated with the 22-250 or Swift.  It is also pretty darn handy to grab a couple of spare mags as opposed to filling my pockets with 22-250's.  

I can also slip the old 22 LR conversion in, and shoot at dogs that are in a more restrictive area.  This helps with some ranchers, who do not want "big bores" shot around buildings, equipment, or cattle. All in all, it is good practice for when I will get to go big game hunting with my 458 Socom.

For any of you that are serious about getting into Varmint hunting, The Varmint Hunters Association cannot be beat.  Superb magazine that comes out 6 times a year, full of how to's, where to's, and occasionally an AR article.  

I have not yet tried my AR with Coyotes, but my experience with PD's leads me to believe that it will work extremely well.  For PD's, the AR15 is my cats meow.

Craig in NM

We have show horses, so we're very pro active on groundhogging.

The properties on either side of us are soy beans and wheat, and the farmers of those are just that way. My father, myself and the neighbor kids all look over those fields for as Campy calls them " targets of opportunity ".

I am not a hunter.I only shoot paper and the occasional empty propane tank.I would love to go prairy hunting but i live in New Jersey and dont know of any large populations near me.If there is any one that knows where to go in Jersey or Penn. i would love to try it.Just drop me an email.Thanks,Kevin

yoyo


it sounds that you are now hooked, my father and myself will go all over Tx and all the way to Montana to shoot them little doggies some of the Ranches that we shoot on the owner
will buy us lunch just to say thx for trying to lower some of the PD population it will realy make you a great shoot the longer the distance and the harder the wind just keep it up good luck

Vinniedablade

I used to kill a few near Winslow every now and then. Up on North Park Drive, not far from the Indian Res. Pretty big dog town, but dont know if its still there.