Hey guys,

I've got my first prairie dog hunt of 2017 in 2 wks. Making final preparations for it has caused me to reflect back on last years prairie dog hunts. I thought now would be a good time to report on them.

Every summer I try to go on 2 prairie dog hunts. I usually invite friends who've been w/ me before as well as someone who's never been on a prairie dog hunt. The first hunt was w/ booked w/ Rebel Ridge Outfitters in Syracuse, KS, although the actual hunts were in SE CO. The 13 hour trip there went well. We rented a 4’x8’ trailer from U-Haul since 3 hunters and gear take up a lot of space in a single truck. We stayed the first night at a Bed & Breakfast and the last two nights at a motel.

Day #1 was sunny, but windy (mostly 10-15 mph). Shooting was good on the first property we hunted. We hunted a different property in the afternoon and were disappointed to see there were no active prairie dog mounds. Last year we had a really good all day hunt on the same property. The guide said his best property had been stricken by the plague this year, but the afternoon property was supposed to still be good. We went back to the AM property and had another good hunt. Just before dark the wind really died and I had probably the busiest shoot I’ve had on a pd hunt I shot nearly #50 rounds of XP-100 in 6 BR alone. The ranges were fairly close (175-250 yds) so I had a pretty good hit rate. All day my XP 22 BR was hitting high. Late that PM I shot a paper target at 100 yards and found it 5” high instead of dead on. I used the 6 BR the rest of the day.

Day 2 was really pretty w/ high in the mid 90’s, but minimal wind. We hunted a third property this day.The shooting was pretty steady in both the AM and PM. After adjusting the 22 BR scope, my hit ratio was back to normal. A lot of the shots were longer, commonly in the mid 300’s, but sometimes longer. My long shot for the day was approx. 340 yds. Unfortunately, a brewing thunderstorm chased us in early. The three of us shot a total of about #660 rounds for 2 day hunt. We all had a fun time. There'd been more than the usual amount of rain that spring so that there were times we had problems seeing over the grass.

A few observations. The pop-up canopy is invaluable as far as I’m concerned. It enables me to function well in the heat and sun w/ much less fatigue.
I used a new pair of 12X Vortex Daimondback binocs on this hunt for the first time. I really like them.

The guns all performed fine. My friend had not been on a pd hunt before. He mostly used my Stevens bolt action I converted to 221 Fireball, but shot my Savage bolt action 223 Rem some. I think he preferred the Fireball because he could see his bullet impact through the scope. My son-in-law shot his Remington 700 in 204 Ruger and it’s a heck of a pd gun. All my shooting was done w/ XP-100’s, one in 22 BR and the other in 6 BR.

For long range shooting, I really like the Burris Ballistic Plex reticle I had on both 3-12X handgun scopes.

Setting up for a shoot.

6 BR (purple&silver) and 22 BR (black&gold).

Seeing over the tall grass.