Prairie Doggin'?

[Texas by God]

I recommend taking an accurate .22 in the spring when the pups are learning. Lots of below 100 yard shots. For me the 22-250 is king between 100-400 yds. Due to mirage and eye fatigue I consider 12x max for me at least. I'm afraid cast bullets will ricochet too much from the hard prairie soil. I've watched .357, .41, & .44 swc's skip and hit the ground like skipping a rock on water! My favorite place was Muleshoe, Texas where my uncle farmed for decades although I've shot them in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. We found a small town near No Man's Land on the TX/Ok border last fall while scouting for Pronghorn near Dalhart. It brought back memories like the wind going different directions like ole 5 hole mentioned and the fact that a .223 ain't a 22-250 past 300 yards. And I got one that was too curious at 30 yds with a 12 gauge! I wish y'all a wonderful hunt wherever you go.
Best, Thomas.

[Sur-shot]

I have a friend out in SD that is a county official, he and I have been talking for years about putting together a PD shoot-hunt for our two families. One of the items that comes up regularly is the increasing type and number of restrictions placed on public lands and the prohibition of motorized vehicles of any kind, on some of that land. The PD towns out in the middle of the restricted areas means two things, limited access and a lot less pressure on the PDs. But, You basically have two choices, carry everything while walking in/out or carrying on horseback, mule, etc. Toting everything in and out can be a real chore. Suggest you check your intended public lands hunt area carefully on a map and make very sure you have a reasonable means of legal access, per local authorities, before you leave the driveway. You might consider a guide to keep you out of trouble.
Ed

[ole 5 hole group]

Ole 5 Hole Group
Nice mud flaps. Look like snowmobile track?

You have good eyes.

[petroid]

I have a friend out in SD that is a county official, he and I have been talking for years about putting together a PD shoot-hunt for our two families. One of the items that comes up regularly is the increasing type and number of restrictions placed on public lands and the prohibition of motorized vehicles of any kind, on some of that land. The PD towns out in the middle of the restricted areas means two things, limited access and a lot less pressure on the PDs. But, You basically have two choices, carry everything while walking in/out or carrying on horseback, mule, etc. Toting everything in and out can be a real chore. Suggest you check your intended public lands hunt area carefully on a map and make very sure you have a reasonable means of legal access, per local authorities, before you leave the driveway. You might consider a guide to keep you out of trouble.
Ed

Thanks for the advice. I have noticed on some of the maps that there is very limited access in certain areas without going cross country. We will have to decide between carrying our gear to find the best shooting, or likely suffer poor shooting from more accessible areas

[dk17hmr]

For what it's worth I live in SW Wyoming and drive up to Montana to shoot pdogs in volume. Population isn't great here, there's enough to keep me busy but there's alot if driving for a couple hours of shooting around here.

I have shot dogs with just about everything I own from 17 fireball to 50 razor back. 204 and 22-250 are my go to and will blow up dogs alot further out than people think. My dad loves his 223s and 6x45. I take my big game rifles out to shoot dogs to stay in practice with them and off hand shooting as well.

[Beerd]

..............., You basically have two choices, carry everything while walking in/out or carrying on horseback, mule, etc. ................Ed

How about a game cart to carry all yer stuff?
..

[M-Tecs]

How about a game cart to carry all yer stuff?
..

recommend solid tires. The cactus are hard on the tubes. They are still a PITA. Used them for a while. Went back to a backpack and shooting mat using bipod's and shooting prone.

[low8option]

You are in a fun treat.

Been driving out to NW SD for the last 15 years. Shot dogs on the Rosebud the first couple years before making contact with a rancher in NW SD. My wife and son usually go with me. We carry a .204 Ruger, two .223s and two 22-250s and for long range shooting two 260 Rems. Best all around gun we have found is 22-250 with 55g bullets. We take dogs regularly from 250 yards to 500 yards. Both my son and I have taken many dogs in the 600-800 range with this gun. The .204 is a flat shooter out to 300 yards and gets a little finicky after that although I have many kills at 400+ with it. The .223 is great out to about 400-450 yards. For convenience I load the same bullet as in the 22-250. Something we have learned from experience is to load the 22-250 a little below max and it does just as well without over heating. My son and I got bit by the long range aspect hence the 260s. Last year we both broke the 1000 yard barrier with them.

Average rounds expended per day, my wife shoots around 250 while my son and I will shoot upwards of 400+ per day. Good glass is a necessity and expect to lower the magnification as the day warms up and the heat wave distort you imagine. Use a bipod or sandbags to steady your aim. You will need some type of spotting glass, we use common binoculars to scan for dogs. A laser rangefinder is a big help and if you purchase one pay a little extra and get one good to 1000 yards, you'll save money in the long run.

Don't be intimidated by the wind. Most of my best shots were made with some stiff winds blowing. Regardless of what reticle you have in your scope you are going to find yourself using a lot of Kentucky windage and elevation and that's what makes it so much fun.

Hope this helps with your planning. Be advised, this game is addictive and its hard to go only once. Have fun and good shooting.

If you have any particular questions, PM me.

[petroid]

How about a game cart to carry all yer stuff?
..

Might have to borrow the kids wagon lol

[petroid]

Low8 thank you for the info. PM inbound

[jim147]

Sounds like a lot of fun let us know how the planning and trip go.

[petroid]

Sounds like a lot of fun let us know how the planning and trip go.

I will do my best to keep this thread updated as I go. I'm waiting to see if my friend and his boys can come. If I don't have another adult and someone my son can talk to, it won't happen for safety and camaraderie reasons.

[petroid]

So my buddy can't go, but he's planning to next year. I have asked another friend with boys, waiting to hear if he can go. On a side note, I have been trying out different bullets. Bought a bunch of Hornady 55gr SP with cannelure. My gun doesn't like them. Sold them. Tried some Nosler Varmageddon tipped. I haven't shot Noslers before and had good results with the 55gr FB tipped. Then I tried the 53gr FB tipped. These are apparently new this year and I noticed right away they are much sleeker. I was worried they wouldn't shoot well with less bearing surface from my 1:7 twist barrel. Boy, was I wrong! And they have the highest BC of any bullet in their weight class, even the boat tails.

I don't know what happened with the far right group. Three are right in there, and two defy explanation. I don't remember anything weird, but I think I'm going with the middle load, as the accuracy is there (there are 5 shots in the group) and it will have a bit better velocity than the lower charge. Around 2950fps from my 16" barrel. Should do the trick.

Oh and here's what the 1:7 twist was meant for. I don't have any 77gr SMKs but these 77gr Nosler HPBT work pretty good.

[low8option]

Just a suggestion but something I learned when working up loads. Try a couple different velocity loads on each bullet. For example, my most accurate load in the 22-250 is about 150 fps below max. Another thing, if you have the space, try shooting at 200 and 300 yards and see what types of groups you get. When working on my 260 loads I found a bullet/load that consistently held sub moa at 100 yds when shot at 500 yds would not hold a 2 moa group. Same powder with another bullet of same weight consistently went back to sub moa at 500 yds. So distance and bullet speed definitely influence how your rifle shoots.

[petroid]

I only have 125 yards handy to shoot but I do plan on longer range testing.

[petroid]

I think we are a go. My brother says he can go and I talked to the parents of my son's friend and they said "ok." So now we just have to assemble all the gear, guns, and ammo and plan the attack!

[jim147]

Good to hear and good luck.

[petroid]

Went yesterday with a friend to a local range. In addition to making some new friends and getting to shoot a Barrett 50 cal, I shot at 2 and 300 yards to assess accuracy and bullet drop. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, learning that 2"high at 100 yards translates to 1 " high at 200 and one mil dot holdover at 300 is dead on. Had a lot of fun shooting cast bullets too. End of June can't get here soon enough

[chickenstripe]

You are going to have a blast!!!!

Alot of good info here, on equipment, etc.

What we did, to mitigate the mirage
1) start shooting early in the AM
2) set the shooting bench in the bed of a pick-up, and shoot from there

The wind does have a plus side, it keeps the barrel heat mirage out of the optics.

We took 4K rounds each (there were two of us) and came home almost empty (23hours of shooting over 3 days)..... I took a 22LR (2K rds), 22 hornet (1K rds of 40gr V-Max), and a 204 (1K rds of 32gr V-Max)..... Next visit I'll only be taking the 204, with 3-4K rounds of ammo. My shooting partner took a 22LR, 222Rem, and also a 6mm as others here had suggested..... With the 6mm there is to much recoil to see the impact, and too much heat to shoot more than 5-6 shots. We both agreed that the 204 and 222 were returning, and the remainder were staying home.

We took turns shooting, with the other calling shots and acting as a "target locator"! Every ten rounds we'd switch roles to give the barrel a break, or to clean them.

Rangefinders were useless for us..... nothing to range against. To get the distances to PD's that we had shot, we'd walk out to them, and range back to the truck. YMMV

Closest was 22yds (45ACP), and farthest was 503yds (204)... average distance was about 250yds, and all in a 20-30mph full value wind! Calculated/Approximated Kentucky windage for the 503yd shot was 34". Shooting those small targets at distance, really spoils you for groundhog hunting back home..... a 300yd shot is nothing on a groundhog now.

[sw282]

Been shooting PDS for almost 20 years.. Not being from the areas l always hire a guide... l have shot Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, S Dakota too. Wyoming just north of Laramie is a good place too. Never have bothered shooting them with a rim fire.. Shooting them with 222Rem, 223Rem, 221Fireball, 220Swift l use ONE bullet only.. 40gr VMAX... Be it 4300fps in a Swift or 3400 from a 221FB the 40Vmax does it ALL. Never have owned a 22-250, tho l have always heard good things. Back when l was a VHA member l got in the 500yd club with my Model 70 Heavy Varmint in 243Win shooting 58gr VMAX...l seldom shoot it now because of too much recoil.. Cant see the RED MIST if l flinch... Nothing out there can match a 220Swift for a flat trajectory.. Not even after 80 plus years.
0ptics are limited to 10 power MAX for me... Anything more than 10x brings on mirage... Worst enemy for shooters on the plains is wind. l have seen it push a bullet as much as 4-5 ft off target... l shot Bench rest for quite a few years before going on my first PD shoot...l was pretty good on the 100yd and 300yd line... Those strong Prairie winds quickly humbled me. Take sun screan... Lots of water and a good shooting bench.. BR Pivot is the best... Great fun.. Nothing like it