Prairie Dog Hunting

[Gordon Koch]

This is way off topic but there has to be some hunters on the site......I need to purchase a rifle for small game hunting......something for prairie dogs and rabbits. I'm thinking a .22 with maybe a 10X scope.....it will be used in South Dakota on the farm with shots of about 75 - 150 yards.....any advice...

 

[TomT]

A 22 should be perfect for what your shooting.

 

[Ron N]

Be sure to use 22 long rifles,and set back a ways.If you can make a high whistle sound they will stand up for you.22.250's are good as well._Ron

 

[P M]

Check out a Savage Model 12. 223 or 22-250 would be great. The Savage rifles are priced very nicely and you won't find a more accurate rifle (without spending the big bucks). The accutrigger is great in my opinion. I like a very light trigger and the accutrigger allows you to adjust it very light while maintaining safety. Many great scopes out there. More a matter of how much you want to spend. I have a Burris 4.5x14 42mm on my .308 and it works great. The ballistic plex reticle makes compensating for range a no brainer.

 

[Devin Underberg]

South Dakota huh? Thats where I'm from. A nice 22-250 is my suggestion. .22's are nice but dont have the accuaracy of a 22-250. But since you are shooting pretty close, a good .22 will probably do good as well.

 

[Wes Davis]

I am with PRM. A Savage .223 is the only way to go. Savage has a reputation for affordable quality and as mentioned the 'accutrigger' is very nice. .223 rounds are inexpensive. I feel that a .22lr is not enough stopping force. Ideally you want to keep the game from ducking back into a hole after it is hit. A good scope will be very important for your specific scenario and may be a bigger concern than caliber. A head shot with .22lr at 100 yds would certainly take a rabbit/prairie dog instantly. The .223 will give you better range accuracy and a little more stopping power if you miss your head shot.

 

[Richard L]

My uncle was an advid hunter and particularly groundhogs/wood chucks. He used a 22 Hornet which I think is similar to a 22-250 or even a 223. They were copper jacketed bullets with a long, necked down cartridge that look like it would handle a 30 caliber round, but a little shorter than the 223 round.



...Rich

 

[P M]

Did a lot of rabbit hunting as a kid with an iron sight .22 and it works great...to a point. You mentioned going out to 150 yards. That would be pretty tough with a .22 due to drop and wind drift. Another one I failed to mention is the .17. Very inexpensive (rifle and ammo) and it would certainly do what you are looking to do. My son has a .17 and it shoots great. The big plus to the .17 is that you can shoot all day for next to nothing ~$5-6 for a box of 50 (like a .22). A .223 will be ~$15 for a box of 50 while a 22-250 will be ~$20 for a box of 20. Those are all very round numbers, you could shop around and find better or worse prices. Happy hunting.

 

[Christopher Gordineer]

Graphic video of what a .223 does to prairie dogs...................



http://www.prairiedogshootout.com/huntingvideo.html



Gordi

 

[Gavin Allan]

222 sounds perfect for your needs!

 

[2]

I always used a .22 with hollow points. The hollow points ensured an instant kill, when I used regular .22 shells they would often crawl away after being shot.

 

[Glenn Brown]

My friend has guide hunts in Wyoming if anyone is interested!

Lots of long range shots out there!

I think that doggone video was even made out there!

 

[Eldon Webb]

for shots 150 & under I like the .17 HMR. No recoil, low noise and much cheaper ammo. Also very accurate.

 

[Ben Poche]

a rugar 10/22 will work fine

 

[Paul Maurer 2]

How does prairie dog taste?

 

[Josh Langel]

Hunting is soooo evil! OMG!!!

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I like to hunt little kittens, attack kittens.