Douglas Wyoming area for prairie dogs?

T

The Famous Grouse

New member
Folks, I was eying up the Douglas, Wyoming area for an early summer p-dog trip. I've never hunted WY, only SD for P-dogs, but a friend of mine went on a business trip out that way and said there are some huge dog towns visible.

But what he didn't know is what's the land access like? Is the Douglas area mainly private ranches and such, or is there decent shooting available on public land? Is there any chance of free or low cost access to private land?

Some general info about the p-dog potential of this area would be great. Good spot with good access or are there way better options?

Grouse
 
I was there '09 antelope hunting. The public land north of Douglas around Bill had no PD's. I heard they died off recently. That's my experience anyway.

You could check with the Douglas Forest Service station. They have maps that show the land ownership. The only few PD's I saw were on private land. I'd be interested in general locations too!
 
I can set you up with a Rancher up there that allows p-dog shooting on his place for a daily fee.
Yup has tons of them also depending on where he wants you to shoot them. 100 yds to 600 yd shots are standard.
$75 per person per day.
He just started doing that this year to make ends meet & I told him Id send interested parties his way to help him out.
PM me for if interested & I will give you his contact info.
 
Appreciate the info guys.

There'll be 3 of us shooting so gun fees run up the tab pretty quickly. We'll probably have to stick to public land unless we could maybe cut a deal for multiple days.

Generally, is Douglas considered a good dog area or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Grouse
 
It can be. I shoot a couple of ranches to the west of Douglas and one to the north. Two years ago I did well at all three places.

The Thunder Basin country got hit by the plague a few years back and as of last year there was little or no shooting. Check with the BLM office in Douglas.

Write to the Douglas C of C. They have a list of ranchers that will let you pay for the privilege of helping them with their PD problems.

You just can't say from one year to the next if an area will be good. One year it will, the next year it won't. I've had some great areas in WY go absolutely barren on me this past summer. Areas that in prior years were fantastic.

Good luck.
 
You might try the Shirley Basin area south of Casper and West of Douglas. I have seen a quite a few prairie dogs while driving through in the last month. And a few shooters out also.
 
Originally Posted By: JCLYou might try the Shirley Basin area south of Casper and West of Douglas. I have seen a quite a few prairie dogs while driving through in the last month. And a few shooters out also.

I hunted the Shirley Basin area last year but the roads were so wet and mucky it was hard navigating and we didnt get to shoot much. There is some private land that connects to the road between BLM land, so better take a map with you.
 
Shooting at Shirley has been pretty spotty the last two years. Several of us have struck out on recent trips. All we can think is that the area was hit by the plague.

BTW, the Douglas C of C has a list of "for fee" ranches you can shoot.
 
Originally Posted By: claimbusterShooting at Shirley has been pretty spotty the last two years...


I've found the same to be true. Don't know if the area was hit by plaugue or just shot a lot.

The towns are not big, but spread-out over a large area. If it looks like rain, head for the oil road.

I'll probably be heading there in the next couple of weeks myself, getting my daughter married-off next week in Las Vegas has become a priority.
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will be in Gillette next week would like to have the ranchers name and phone # if possible thanks a lot Gary Crockett
 
I shot antelope and PDs there in 1978!! Jeez that was a long time ago. We shot prairie dogs on a ranch near Bill. Love the name of that town. 1978 Bill was a couple houses and a general store/post office. Had my first run in with a rattler, green prairie rattlesnake. [beeep] I was inches away from him when rattled. Glad he was a noisy snake, some don't rattle before striking. Bob
 
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