We drew antelope tags to NE WY, so we took along a few extra guns and a cooler full of ammunition, betting we could tag out quickly on goats given that we had hunted the same unit last year and tagged 4 guys out in 2 days and only had 2 of us this year.
We got into town and elected to use a PD town to verify our zeros rather than going to the local range. Both of our primary antelope rifles (mine a 243AI, my buddy's a 243) popped dogs out to 375 yards. Dope verified.
True to predictions, we both had our goats within the first 3 hours of the season. But it was a long, hot pack out from deep into public ground so we were spent for the afternoon.
The next day, we went to a town I had hunted last year. It was amazing. The dogs had at least tripled in population since the previous year. I can't imagine a colony getting more dense. We set up a legal distance from the road, and began popping dogs with the 243AI/243 until we pushed them back beyond 300 yards.
Slinging my AI, I grabbed my Rock River AR and 100 rounds worth of mags and headed up the hill, popping any dog within 100 yards. Cresting the ridge, there were dogs EVERYWHERE! The first 30 round mag emptied quickly, as did the next 20-rounder. The near dogs eliminated or underground, we got the long range rigs out and had to stop and cool them with dogs still within 200 yards. Three shooting locations later, we had expended about 120 rounds from the 243AI and 243 each. Walking back down the hill with the AR, we finished the 100 rounds I brought with that. Dog kill rate with the long range rigs was north of 75%; north of 90% with my 243AI. Hit rate with the AR was more like 50%, but this was offhand shots at often moving targets.
The second day we went to a much larger but less dense town. We pushed maximum range hits to about 400 yards; this was already beyond what my Bushnell "1500" would range to so we had to walk them in. We killed a decent number of dogs, but with the lower density and flatter terrain it was much harder shooting. So we returned to the other town, only to find a storm front moving through. The rain spared us, but winds when to 40mph. We killed a few but soon the wind kept all the dogs underground so we quit by lunch.
The third day was out last and the weather was beautiful, cool, with light winds. The dogs were now educated, so shots under 200 yards were fairly rare. We only shot 1 magazine with the AR, compared to 4 the first time we were there. After clearing pretty much every dog living within 250 yards of our favorite position, I turned my attention to a distant hillside marking the far end of the colony. We estimated ranges ranging from 600 yards at the bottom of the slope to 900 yards at the top. I found a comfortable shooting position, and we began to shoot popular mounds to verify ranges:
I was happy to get within inches on the second shot, every attempt. It was a bit frustrating, as I regularly put them right on the dog but they were not injured. Even at 900 yards my second shot showered the dog. I even went back and got my 300WM and launched some of my true long range loads out there to the same effect.
In the end, I had one confirmed kill at a scope MOA elevation indicating just over 700 yards. I would have liked to see what the 105 AMAX was doing at that range, but one of the beautiful ferrengous hawks who followed us around eating our kills got him before we got out there, so there was not much left. They are amazing birds and we really enjoyed watching them. One time, I shot one at about 300 yards and I had barely returned to battery after recoil when one of the hawks was on the dog!
Aside from the single 700 yard kill, it became routine to hit them out into the 400s on the first or second shot (these were already beyond rangefinder, so misses typically involved a quick range adjustment to turn into a hit). We had two other kills in the 500s.
In the end, we expended around 700 rounds and figure 300+ prairie dogs were taken. The percentage seems low, but that was driven primarily by the AR work, the long range effort the last day, and my buddy's newbie status to shooting in general and rather economic but effective Ruger American rifle with factory loads.
It was a great four day hunt I'd be lucky to repeat.
We got into town and elected to use a PD town to verify our zeros rather than going to the local range. Both of our primary antelope rifles (mine a 243AI, my buddy's a 243) popped dogs out to 375 yards. Dope verified.
True to predictions, we both had our goats within the first 3 hours of the season. But it was a long, hot pack out from deep into public ground so we were spent for the afternoon.
The next day, we went to a town I had hunted last year. It was amazing. The dogs had at least tripled in population since the previous year. I can't imagine a colony getting more dense. We set up a legal distance from the road, and began popping dogs with the 243AI/243 until we pushed them back beyond 300 yards.
Slinging my AI, I grabbed my Rock River AR and 100 rounds worth of mags and headed up the hill, popping any dog within 100 yards. Cresting the ridge, there were dogs EVERYWHERE! The first 30 round mag emptied quickly, as did the next 20-rounder. The near dogs eliminated or underground, we got the long range rigs out and had to stop and cool them with dogs still within 200 yards. Three shooting locations later, we had expended about 120 rounds from the 243AI and 243 each. Walking back down the hill with the AR, we finished the 100 rounds I brought with that. Dog kill rate with the long range rigs was north of 75%; north of 90% with my 243AI. Hit rate with the AR was more like 50%, but this was offhand shots at often moving targets.
The second day we went to a much larger but less dense town. We pushed maximum range hits to about 400 yards; this was already beyond what my Bushnell "1500" would range to so we had to walk them in. We killed a decent number of dogs, but with the lower density and flatter terrain it was much harder shooting. So we returned to the other town, only to find a storm front moving through. The rain spared us, but winds when to 40mph. We killed a few but soon the wind kept all the dogs underground so we quit by lunch.
The third day was out last and the weather was beautiful, cool, with light winds. The dogs were now educated, so shots under 200 yards were fairly rare. We only shot 1 magazine with the AR, compared to 4 the first time we were there. After clearing pretty much every dog living within 250 yards of our favorite position, I turned my attention to a distant hillside marking the far end of the colony. We estimated ranges ranging from 600 yards at the bottom of the slope to 900 yards at the top. I found a comfortable shooting position, and we began to shoot popular mounds to verify ranges:
I was happy to get within inches on the second shot, every attempt. It was a bit frustrating, as I regularly put them right on the dog but they were not injured. Even at 900 yards my second shot showered the dog. I even went back and got my 300WM and launched some of my true long range loads out there to the same effect.
In the end, I had one confirmed kill at a scope MOA elevation indicating just over 700 yards. I would have liked to see what the 105 AMAX was doing at that range, but one of the beautiful ferrengous hawks who followed us around eating our kills got him before we got out there, so there was not much left. They are amazing birds and we really enjoyed watching them. One time, I shot one at about 300 yards and I had barely returned to battery after recoil when one of the hawks was on the dog!
Aside from the single 700 yard kill, it became routine to hit them out into the 400s on the first or second shot (these were already beyond rangefinder, so misses typically involved a quick range adjustment to turn into a hit). We had two other kills in the 500s.
In the end, we expended around 700 rounds and figure 300+ prairie dogs were taken. The percentage seems low, but that was driven primarily by the AR work, the long range effort the last day, and my buddy's newbie status to shooting in general and rather economic but effective Ruger American rifle with factory loads.
It was a great four day hunt I'd be lucky to repeat.
Last edited:
