Prairie Dog Hunt Bad River Bucks and Birds South Dakota May 11-14

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davecole

davecole

Member
Apr 18, 2015
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Owasso Oklahoma, United States

Jim Chapman is co-hosting another fun and exciting PD hunt in SD again the May. WHOOP!!!
My son and I went in 2017 and we had a BLAST!!

Brent at BRB&B is the BEST host.
The room accommodations are excellent complete with a commercial size laundry room. 
The food is made from scratch and even the hardiest of eaters won't go away hungry. 
The lodge is rustic and comfortable with a big screen TV, a bar with adult beverages as well as soft drinks. 

Our experience recommends
Clothing:
Camo or earth tone colors. It is a bit cold there so prepare for all day outdoor 30 degree weather in wind with the potential for rain. 
Hunting Equipment
other than the obvious.....
We took .25 calliber airguns. TT Condor, FX Wildcat fitted with Hawke sidewinder scopes. We zeroed for 75 yards. We were able to get a few shots inside 50 but most were at least 75 and some were 100 plus. You must be prepared to apply some "Kentucky Windage"
Shooting sticks
Range finder ( I lost mine up there last year. Reward if found :)) 
Binoculars 
cushion to sit on (optional)
Buddy bottle if your guns consumes a lot of air. You could easily take at least 30+shots between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner.
camera. You will want to take pictures of your hunting experience!! 

I'm sure there there is info that I haven't covered but you don't want to miss out on this one!! 

 
Thanks for posting this, last year was great like you said, I had an outstanding time hanging and hunting with everyone. You’re also spot on, Brett knows how to host these things. Like last year I’ll have my compressor, tanks, and extra guns there. I’m driving over next week to catch up with Brett, and looking forward to seeing the guys from last year and meeting the first timers coming out this year!
 
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Hi -

I went last year and this is a great trip! Dave puts together a pretty thorough list, I'll chime in as well.

I brought two rifles last year - my .25 cal Cricket bullpup and and my FX Wildat .22 cal. Both have high power scopes (8x-32x) and I really liked the higher power for my style of hunting. I wound up exclusively using the Cricket as the .25 cal thumped the prairie dogs so hard that it was tough to even consider going with something smaller. To be clear, a .22cal will work fine but I would consider that the low end of what will work best in these conditions. We had .30cal in the hands of some guys last year, and that worked awesome as well.

What worked best for me was to get within 100 yards (I preferred closer if the dogs would let me) of an active group of prairie dogs. I chose to shoot prone off of my bipod as that was the most stable for me. I'd shoot as many as possible from that first stop, usually at least two, before they wised up and went down the holes. Once they were down I would slowly and quietly move into a location that would be "central" to the group of prairie dogs I was just shooting over. At that point, the dogs would still (most likely) be down their holes. I would get low to the ground, usually going prone again, and wait quietly. Within a couple minutes, there would be one that I would see moving or hear barking at me and I'd be back in business. At this point I'd be shooting 10-120 yards with the majority of the shooting being under 100 yards. The high magnification scopes were very helpful as often times when the prairie dogs were barking you would have a tough time seeing them - you would know what general direction they were based on the sound, but then you had to scan 5-30 prairie dog mounds to locate the soon-to-be-dead prairie dog. Most of the time you would only be able to see the head of the prairie dog - being able to zoom in was helpful in picking them out against the dirt of the mound. It was then helpful to put lead on target. :)

Again, that was my hunting style and it worked for me. Others had success using other methods.

We had rain and wet weather last year which meant mud to contend with. You need good waterproof boots, water resistant outerwear, etc. Last year Jim brought his Omega compressor which was very handy for topping off your carbon fiber tank in the evening.

I just called Brett and I'm in again this year! I'm bringing my .25 cal Cricket and my .25 cal FX Crrown this year. If possible, bring more than one rifle because you will NOT want to miss out on the shooting if you're having rifle issues. I think Jim brought enough rifles last year to arm each of us with at least two. :)

Really a good group of guys last year and many of the same look like they are attending this year. Come join us! I'll be leaving from the Twin Cities (MN) area if anyone would like to share a ride. Can't wait!

Scott
 
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