Prairie Dog shooting NE of Sterling

Finally got out to my spot in NE Colorado to shoot some prairie dogs. My two sons came along and we had a great day.

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Just some shots that show part of the area.

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I brought my new 17 Honet in hopes to get it sighted in and try it out. I had bore sighted it a few weeks ago, the old fashion way. First two shots at 100 yards were 8" low and 3" right. Nest three were perfect, well at least I figured they were minute of prairie dog.

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Most of our shots were between 125 and 175 yards. Some as close as 20 yards and some as far as 250 yards.

The dead were piling up in a few of the holes.

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The 17 Hornet really put a hurting on them.

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17 HMR at about 100 yards

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204 Ruger also works well

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Another 17 Hornet casulty

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My youngest son shot this one right on the path through the pasture about 50 yards in front of the truck.

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Another one falls to a 17 HMR

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204 Ruger destroyed this cottontail

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Over all we shot well over 100 prairie dogs (we lost count), 2 jack rabbits, and 2 cottontails.

One of the best parts of the day was when were went into town for lunch. We were eating at a fast food place and an older couple (70's or 80's) came up and asked if we went shooting a lot, they must have seen us taking our cased rifles out of the bed of the truck and putting them in the cab. I said we didn't get out as much as we would like but did as much as we could. The lady said that was great and she told us how she loved to shoot when she was younger and her 22 almost never left her side when she was a kid, she said she almost slept with it. They then asked where we shot. I told them we shot up at a ranch NE of town trying to keep a prairie dog population in check for the rancher. They then both exclaimed that was even better. The man then told us a few stories of him shooting prairie dogs on the property he used to own. They both thanked me for teaching my sons to shoot and coming to their town and spending money there. They were really nice and we really enjoyed talking to them.

If and when I find a .17 Hornet, I'm going to latch on to it. It just fills in between the hmr and the hotrod .17's so nicely and uses half the powder of the hotrods. Looks like you and the boys had picture perfect weather too.

Yeah, love my t-bolt .17 HMR. No ears needed, doesn't spook the fuzzies as much, and 300 yard kills if the wind is right. Looks like you got yourself a nice spot too!

The weather was great, enough wind to make it not too hot but not too much to drift the bullets too much.

I really liked the 17 Hornet, it hits a lot harder than the 17 HMR but still has almost no recoil.

The colony there has really expanded in the last year, I need to make a serious effort to get out there more so the owner doesn't poison them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newracer

The weather was great, enough wind to make it not too hot but not too much to drift the bullets too much.

I really liked the 17 Hornet, it hits a lot harder than the 17 HMR but still has almost no recoil.

The colony there has really expanded in the last year, I need to make a serious effort to get out there more so the owner doesn't poison them.

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Don't you pass by my place on the way out of town ? Must of had my phone off. Wonder how that hornet sounds suppressed, Hint ;)

Actually I take Harmony to 257, 257 to 14, and 14 out to Sterling. But I will keep you in mind for future trips.

I'd love to get some suppressors but when outfitting rifles for three people it gets expensive fast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newracer

Actually I take Harmony to 257, 257 to 14, and 14 out to Sterling. But I will keep you in mind for future trips.

I'd love to get some suppressors but when outfitting rifles for three people it gets expensive fast.

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Not if you borrow them;)

I just found out that the land owner is going to participate in a USDA program that will poison the prairie dogs starting in September. They claim 95% effectiveness. I better get back out there soon.

They claim 95% but that doesn't work out. Farmer I shoot pdogs on has poisoned the little bastards every year and I still manage 10-20 of them each pheasant trip in under and hour of shoot time.

im heading up near sterling Thursday to scout my antelope Andrea and blast some pdogs as well, I'll post some pics when I get back. Suppressed ar with hand loads launching 55 grain vmax at the little turds.

He has poisoned them before himself and really reduced them but they always come back. He is paying for a professional this time so I guess we will see. Might not matter if the adjoining property doesn't also poison them. I'll just be shootign across a fence line trying to defend the position.

Yeah the others across the fence will just produce at a quick rate and spread right back onto his property. That and the boulder pdog lovers will probably drop them off like they do to my buddy's property.

Hey nice going on the P-Dogs, my boy and I where at my uncles place outside of Med Bow Wyo this past Friday and Saturday doing the same thing. We counted 127 this trip, back in early June we nailed 187 in 3days.
Also you may want to read up on the small game regs, Cotton Tails and White/Black Tail Jacks are out of season. Being on private ground doesn't appear to matter. http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pa...DatesFees.aspx

Buff, check this out.

http://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Wil...ceWildlife.pdf

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newracer

Buff, check this out.

http://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Wil...ceWildlife.pdf

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I was not aware of this, thx for the heads up.

Yeah, I even had to add it to my signature awhile back because people kept freaking out when I posted my weekly wabbit count.

[panic]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newracer

Buff, check this out.

http://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Wil...ceWildlife.pdf

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Here's a couple from our latest trip to my uncles place, was there 4 days and ended up with 253. Wind wasn't and issue and most under 200yds were taken with our .17HMR's.
This is the biggest slob I've every seen, my boy wears a size 14.
Attachment 48465
For a 17gr bullet they sure do peel them open......
Attachment 48463
Attachment 48467

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buff

Here's a couple from our latest trip to my uncles place, was there 4 days and ended up with 253. Wind wasn't and issue and most under 200yds were taken with our .17HMR's.
This is the biggest slob I've every seen, my boy wears a size 14.
Attachment 48465
For a 17gr bullet they sure do peel them open......
Attachment 48463
Attachment 48467

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Looks like he dropped a few fatties. Nice shooting.

Going to be some time before i get the 17 bug, especially when my average cost per 50 of 22mag was $5-7.95 Up side, 17's definitely nicer going after them 100yd+ targets.

Went out again Saturday. MY older son had other obligations so I took my best friend along. They are definitely getting a little smarter as most shots were well over 100 yards this time. Only shot around 60.