Colorado P dog report

[DRob]

In case anybody is planning a prairie dog trip to east/central Colorado, I just got a report from a buddy who is there now. He estimated the population is about 1% of what was there the last few years. Most of the guys on the trip pass on anything under 500 yards but Joe takes the shorter shots for volume. He's shot 1 today. They're about to put the guns away and go sight-seeing.

 

[Hookeye]

Probably all in their burrows and too stoned to crawl outside

 

[buford t justice]

If he is still out here tell him to go south ,down in the neighborhood of Holly CO .

you have to stay away from the Denver /Co springs area and far away from I 70

 

[DRob]

Bingo

If he is still out here tell him to go south ,down in the neighborhood of Holly CO .

you have to stay away from the Denver /Co springs area and far away from I 70

Holly is where they are. They've been going there for 5-6 years and always had great shooting. Not this year.

 

[Meister]

I've heard from several source that a plague has done them in pretty hard. No reason to even try to head out there. I was thinking about going, but not til they come back.

 

[grogie]

Probably all in their burrows and too stoned to crawl outside

That's the truth!

 

[DRob]

Plague & drought

I've heard from several source that a plague has done them in pretty hard. No reason to even try to head out there. I was thinking about going, but not til they come back.

They had significant drought around Holly. Saw some photos from that area that looked like the Dust Bowl. Plague will completely wipe out a dog town. It did so in the area we used to shoot in NE Colorado 6 years ago and they haven't recovered yet. It also went through the property we shot for the last 4-5 years in South Dakota. So, we are going to Nebraska and Montana this year. Leaving Saturday for Nebraska with a grandson for his first trip. End of the month we take another grandson to Montana.

They're out there and can be found with a bit of searching on the 'net and a few phone calls.

 

[Huzrjim]

Great thread, but I believe my primary prairie dog rifle and all my magazines are now unwelcome in Colorado!

 

[DRob]

Primary rifle

Great thread, but I believe my primary prairie dog rifle and all my magazines are now unwelcome in Colorado!

There are a lot of guys using ARs for p doggin' but I'm not one of them. I need a slower rate of fire. We tried ARs in both .223 & .204 in the dog towns and gave them up. Maybe it's a problem with the shooter more than the gun but I tend to burn ammo about 2-3 times faster with an AR. At that rate the barrel heats up so quickly that I was changing guns a lot more often. Accuracy was close, especially with the .204, but not quite up to bolt gun level which also may have been the shooter.

My mom and my brother live in Sterling, CO so we get out that way now and then. Bolt guns will make the trip when/if the target-rich environment returns. The ranchers welcomed responsible p dog shooters but were pretty happy about the plague. Some are poisoning to slow the recovery. Can't blame them for trying to keep the little grass-eaters off their grazing land. We met an old boy out there who, at age 90, still runs 10K head of cattle. I think he qualifies as a real cowboy!

 

[DRob]

Another report

One of my buddies who is in Holly, CO reported yesterday they were in a dust storm. Said it was like the old news films of the dust bowl era. Also got an email from an outfitter who puts shooters in the Holly area. He's refunding deposits. Glad I made other plans.