Prairie Rodents

[hytekblue]

Personally I really like that remington AccuTip-V 22 winchester magnum round out of a marlin bolt action 22 mag with a good Leupold scope. Dead on at 100 yards, .6 high at 50 yards, and 4.5 low at 150 yards. Works on most small varmints.

My rifle does it's part as long as I do mine.

In the end patience is what usually what insures the kill for me.

[gsh341]

I grew up on a farm and had my first .22 at the age of 14. I also depopulated the gophers (just a shade smaller than prarie dogs) we had there. Having said that, here are a few tips.

1. Always shoot from downwind. They can smell you otherwise.

2. If possible wait for the grass around the holes to get grazed down so they can't hide easily.

3. Look for the lookout. Gopher holes have several entrances and you may be watching one hole while they watch you from somewhere else.

4. Use .22 hollow points. Quicker kills (death throes always seem to scare them away).

5. Get comfortable. I always drove a pickup so I could relax while waiting for them to pop back up. It may take a while. (No music!!)

6. Learn your rifle's ballistics through experience, not a chart. That means shoothing at the little buggers for 3-4 THOUSAND rounds a month.

7. If you take an empty .22 casing and blow across the top, like you would a bottle, you can get a short, very high pitched whistle from it. This sounds like them and may entice them out to investigate.

If you work at it the .22 can be accurate at ranges out past 100 yds. I have actually made kills on gophers from almost 200 yds. (Not many, but I have.) 100 yds or less was pretty much dead every time, except in high wind. I had a bolt action with a 4x scope with a good knowledge of Kentucky Windage. A friend and I used to spend all day on Sunday 10am to 7pm for 5 years, shooting these little guys.

The reason I recommend the .22 is for safety. After 300 yds or so its relatively safe, unless you are shooting in the air. (Flying gophers? ) The .223 on the other hand is dangerous for miles.

[Vtwin]

Can someone bring some gophers or prairie dogs to my house!? I want an excuse to start a collection!

Sounds like a good time!

[aiformula]

just need to get some tannerite targets and go sow them around the gopher holes (or PD's in this instance). Even if you don't hit the critter, it's a show.

[Houndawg75]

+1 on the .17hmr,and I hear the mach 2 is even better. I've got a Savage Striker in the 17hmr and love it. I can hit squirrels in the head at 100 yards with it so for me its definately a better choice than a .22. It about as loud as a 22mag. Don's right on with marking your ranges. I've got one more suggestion you may want to try. I won't attest to its safety but it works. A buddy of mine's dad walked up on us shooting one day where we were doing the whole homeade silencer thing with coke bottles and electrical tape. (Don't laugh, I know some of you have done it too.) Anyway the bottle is only good for 1 shot. He brought us out a bag of little bitty water ballons and told us to try those instead of the coke bottles. Well sure enough we did and it worked great. Not completely silent but better than nothing. They are a quick change and cheap. That may keep your rats from running as much. Also if at all possible go for instant kill shots, the 17's in the head make em drop like rocks. Good luck and happy hunting.

[DanaT]

Thanks for all the replies. However, I think that many people missed what the point was. I can hit the prairie rats with a 22LR.

My question was, how do I know they are there when they are underground? Once one comes up, he is dead for the most part.

I never thought of the 22 case whistle. Thats an idea.

Anyways, I did some internet research and found a study that was done on prairie dogs ability to hear

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Its quite interesting. They actually can hear through the ground. This supports my informal research. My findings are that if I walk out in the field between 120 and 80 yards they go down. Once I walk away, about the same distance, they come back up. However, if TWO people walk out there one sits down and the other walks away, the prairie dogs re-surface. Now if the llamas walk in the field the prairie dogs don't care. The ATV they don't seem to understand.

This tells me they can hear, and distinguish, a person walking from other things. However, since two people can go out and only one walk back, that tells me they can't count.

It is a pretty good thread though. I have been wanting a 17M2 for a while. Its just that my trusty 10/22 treats me so well. Hoenestly, I borrow very high end 22s (cheap rifles to him are sako) from my father and I really don't do much better than with my 10/22. That 10/22 has just always treated me well for the last 20-25 years. It is more accurate than a standard barrel 10/22 should be. Or maybe its just that I have been shooting it so long that I know it well??

-Dana

[DanaT]

Whats really sad, I found the email of the prairie dog pyschatrist that wrote that artcile and emailed him questions about my theories......

I think I truely am insane....

-Dana

[gsh341]

The gophers don't understand the ATV, huh? Do they come out to check it out after a bit? Maybe that's why I always see more of the little bastards when I'm in the pickup.

Also, you probably do shoot the 10/22 better because you shoot it more. Practice makes perfect as they say.

[brian40]

I know you said you can't go hi-power due to the area, but once you do, it sucks shooting them with a 22. I doubt a 17 does much better. Personally I use a 25-06 with a 75 gr V-max screaming at 3500 ft/sec. They absolutey EXPLODE. Chunks go flying everywhere! I love it when they fly 4 or 5 feet in the air doing the helicopter and you see guts stringing out (yes I am a sick bastard) Of course we are in the middle of no where and the nearest house is miles away

[XD BACKUP GUN]

Originally Posted by brian40

I know you said you can't go hi-power due to the area, but once you do, it sucks shooting them with a 22. I doubt a 17 does much better. Personally I use a 25-06 with a 75 gr V-max screaming at 3500 ft/sec. They absolutey EXPLODE. Chunks go flying everywhere! I love it when they fly 4 or 5 feet in the air doing the helicopter and you see guts stringing out (yes I am a sick bastard) Of course we are in the middle of no where and the nearest house is miles away

Sounds fun!
Nothing wrong with being a sick bastard!