Prairie Rodents

[DanaT]

First off. They are rodents. They are not dogs. Rodent like a rat is a rodent. Because they are like rats, they are no good.

Now that that is done.

Today, I got to go to the in-laws. Well, they have a some little problems called prairie rats. So what is a good son-in-law to do while his wife swims in the pool on a hot 4th of July? I had to work all day long and exterminate prairie rats.

Well, here is the bad part. These rats only know people when they get shot at. Therefore 80-120 yards is all the closer one can get. Due to the proximity of houses, I prefer to shoot them with 22LR to keep noise down and be polite. Also, there are houses that could “technically” be hit beyond the prairie rats (about 2 miles away, but downhill). Therefore, I don’t use a .223 (or anything bigger).

Well those that know, after a 100 yards, a 22LR is dropping like a rock.. For example, if you zero in at 100yards, at 130 yards the 22LR is shooting 6 inches low. At 150 yards its 12 inch low. This make hits a little more difficult, especially when exact range isn’t know. Also, these prairie dogs get spooked really bad. One shot and they are all down for at least a half hour (or more).

So what I a wanting to know is this. When I walk up on them, they will let me get somewhere between 80 and 120 yards from them before they run down into their holes. I can sit there and sit there and they won’t stick their heads up. But, as soon as I walk away and get about 80-120 yards away, they come up. How do they know that I am sitting there waiting for them? How do they know when I have walked away? Do they feel vibrations? Also, they let the llama walk up to them but no people. An ATV can almost drive up to them. I mean, how do these damn critters know when I walk away? It really torques me when I spend two hours sitting there waiting for one and then get called in to eat. As soon as I get up and walk away, they stick their heads up. HOW DO THEY KNOW???

They just make me mad. I need to go kill some more them. Now, if only I could get paid to shoot them????

-Dana

[RockinAR]

Try a .17 HMR Very effective, not too loud and a lot less drop.

[one-eyed-fatman]

Rodents in Washington are the same dam way! Minute you try to get near em they disappear. Did you try waving 100.00 dollar bills at them? I hear that helps. Course the minute they grab the money ya gotta shoot em in the head right away or they will just jump back down in their holes again. Damnedest thing I ever did see.

[1of2]

Drive up on the ATV and wait for them.

[Don]

I would say that they are sensitive to sound thru the earth. So yes they can tell.

So make up a bunch of flags with different colors. Set up your shooting bench or at least make a semi permanent marker for where you shoot. Measure off to the holes and set the same color flags for the same range. Mark the holes within the range by color. Or paint arcs of range with spray paint. The dogs will not pay attention to any markers that you leave.

Now make a chart of drops for your ammo and stick with the one ammo. Keep notes and go for it. Having a spotter helps too for seeing where you hit. Take off your scope caps and start counting clicks as you go in and out of ranges. Notes are your friend. Take your notes while they are down, might as well gather as much data as you can at one setting.

Basically it is a math game. Remember when you thought you would never use math later in life? This is one of those times.

[willbond]

+1 for .17 HMR

[Brickboy240]

You sound like an excellent candidate for a rifle in 17HMR. We have a Taurus pump rifle in this caliber and I am getting ready to buy a bull-barreled Marlin bolt gun in 17HMR, that will be scoped.

The 17HMR is not that much louder than a 22lr, but is very accurate and we have taken a few stray dogs with this caliber. I hit one stray dog about the size of a small lab, at about 75 yards and he went down like he was hit with a 243. Amazing.

We have shot several raccoons, skunks and one armadillo that kept digging up Mom's garden and nothing has yet to walk away from this amazing little caliber. If this little pump Taurus rifle is accurate, I cannot imagine how the Marlin bolt action with a scope will do!

-Brickboy240

[XD BACKUP GUN]

+1 on the .17HMR
Very Fast, accurate flat shooting round.
But it also has a much greater range.

[brian40]

Careful, I think prairie dogs are protected in Colorado, aren't they???

[DanaT]

I am considering either a 17M2 or 17HMR for the reasons everyone says. I can also borrow center fire .17 from my dad (no idea what 17 calibers he ha, he has a few different ones, just no 17 rimfires).

As far as math, i laready have my ballastics table with me when I shoot. As far as the comment about actually using math, I actually do. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my job requires some cypherin'. I just avoid partial differential equations when possible....

Shooting prairie dogs in colorado is one of the funny things. It is illegal to HUNT black tailed prairie dogs east of I-25 and in certain counties.

Here is what is allowed per the Colorado Division of Wildlife:

"The black-tailed prairie dog is classified as a small game species in Colorado. Currently the hunting seasons are closed by regulation east of Interstate 25, although prairie dogs may be taken year-round by landowners, members of the landowner's family, lessees, agents, designees, or any employee of the landowner under the provisions of 33-6-107(9) C.R.S. as necessary to protect private property. "

http://wildlife.state.co.us/FAQ/defa...d%3D&Faqid=115

How does one know if the prairie dogs are damaging private property?

Here is the DOW FAQ:

"Question
Does the landowner need to have the prairie dog colony checked out by the DOW to verify that prairie dogs are damaging it?
Answer
No, there is no specific statutory or regulatory requirement that damage be evaluated by the DOW prior to the beginning of any control work"

So basically, Colorado has the "Make my Day law" for people and the same for prairie dogs.

I am only protecting private property from destruction. So shooting them is allowed. Whats even better, I am shooting them in BOULDER county!!!! Nothing like slaughtering those little bastards where everyone thinks they deserve more rights than people!

Going into work today (in Boulder) and people asked what I did over the 4th was fun. You should see some of the looks that I got when I said I shot prairie dogs.

The down side is I called my dad this morning. He asked what I did over the 4th since my parents didn't hear from me. I told him I went over to the in-laws house to kill the rodents. He was upset with me. Whew. He asked my why he wasn't invited. He wanted to go kill some of them too.

Other funny thing was the inlaws neighbors let me shoot them on their land too. I asked my father in law why they do that. He said cause they don't want them. I told him that I didn't get it. Wouldn't they want to have thier own targets to shoot and not have me kill them? He just laughed and said there were plenty to go around.... I mean come on, if I had prairie dogs out my back door, I wouldn't share the shooting of them...

I really want a ranch where I can raise targets....

This coming weekend will be good. IDPA on Saturday and prairie dogs on Sunday. The weekend is already looking good...

-Dana