Praire Dog Hunting on the cheap?

T

tpende

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i was just looking around the net and ran into some prairie dog population maps of south Dakota. I'm wondering if any of you have ever went out there and hunted tribal or public land unguided?

the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation looks like it has a boatload of dogs but they want a 100 bucks for a license
 
I have never shot praire dogs in SD, but I live in ND and can speak with some authority. While there is a shyster in almost every crowd, most guided hunts will get you some decent shooting. Having said that, I will counter it with, but you dont have too. With a little asking around you can almost always find plenty of shooting for little or nothing. We have our so-called guides here in ND but believe me with very few exceptions they can not do anymore for you than you can for yourself.
 
to the best of my knowledge, you cant hunt on the reservations without an indian guide, plus the license!
 
PD Hunting

I have been PD hunting in SD for about 15 years. Anywhere north of Pierre and west of the MO river seems to have PDs. I went to a small town or two, visited the local cafes, farm supply etc and asked questions, shook hands and made many friends.

Mission Reservation requires a guide and a license, Standing Rock and Cheyenne river require a license but not a guide.

Private land (not reservation) only requires a State license. I always buy both to be sure I'm legal.

Once folks get to know you and understand you are a responsible hunter they want you to shoot their PDs.
 
well that sounds like a plan to me. just out of curiosity is it possible to do it all for under 500 bones?
 
Gas ,ammo and a place to stay. Get a buddy or two and split the gas and lodging.As was mentioned earlier stop in the small towns( WEST RIVER) grab a bit of breakfast ,lunch etc. and talk to the locals in fact buy THEM breakfast ,lunch etc. Be honest and sincere and you'll have more dogs than ammo,maybe a place to hunt deer to boot .Good solid people, the OLD WEST is NOT DEAD.........btw they RANCH ...NOT FARM:D.........OH YAH 4x4 if it even looks like rain, thats some real Nasty Clay they have out there, a winch is definatley a big plus....... have fun........500 bones ? well if your not getting poolside at the Ramada in Pierre and stay out of the casino's ...you bet easy
 
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Prairy Dogs

I went to rosebud SD The fee was 75$ No Guide and there are Enough PDs to burn up many good barrels. My longest shot was 1100 yards. closest was 10 feet. Also a 22 rimfire is alot of fun I wacked a few of them at distances that I won't even Mention with the 22. Most woulden't belive it anyway.
 
advice

Good luck with your hunt. You will want 8 ply tires on your truck because of the cactus. Watch out for the Burrowing owls, it is really bad luck to mistake one for a prarie dog.
 
stall said:
I went to Rosebud SD The fee was 75$ No Guide and there are Enough PDs to burn up many good barrels...
Click to expand...

What is the process to pay the fee? Who/Where/How/?

The Reservation looks pretty big, are the P-Dogs all over the Reservation or just in parts? When you pay the fee do they actually tell you where to go or is it just a guess?
 
Prairy Dogs

Adrian I am trying to get you some more specific information about where to go on the reservation to buy the hunting license. The local game warden was very helpful, and they will provide you with free maps of the reservation. There is alot of pasture land on the reservation and you can hunt most of it. The natives do have some houses here and there but they are fenced in to kept the cows out of there yards that is just about the only place where you cannot go. These pastures are very big and you can drive across them to get to the distant prairy dog towns , They just want you to close the gates behind you. when you get into a really big PD town there is no problem shooting for 1000 yards in any direction. I strongly suggest a smaller caliber rifle. This is the perfect time to fireform 4 of 5 hundred 223AI cases. This link will help. I stayed at the Antelope Country Inn. Its a dive but the bed was clean and the shower worked and they have a resturant there. I would suggest that when you go out hunting for the day take anything of value with you. http://www.rstgfp.net/Hunting/FAQs/faqs.html Good luck Tony
 
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And don't setup on top of an ANT HILL.....Those little suckers are Wicked. Check for areas that may be closed due to Ferrets also. The SD Game Fish an Parks web site has alot of info on it all. You can also get in touch with the Varmit Hunters Asc.
 
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yeah, i cant remeber where but somewhere on the SD DNR website i found a map of the dog survey they took in 2007 i think. i was quite nice
 
the thing about the res...

The thing about the reservation is that there are some folks there who are still upset about wounded knee. My Father in Law farmed within 4 miles of the Pine Ridge reservation for 50 years. When his house was robbed the deputy told him that there was no way to get his stuff back from across the state line. You will be in a foreign country, their courts, their laws their jury. If "anything" happens, you will not catch a break. I would get my shooting done and be off the reservation well before dark. Actually, I would pay an outfitter and stay off the reservation.
 
post a link

tpende, you say you found some maps on the web. How about posting a link to them, please.
 
kbbgood--He told you he found them on the SD DNR website right in his post. Perhaps if you did a google search you could find the South Dakota Department of Natural Resources Web site??? Here's a quote of his post.

yeah, i cant remeber where but somewhere on the SD DNR website i found a map of the dog survey they took in 2007 i think. i was quite nice
Click to expand...
 
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kbbgood--here's a link right from the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Web site. If you look on page 20 of this PDF document, you will find prairie dog town locations. To narrow down your search a little more, you should plan on purchasing some National Grasslands maps though. Some National Grasslands maps used to have prairie dog town locations marked on them. Some of the newer maps don't have those locations marked.

http://www.sdgfp.info/Publications/PrairieDogMonitoringReport2006.pdf
 
Sounds like a scary place to me--gumbo mud if it rains, cactus spines for flat tires, locals who are still mad about wounded knee! Don't forget rattlesnakes, badger holes, and tornadoes. And by all means, don't touch any of those dogs 'cause you might catch bubonic plague! You can even get it from flea bites if you sit or lay down in a dog town.

Best to stay home and pester those woodchucks in the neighbors hay fields.
 
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