Prairie Dog Hunting with Trad bows

[PA stickbow boy]

Friends are talking about doing a prairie dog hunt this summer.  Has anyone tried it with a trad bow?  I thought that might be quite the feat to try a day.

[Hummer3T]

I have done some gopher hunting (killing Prairie dogs is illegal here).  In May / June is the best, very target rich with the young of the year being out.

I use judo points or blunts (I find judos work best due to grass and close ground shooting).

really a good traditional challenge in stalking and getting shot close. Gophers are about 1 1/2 inches wide and four -five inch long. small target so closeness counts.  (10 -20 yards if you shoot as bad as me)

[Terry Green]

They are an absolute blast except I use broadheads.... if you hunt the same field by the afternoon be ready to shoot at 40 to 60 yards also if you get lucky enough to shoot at 1 at 30 yards or in aim at the entrance of the whole they are standing next to because that's where he'll be when your arrow gets there.... they are a real hoot to hunt.

[Longtoke]

Prairie dogs are pretty dirty in my humble opinion. a lot of times you can see the fleas swarming on top of their mounts... the prairie dogs here  in Colorado are known to carry the black plague.

I dont like to walk around in their towns not to mention have to fetch arrows out of their holes, which are also a prime habitat for rattlesnakes and the like.

It could be a fun time but there are some risks to consider.


I

[centaur]

Originally posted by Longtoke:
Prairie dogs are pretty dirty in my humble opinion. a lot of times you can see the fleas swarming on top of their mounts... the prairie dogs here  in Colorado are known to carry the black plague.

I dont like to walk around in their towns not to mention have to fetch arrows out of their holes, which are also a prime habitat for rattlesnakes and the like.

It could be a fun time but there are some risks to consider.

My prairie dog shooting days are over, much for reasons stated above. They are nasty little critters.

[Jack Skinner]

As Terry Green said shoot them where they aint because they are fast. Also as stated be mindful of fleas.

[Steve H.]

I've shot quite a few.  The whitetailed prairie dogs are far easier to get close to than the blacktailed species which are generally the ones in the very large open areas.

[Terry Green]

I never experienced the fleas or the snakes....

Montana was my hunting grounds twice....once in June and once in August.

Charlie Lamb has a great pic of my little girl holding one up when he and Doug Campbell went afield for them.

[Steve H.]

T, if you were at Doug's then those are gophers not prairie dogs.  Fun winging arrows at them none the less and I did manage one the day I was there, way back, about 12 years ago.  A big rattle snake was skewered that day too, IRRC Doug caught him short with a gopher in its mouth!

[ksbowman]

I hunted them a long time ago in western Kansas. I shot a lot more prairie Rattlers than P. dogs. Was a lot of fun though.

[Charlie Lamb]

 

[dnovo]

I only tried for them once on a mule deer hunt in southwest CO. If you get close shots, they will mostly be gone way before your arrow gets there. They hang around a bit more when you shoot at 35-40 yards and beyond.  It does wonders for your shooting cause it makes you really concentrate.
Lots of fun

[PA stickbow boy]

Thanks for the info guys.  I would have never guessed they were a quick animal.  I guess I was thinking PA groundhogs. We would be in South Dakota in June. The guys that have been there before did say you always keep an eye & ear out for the rattlers. I might just have to try this    

[Steve H.]

Those will be the blacktailed species, suggest you elevate your bow, aim higher!

[Jack Skinner]

What you may have there Charlie is the Richardson's ground squirrel. They are smaller than a praire dog. They are all over my property here in WY, along with the I think its 13 stripe ground squirrel which looks like a chipmunk but has a sharper face. All ground rats to me, and fast as all get out and tough to get an arrow in.

[monterey]

Longtoke is right on about the fleas and plague.

Those fleas immediately sense a drop in the dogs body temperature and jump onto the next warm body that passes.  Don't be the warm body!    

We have cases every year here.  A guy I know caught it from skinning something that was road killed.

People who have not been around PD's get it when their dogs bring the fleas home.

[monterey]

https://www.google.com/amp/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/colorado-dog-key-to-u-s-plague-outbreak-study-confirms/?client=ms-android-verizon

[Mark Baker]

Like Jack said...we have Richardson ground squirrels around here, but just east have some Prairie dogs.   The PD's are a bit harder to get close to....the ground squirrels are pretty easy.  Patience and a lot of arrows (think back quiver full) and you will get a lot of shooting...it's fun!   I have killed hundreds.  They do carry fleas that can carry plaque (referred to as sylvatic plaque in rodents I think - but it's basically the same).   I just don't touch the buggers.   Many times you will have to step on them to remove your arrow.  Earlier season - they start coming out whenever the weather begins to warm - might be a better time to - less fleas...I don't know.   There will be less "babies" but still it can be a target rich time.  It's some fun sneaking up and shooting at them popping their heads from a hole in the snow...

Plague cases happen, but usually from other animals that contracted it from the ground squirrels.  The ones I am aware of were antelope hunters who got it while cleaning their game...we still hunt antelope.   Just be aware.   You have a greater chance of contracting Hanta virus out here stomping around old barns, sheds, or even wood piles, than in getting plague.  And for that matter of dying from it as well.  

Both my boys learned to shoot and stalk on ground squirrels.  Have fun.