Prairie Dogging in Southwestern North Dakota

By

Dan Ackerman

Rough Creek Productions

It all began last Christmas Eve when my brother-in-laws and I decided we wanted to try prairie dog hunting in North Dakota.  We were sitting around the house deciding when would work best for everyone and what we would all need, of course the most important was guns, ammo, food and a few adult beverages to calm our nerves at day’s end.   
Preparations began in February and March when the in-laws from Green Bay, WI made their air line reservations.  Next on the agenda was to find ammunition.  Most of us would be shooting 22-250s or .223s.  We looked around several outdoors stores for the cheapest ammo, and some of us began reloading our own loads.  To this day, it is still hard to find ammo for these two calibers, at least for a large brick of shells. 
Finally, early May, one of the brother-in-laws who lives in town decided we would need to go out scouting, looking for prairie dog towns, recording them on maps and our GPS units, and asking permission to hunt on private property as most dog towns were on private land.  I was truly surprised, how most landowners had no issues with us and others from out-of-state to hunt the prairie dog on their properties.  Most were kind enough to show us even more available towns to hunt and one family even let us use their picnic table to shoot from!  All of the property we were able to hunt had good size towns, numbering in the hundreds of mounds.  We were excited.
The day finally arrived.  We loaded up the rigs, headed for the country, and began setting up for our first hunt.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  The wind was non-existent, quite a rare sight in this state with thousands of wind turbines, the temperatures a comfortable 70 degrees F, and the sky had no clouds.  After having done some research on the prairie dog biology, it was found that this time of year, the young ones were just emerging and would be readily available.  Also, we found that the prairie dogs liked the clear skies and we actually noticed later in the day when the clouds would pass over that the dogs would crawl back into their burrows. 
Well, we got ourselves ready for our first shots, after just having getting set up just behind a little knoll so the dog couldn’t see us and were unaware of our presence.  “Bang” the first shot rang out from a brother-in-law and a dog was down.  What a great way to begin the hunt, with a kill on the first shot.  We all began taking shots at the remaining dogs that were up before they all disappeared into their dwellings.  Most of us missed, but I think we shot three dogs at the first town we visited.  What a fun time.  After the dogs were all down in the their homes, we decided to head to the next town, about seven miles down the road. 
The next was huge.  The size of a half section and these dogs haven’t been shot at in two years!  “Bang, bang, bang, bang,” the shots rang out in fury as our targets were scurrying to find cover and safety.  We all were able to get a couple prairie dogs a piece at this location! 
After a long, day, and after having visiting a few towns, we decided to call it a day, head back to camp and enjoy each other’s company with our favorite beverages and reminisce the day’s adventures.  The next day would be more of the same, until our in-laws had to head back to Green Bay. 
What an exciting time and it was great to get out and have a rifle in hand in the summer months, seeming to almost prepare ourselves for the fall hunts to come!  If ever in southwestern North Dakota and have an accurate varmint rifle, don’t hesitate to talk to the local landowners and see what they have to say and hopefully, you too, will find a new sport to enjoy.
Best of luck to you all this summer, though it seems like it’s just beginning, after receiving a few inches of snow appearing only two weeks ago.   You better get out when you can and enjoy our great North Dakota outdoors.