Prairie dog hunting. If you've been on a guided hunt please share your experience

'Will be doing one in Colorado in August...
' Looking forward to "hunting" with my AR... I'll also take a couple of bolt guns
I'll let y'know how it goes.
 
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Is there such a thing as a guided gopher hunt??? How much would someone be willing to pay to shoot gophers for a few days or a week.?
 
hawk-i said:
Is there such a thing as a guided gopher hunt??? How much would someone be willing to pay to shoot gophers for a few days or a week.?
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Coming from someone in Northwestern Ontario, where such target rich environments don't exist, I would pay $100-$200/day to get set up on some prime land in the US. Been actually looking into it myself, for either p-dogs or sage rat hunting in Oregon. Not as much interest in similar hunts in Canada though as I would like to have the option to use restricted(s). Actually just came across a scoped TC Encore pistol in 22-250 with this very purpose in mind. Interested if anyone has any recommendations.
 
Magyar_civic said:
i thought prairie doggin' was when you are so close to crappin your drawers that the "dog" pokes its head out...........?
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I thought so too, that game is also referred to as "peek-a-poo" as well isn't it?

To the OP, why not try to meet an acquaintance or something through hunting forums and see if you can't tag along out west somewhere instead of paying a guide? Its not like its a hard to come by game species, I'm sure someone would let you tag along. Not too sure about non resident hunters but maybe its worth a shot?
 
The place I'm going I'm paying $100 for the day... Includes guide, shooting benches and lunch.

It may seem expensive, but... It's no muss no fuss.
I don't have the time needed to drive around looking for a place to shoot.
 
From what I've seen it's $200-300 a day for guided hunts. They supply the bench and transportation and you supply guns and ammo. Lots of ammo. Here's how I look at it. Flights to the Dakotas, Wyoming or Montana are not cheap. I would make it a vacation with my family. See Yellowstone etc and spend 2 days blasting dogs. The guides in this case are worth every penny.
 
When we went once part of the deal was we had to have a guide on the first day (Fort Belknap Reservation). He wasn't much of a "guide" as far as putting us on dogs or anything and I got the impression it was a make work project for the band.
Check out the Varmint Hunters Association they have outfits offering everything from self guided hunts all the way up to what I would consider "safari" style with lodging/food/guides/other game options etc.
 
I don't know if I'd pay airfare plus all the other expenses just to shoot PD'S.... In our case it's more if a pit stop along our way home from another shooting event.
 
chisholm said:
I thought so too, that game is also referred to as "peek-a-poo" as well isn't it?

To the OP, why not try to meet an acquaintance or something through hunting forums and see if you can't tag along out west somewhere instead of paying a guide? Its not like its a hard to come by game species, I'm sure someone would let you tag along. Not too sure about non resident hunters but maybe its worth a shot?
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I'd say this is good advice, except, in spite of my own...incredibly charming personality :) ...I've pretty much landed zero opportunities trying to do this. AB, Ontario and Saskatchewan forums too. I think it's a taller order than one might think, but I get that too. You have to have some confidence that this "stranger" you're inviting isn't a potato head since there are firearms involved. In the past few years, I've had several people extend invitations, but when it comes down to actually trying to make firm arrangements, the correspondence drops-off fast. Even offered an Ontario groundhog hunt in exchange! (though you'd need a non-res., small game license for that here) For people with gophers all around them, it might seem strange that someone might be prepared to fly across the country for the opportunity to shoot them. So, for something a westerner can casually fit into an afternoon for an hour or two...committing to hanging around with some out-of-towner for a 2-3 day shoot might be more of an inconvenience than anything else.
 
^Nobody wants to share their spots.

Last time I took a rookie to the gopher patch they skipped a bullet off the hood of my truck.


I'd pay $100 a day to shoot high volumes of gophers for sure. Not much more than a IPSC or Sporting clay shoot and way more action.
Fortunately I am lucky and have a few good spots to go to every year.
 
Flights from Canada to anywhere aren't cheap. Flying out of Buffalo(or anywhere Stateside) is a different story. Buddy of mine goes to Arizona out of Detroit for about $100US with excess weight baggage, as I recall. Plus the cost of parking.
Make sure you have the ATF forms for your rifle and ammo. Ammo you'll have to check with the airline about carrying. Not all of 'em allow it or will have daft rules.
Can't imagine a guided rat hunt either though. A net search turns up lots of site that run 'em. I'd think more than $200 or $300 per day.
 
Um...folks...'Prairie dog' is an entirely different species from the 'Richardson's ground squirrel' ( = gopher) just so you know.
I know it's way fun tripping over ourselves to be witty, but...Prairie Dogs totally another game & are much larger IIRC. Much more conducive to taking your accurized Black rifle out to see what it can do long range wise.
Just saying...I did start at the beginning and no-one else seemed to catch onto that point.
 
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