New Mexico Prairie Dog Hunting

This post is not for the faint of heart.  Three of us took off for New Mexico to shoot prairie dogs.  Animals did indeed die.  Stop reading if that offends you.  But understand this, if we were not there shooting them, the ranchers will poison them.  Either way they are going to die.  So which is a more humane death?  You decide for yourself.

This was our tenth trip down to Amistad.  16.5 hours one way in the truck.  It's a painful drive, but worth the time or we wouldn't continue doing so.  This year, Nick, Michael and I made the drive.  We left the Friday before Memorial Day because Nick had to be back for the State Track Finals the following Thursday.

We ended up firing a total of 3,741 rounds of .223, .243, and 6XC rounds.  We tried to keep a running count of kills, not hits.  Nick had a habit of shooting off their feet.  Those were not counted.  We figured up we were somewhere in the 42% kill range - or 1,570 dogs died effectively and efficiently.  We might have missed a few here and there, but probably not enough to skew the results significantly.

I must add that Michael took 9 shots at a prairie dog at 800 yards before hitting it in the head.  Think about that.  He hit a soda can-sized target in the head at 1/2 a mile!  And yes, both Nick and I witnessed the kill.  How did we know the range?  We dropped Nick off with the laser range finder and drove the truck to a large yucca plant.  Nick moved until the yucca was at 800 yards.  Michael then shot a dog around the yucca.  The set up was this:  laying prone in the back of the truck (on a blanket to mitigate the heat), sand bags, and a bi-pod.  He used his 6XC with a 25 power scope.  After the hit, we drove to the yucca to confirm the kill.  Amazing!

Nick made some great head shots, but at much closer ranges.  There were also multiple double-kills and even a handful of triple-kills.  Those dogs were everywhere!

We had a great time.  The cabin we stay in has no TV and did not use to have cell service.  The cell service is now available.  But for entertainment, we played Buck Euchre (a three-handed version of Euchre).  The cabin also had a full kitchen and running water - so we did get showers every day.

We saw three snakes this year, and none of them were rattlesnakes.  We only saw one turtle, actually a painted desert tortoise.  The raptors were abundant.  We made at least four sets on coyotes and fired during only two of those.  All were misses.  But, we must have seen somewhere around a dozen 'yotes.

It's time to start reloading again for next year!

Michael with his 800-yard head shot on a prairie dog.

See that hill (by the green blob) over Michael's left shoulder 

(between his gun barrel and his head - look hard, it's way back there)?

That's where we parked the truck - 800 yards away.

Shout-out to one of our trip sponsors, Modelo beer.

This is how we roll.  Pool noodles on the windows (adjustable shooting benches).

This is the 'nothing-ness' where prairie dogs can be found.

Elevation 4,400 feet.  High desert of New Mexico.  Dry and hot.

Beautiful blue skies!

Nick with a large kill.

One of Nick's head-shots on a very large prairie dog.

Unwise decision to come up to take a peek at what's happening.

This picture sums up the entire trip:

Beer cans, dust, guns, and ammo.

Oh yeah, that white package by the driver's side wheel well?

That's our emergency TP!

And in case you are wondering, that's a Ruger Precision Rifle in .243 caliber shown.