K9TXS
Well-Known Member
I drove up to Gillette Wyoming at the end of last week and hunted prairie dogs for several days. I used my 20 Vartarg when the wind wasn't too bad and my 223 with heavier bullets when the wind was up. I shot everything from my tripod. Since Bog-Pod no longer makes a PSR, I made my own and it could not have worked out better.
The first day I hunted a small area, but it had lots of mounds. The wind was tough, maybe around 25 with a little higher gust. I used the 223 that evening with 69 gr Hornady BTHP and 75 gr BTHP. The 75 gr's did much better in the wind. The longest shot in the area was between 95 and 125 yards. It was a little slow going and plus had to shoot between wind gust. Got around 10 PD's that evening.
A littler closer look at my setup.
The next morning, I got in the field around 8 am. They were really active when I pulled up. Started off with the 20 Vartarg and it was deadly with shots being taken out to around 175 to 210 yards. Around 10 am the wind was back with a vengeance. I switched over to the 223 and still picked up a few more. Later in the late afternoon, the wind was worse than the day before and I continued to use the 223. Dogs were spotty that afternoon maybe do to the wind and heat, but over all it was a good day.
The next 2 days I was setup in the field and ready to take them on at 5:30 am. At 5:45 they started waking up and I just let them run for a few minutes. I started off with close shots, 50 yards or so and then started working my way out to 225 plus. I used the 20 Vartarg all morning. A lot of PD fell for the next two days. Around 10 am both days the wind started coming up again.
I like to use the lower power on my scope when possible, around 5-7 power. It gives me a nice wide field of view and I can easily see my hits and misses. For the longer shots, I'll crank up the power to whatever I need at the time. I found my reticle, +, will cover up the dogs at longer distances and I can't quite place the shot where I need to and find myself shooting a little short at times. Overall it was a great hunt and lots of dogs were taken.
The first day I hunted a small area, but it had lots of mounds. The wind was tough, maybe around 25 with a little higher gust. I used the 223 that evening with 69 gr Hornady BTHP and 75 gr BTHP. The 75 gr's did much better in the wind. The longest shot in the area was between 95 and 125 yards. It was a little slow going and plus had to shoot between wind gust. Got around 10 PD's that evening.
A littler closer look at my setup.
The next morning, I got in the field around 8 am. They were really active when I pulled up. Started off with the 20 Vartarg and it was deadly with shots being taken out to around 175 to 210 yards. Around 10 am the wind was back with a vengeance. I switched over to the 223 and still picked up a few more. Later in the late afternoon, the wind was worse than the day before and I continued to use the 223. Dogs were spotty that afternoon maybe do to the wind and heat, but over all it was a good day.
The next 2 days I was setup in the field and ready to take them on at 5:30 am. At 5:45 they started waking up and I just let them run for a few minutes. I started off with close shots, 50 yards or so and then started working my way out to 225 plus. I used the 20 Vartarg all morning. A lot of PD fell for the next two days. Around 10 am both days the wind started coming up again.
I like to use the lower power on my scope when possible, around 5-7 power. It gives me a nice wide field of view and I can easily see my hits and misses. For the longer shots, I'll crank up the power to whatever I need at the time. I found my reticle, +, will cover up the dogs at longer distances and I can't quite place the shot where I need to and find myself shooting a little short at times. Overall it was a great hunt and lots of dogs were taken.
