# .22 prairie dog



## Luckyduck (Feb 24, 2008)

I have a 10/22 that is decked out, and have been trying to plan a prairie dog hunt this spring. I have a nice 243 that I have reloaded, but I would think a day shooting it at some dogs would get pretty painful. This leaves me with only my .22 (want to get a 22-250 or 223 when done with college) I guess my question is... Could I take factory ammo, pull the bullets out, and use a more effective bullet? I have been thinkin the varmint grenades, or nosler sells some balistic tips for them as well.
I could also swap powders.... I just feel a .22 will kill them, but unless head shots, or within 100 yards... might not be the best choice. I have thought about borrowing a gun, but as sportsmen, you know what it's like shooting someone elses gun.... one that hasn't been sighted in, free floated, or glassbedded, or a strong trigger....

My reloading manuals are not here at college, but i'll be lookin into the ballistics later this weekend.

I have never hunted prairie dogs, and not sure what i'm going to need as far as ballistics. I will bring my .243 for those shots that will need a little more length on them.

I have been wanting to do this for years, but maybe i'll put it off for another year until I get my new gun....

Lastly, I could just wear a shoulder pad, (shooting those 55 grain might not be so bad), and maybe nancy down the fire power)

Let me know what you guys think


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Just get good shooting 22lr ammo and practice. A good body hit in the vitles will kill them also. No reason to shoot very expensive perjectiles with no gaurentee you will get accuracy.

I have shot plenty of dogs with a 22. It does work. You just have to keep your distance on the close side.


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

The very first time I ever ventured to western South Dakota to shoot Prairie Dogs I took a Remington Model 541S .22 LR with a brick of CCI Stingers (that rifle just loved CCI Stingers) and a Ruger M77R in 6mm Remington with 85gr. Sierra Hollow Point Boat Tails (100 rounds).

Every time we get set up we'd start off with the .22 LR's and shoot till all the close in PD's were either dead or scared into their holes. Then we'd bring out the 6mm and shoot the longer ones. Then we'd move a few hundred yards and start over again.

I've shot a lot of PD's with .22 LR's in the years since.

As you are concerned about, yes the recoil of a .243 / 6mm will take it's toll in a days shooting. Many people that have never went on a good Prairie Dog Shoot have a hard time imagining how many rounds can be fired in a days time. It is not only the Recoil but also the Muzzle Blast (even with ear protection you still get the concushion of each shot).

After that first year I realized that I needed no less than 3 guns to be effective on a Prairie Dog Shoot. #1 a .22 LR for the close in ones. The mild report of the .22 LR doesn't disturb the little diggers too bad. #2 is a good .223 when the range gets a little longer. With the .223 recoil is mild enough that most of the time you can spot your own shots through the scope without recoil throwing you off target. #3 would be a .22-250 or .243 for the really long range shots.

If all you have is a .22 LR and a .243 buy all means go for it. Get out there and get in some shooting, and enjoy. The next year you will have formed you own opinions as to what works and what doesn't work as well.

Lastly pulling bullets out of factory ammo and replacing them with a different bullet of even the same weight can be risky at best. Different bullets have different profiles and bearing surfaces which can and will change (effect) pressures, not to mention accuracy and velocity.

Good luck.

Larry


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## neb_bo (Feb 3, 2007)

you deffinetly shouldnt pull the bullets and replace them. i believe a 22 lr has a bore of .227, and most bullets for centerfire 22's, are .224. also, most 22 bullets are either lead, or have a soft copper jacket, and centerfire bullets have a much harder jacket. i dont think either would be dangerous, but it wouldnt be conducive to good accuracy. besides, most centerfire bullets wouldnt perform at long rifle velocities. just take a whole bunch of shells that shoot good, and have fun on the close ones.


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## cwoparson (Aug 23, 2007)

Never tried it myself but this might be the answer to your problem.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

The other option is to download the 243 a bit. The only advantage high velocity has on these critters is trajectory. I don't shoot full power loads in mine, keep most of my shots under 300 yards and get my fair share. With the cost of bullets rising I am currently working on a cast bullet load that likely will not exceed 2000 fps, just for shooting PDs. The biggest obstacle with such a load may be accuracy. But if I can squeeze out around 1 MOA at 100 yards it will make a decent short range load that may not cause those explosive impacts but will more than get the job done.


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## szm69 (Apr 28, 2006)

We used to go out with JUST our 10/22's and have a blast! We went through bricks and bricks of ammo in a day. The towns whe shot in are so big that once you scare the ones withing your range you just walk over the next hill to find tame dogs again.

Some of my fondest memories as a child....


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## varmit b gone (Jan 31, 2008)

That is how I learned to shoot. I still have it even, I used a Marlin single shot 22. Every day in the summer I would take my rifle and walk to a p dog town and shoot em' up. As stated before, I would take your 22 and 243. Shoot all the close ones with the 22 and when you need the distance just pull out your 243 and have some long distance fun. 
Hope you figure out what you're gonna do. :beer:


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