.50 meet the prairie dog

[fastenhard]

People aren't planning on eating or salvaging any part of a prairie dog. Unlike a Deer.

You got deer that have diseases. Not going to eat that. They shoot the deer so it doesn't spread. You dont see them blowing up and you know its not going to be eaten.

[Russ Jerome]

Prairie dogs are for people who cant hit a ground squirel at 400yrds

Or a Bumble Bee on a Dandelion at 75yrds
http://hometown.aol.com/russjerome/i...natkiller1.jpg
Shooting moving targets is definately more fun than paper

[Ricky Bobby]

hmm, guess i just don't see the humor in it.

+1

^^^^ Cats... not dogs. I'd be all for shooting cats.

There are probably about 400 cats at the humane society, we can adopt them all and free the world of creepy fury animals that have diva attitudes.

shit shoot the damn dogs shit all over the damn place or shoot the owners who cant pick up the shit whichever

[LEWETHETIGER73]

Well why don't we say anything about slapping all the mosquito's out there. Same basic idea. Small pest with a big killing object. I know I won't change opinion out there and that's fine and dandy but the fact of the matter is, is that they are a very large problem out there and they deal with it. Might as well make some money and blow the little varmints head off. It's like a real live version of caddy shack. Only this time the critter is gone.

And I highly dought they feel anything and the vultures and coyotes get free meals.

[Irish]

Well why don't we say anything about slapping all the mosquito's out there. Same basic idea. Small pest with a big killing object. I know I won't change opinion out there and that's fine and dandy but the fact of the matter is, is that they are a very large problem out there and they deal with it. Might as well make some money and blow the little varmints head off. It's like a real live version of caddy shack. Only this time the critter is gone.

And I highly dought they feel anything and the vultures and coyotes get free meals.

You must not have any children.

FTR, mosquito's do not have a tight family infrastructure, are blood suckers, and pretty sure they spread the west nile virus.

I personally think the video was done in poor taste. Where is your humanity?

[fivonut]

You must not have any children.

FTR, mosquito's do not have a tight family info structure, are blood suckers, and pretty sure they spread the west nile virus.

I personally think the video was done in poor taste. Where is your humanity?

WTH does having children have to do with anything.....

That's the problem with you people you project your emotions on things that have none. Prairie dogs are a pest, no body hunts them for their meat, they hunt them to exterminate them. Granted no body hunts rats to exterminate them but my point was that you probably wouldn't care what anybody did to that rodent why would you care what anybody did to the prairie dog rodent.

WTH is a info structure??? Did you mean infrastructure?? How do you know mosquitoes don't have one?? Every time I see one, I see a million. That's one huge mosquito town. For that matter what's the difference between a mosquito and a prairie dog that makes one's life more valuable than the other. If you're going to let your heart bleed for one animal at least be consistent and do it for all.

[Irish]

WTH does having children have to do with anything.....

That's the problem with you people you project your emotions on things that have none. Prairie dogs are a pest, no body hunts them for their meat, they hunt them to exterminate them. Granted no body hunts rats to exterminate them but my point was that you probably wouldn't care what anybody did to that rodent why would you care what anybody did to the prairie dog rodent.

WTH is a info structure??? Did you mean infrastructure?? How do you know mosquitoes don't have one?? Every time I see one, I see a million. That's one huge mosquito town. For that matter what's the difference between a mosquito and a prairie dog that makes one's life more valuable than the other. If you're going to let your heart bleed for one animal at least be consistent and do it for all.

There I fixed it capt'n fvcking grammar, sorry my grey matter isn't up to par with your cerebrial expertise....

If I want to CHOOSE to think that the video posted is in poor taste, then it is my CHOICE to do so... If you don't agree that is you right to do so... Who are YOU to tell me what I should and should not let my heart bleed for...

I would rather take on opponents that actually fight back. And furthermore how do YOU know that animals in general don't view US as the pests....

If they need management control fine... but I really think what is being displayed in the video is overkill.... no pun intended!

Oh the "kids" comment was brought up because I have a three year old and a four year old... I thought to myself, "I wonder what my kids would think if they saw dad laughing at something so grotesque."

[pOrk]

hmm, guess i just don't see the humor in it.

[fivonut]

There I fixed it capt'n fvcking grammar, sorry my grey matter isn't up to par with your cerebrial expertise....

If I want to CHOOSE to think that the video posted is in poor taste, then it is my CHOICE to do so... If you don't agree that is you right to do so... Who are YOU to tell me what I should and should let my heart bleed for...

I didn't TELL you what to let your heart bleed for, I SUGGESTED that the least you could do is be consistent. That is, if you care enough to be taken seriously.

I would rather take on opponents that actually fight back. And furthermore how do YOU know that animals in general don't view US as the pests....

If they need management control fine... but I really think what is being displayed in the video is overkill.... no pun intended!

I don't disagree with that. But they are rodents, no harm no foul.

Oh the "kids" comment was brought up because I have a three year old and a four year old... I thought to myself, "I wonder what my kids would think if they saw dad laughing as something so grotesque."

Reading this I thought to myself, "What kind of irresponsible parent would allow their kids to be within viewing range, if they are that concerned about it." For reference, I have a 12 year old, a 9 year old, a 5 year old, and a 4 year old. My 12 year old is taking his hunter's safety in two weeks. I will teach him the same things I personally believe about being a responsible hunter, one of which being "don't kill what you're not willing to eat." That being said, the video is what it is, a couple guys disposing of rodents.

[Voodoo Chick]

And yes.......I WOULD feel the same about rats.

[Irish]

Well then we can agree to disagree then. To you they may be rodents... fine...
Even though I am not one of them, I do know of people that keep rodents as pets.

Let's make this clear, I am not against responsible hunting... Especially if a species' population needs to be regulated.

I am against blowing away animals, across country, like it's a fuggin past time. I wouldn't want to show that video as an example of the progression of mankinds rise from the primodial oooze.

*shrug

[Voodoo Chick]

Irish, I agree with you totally............I think if you want to hunt responsibly and respectfully, fine, do so.......but this sick, idiotic bullsh*t is the opposite. It's this kind of crap that makes people look like club-wielding cave people. It's an embarrassment to legitimate hunters, I would say....

[LEWETHETIGER73]

Prairie Rat Lunacy < BACK
Judd Cooney
11/3/2006

The battle to reclaim the land from these pesky rodents continues.

What a difference a little hair makes. In the case of prairie dogs, the fact they sport hairy tails produces a moronic metamorphosis whereby RATS become DOGS – at least to the twisted perception of many prairie dog loving animaniacs around the country. If prairie dogs had scaly tails like other members of the chisel-toothed rat family to which they belong, there’s more likelihood the early French trappers would have called them “barking rats,” “rotund rodents,” “dastardly diggers” or some other less endearing name, rather than Petits Chiens which translates to “little dogs.” With a more accurate descriptive name we’d have a lot less people on the bandwagon trying to restore 100 million acres of short grass prairie with the original population of billions of prairie dogs.

‘Course many of these narrow minded, lack-of-something-better-to-do, individuals don’t seem to realize their present home, farm, ranch and local golf course are situated on top of a historic prairie dog town that’s been obliterated so they could live, play, raise crops and have manicured lawns without interference from the diligent diggers.


In 1998, Boulder, Colorado, a city far surpassing California as the land of fruits and nuts, was the first town to adopt a plan to treat every prairie dog as if it were a voting member of the community and relocate them at any cost. When prairie dogs cause problems or get in the way of construction, they are vacuumed up and transported to a new home at the cost of $100 per rodent. Under such gentle and irrational management, the Boulder prairie dogs are thriving and overpopulating the whole area.


In the northern part of Boulder, they’ve flourished to the point of threatening to overrun a new $12 million dollar park. The city has decided to build a 2,400-yard long prairie dog proof fence (questionable, as prairie dogs are adept climbers), to keep approximately 130 of the industrious little rodents away from the people park at a cost of $161,000. That’s a street value of $1,200 per rodent. One of my sources stated that Boulder had spent $773,000 on prairie dog management (mismanagement). That money would provide a lot of youth recreation and such. As one of the local Boulder papers stated, even a lousy shot with a .22 that took 50 shots per prairie rat would save the city $1,199 per rodent and solve the problem permanently.

Ranchers have been fighting the prairie dog battle for years and have used everything legally at their disposal to rid their lands of the little varmints, but the tenacious prairie rat seems to be holding its own in spite of the influx of condominiums and shopping malls moving into its towns. A number of ranchers found that prairie dogs can become an additional source of income, and are now managing prairie dog towns to provide shooters with an abundant source of targets. Several of my good friends run prairie dog shooting operations and have little trouble getting landowners to participate in their programs.

Kelly Glause of Cole Creek Outfitters in Wyoming has been conducting prairie dog shoots for his clients on the same 80,000-acre ranch for the past 15 years. The dog towns scattered across this vast private holding are healthier and more productive than those on the surrounding countryside because his clients are keeping the rapidly reproducing rodent population within the bounds of their habitat. Kelly takes 50 shooters per year from late May through June for $250 per day of shooting. I spent a couple days with Kelly last year, and his prairie dogs shoots are top notch with solid bench rests in the bed of his trucks and lots of country to cover.

The size of the dog towns on his leased property have increased in the past few years because drought coupled with the prairie dog’s propensity to overpopulate its home have driven many traveling prairie dogs to the areas of his lease. His range is in better condition because of his population control shooting.

An un-managed dog town will quickly over-populate, causing starvation or disease to wipe out most of the population, and then the cycle starts again. These facts are not brought forth by the yahoos that would have you believe the little prairie rats are on the verge of extinction everywhere in the country.

Jay Verzuh of Grand Junction, Colorado, is another big game outfitter that got into the prairie dog shooting business at the request of local ranchers. With lodging and equipment readily available, along with lots of enthusiastic landowners, it didn’t take Jay long to build up a clientele to keep busy during May and June killing prairie dogs on many of the local ranches and public land.

According to Jay, only one rancher insisted he shoot ALL the destructive rodents on his ranch – a task many prairie dog protectionists preach as the end result of any shooting. Try as he might, Jay and his clients couldn’t accomplish the complete elimination of all the dogs. The rancher finally resorted to poison and eventually wiped out the town to his satisfaction. Most ranchers are glad to see Jay manage the dog towns on their property, and equally happy with the added income the bothersome boogers produce. Jay readily agrees with Kelly that shooting dog towns on a controlled basis makes a healthier, more productive population of prairie dogs.

Jay books 70-90 shooters per season which starts the 1st week in May and runs through the end of June. His hunts are fully outfitted with lodging meals and transportation, and cost $1,100 for a two day shoot. A hunter can shoot 600-800 rounds per day with the average busting caps on 400-500 rounds. Not a bad way to spend a couple early summer days.

Mollycoddling prairie poodles by vacuuming them out of their burrows for translocation has created interest in prairie dogs as pets. The sucked-up rats have made their way across the country to various states, carrying and spreading monkey pox virus. Now the feds stepped in and passed regulations and bans on transporting prairie dogs to various and sundry states that decided they don’t want bubonic plague or monkey pox. Imagine that.

Perhaps the best solution would be to build a prairie dog proof fence all the way round Boulder County and use this area as repository for all dispossessed rodents.

[Irish]

^^^ and???? No matter what ANYONE says I think it's a cruel way or "diposing" of the problem.

[fastenhard]

I think its funny how people compare a insect to a mammal. Its like saying humans are like ants. mosquito's have no feelings, they are wired to suck blood and make more. They feel no pain. A pair dog is like a dog, smell taste hear sleep eat take care of its family. mmmm Sounds pretty close to what we do. Maybe thats why there called mammals just like us.

When I saw that I thought of a kid lighting a firecracker in a frogs butt. Maturity level 0.

[fivonut]

A pair dog is like a dog, smell taste hear sleep eat take care of its family. mmmm Sounds pretty close to what we do. Maybe thats why there called mammals just like us.

Prairie Rat Lunacy < BACK
What a difference a little hair makes. In the case of prairie dogs, the fact they sport hairy tails produces a moronic metamorphosis whereby RATS become DOGS – at least to the twisted perception of many prairie dog loving animaniacs around the country. If prairie dogs had scaly tails like other members of the chisel-toothed rat family to which they belong, there’s more likelihood the early French trappers would have called them “barking rats,” “rotund rodents,” “dastardly diggers” or some other less endearing name, rather than Petits Chiens which translates to “little dogs.” With a more accurate descriptive name we’d have a lot less people on the bandwagon trying to restore 100 million acres of short grass prairie with the original population of billions of prairie dogs.

[fastenhard]

I'm not saying dont kill them. I'm saying they should be put down in a humane way.

[Irish]

I'm not saying dont kill them. I'm saying they should be put down in a humane way.

THANK YOU!

[fivonut]

I'm not saying dont kill them. I'm saying they should be put down in a humane way.

Like sucking them out of their hole with a giant vacuum??? You foot the bill and I'm all for it. Until then, I'd rather spend my money on less expensive ammunition.

[LEWETHETIGER73]

And it's not like the feel the slug entering their furry little buts. By the time it hits they are already dead.