Prairie Dogs on the Rosebud By Larry Myhre
Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal
“There’s no shortage of prairie dogs right here,” Gary Howey said as he scanned the huge pasture.
I agreed. There were mounds as far as the eye could see on all sides of us.
“We just as well set up right here and get to work,” I said.
We lifted the big picnic table from the back of Ben Bearshield’s pickup and set it on the ground.
With our rifles uncased and set up on bi-pods on the table, a spotting scope in place, binoculars and ammunition beside us, it was time to begin.
We were hunting the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota , a premier destination for prairie dog hunters from around the nation and even the world.
It is easy to see why. There are currently somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 acres of prairie dog towns on the reservation. If you drive the roads west of Rosebud, chances are anytime you care to look, you will see prairie dogs.
The little rodents are the bane of livestock ranchers. Their holes and mounds of dirt are literally traps waiting to break the leg of a running horse or cow. They eat the vegetation to the ground, eliminating the desirous grasses and forbes and in their place grow weeds if the town is ever abandoned. That’s why hunters are welcomed in prairie dog country.… Continue reading