Hunting North America
Over thirty years ago during the 1975-76 timeframe I was honored to attend the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The study of politics, diplomacy, and warfare were the topics of the day and sometimes most interesting. But I found that the folks that I met and associated with during that year to be my greatest reward.
Our class was organized into study groups for each of the two semesters. This arrangement was well suited for the many academic exercises in which we participated. The social and recreational events were organized a bit differently. The “Water Seeks It Own Level” concept was roughly followed. We had golfers, runners, bowlers, skiers --those who participated in racket sports -- fishermen, and hunters. Many participated in more than one of these disciplines. It was during these social and recreational events that lasting friendships were developed with topnotch talent that was destined for stardom.
Our hunting group was first class. Each was from a different part of the country, but all were dedicated sportsman. There was plenty of game in Pennsylvania to occupy our few off duty hours. Dove, pheasant, duck and deer were the most popular for our group because of our location and availability of game. The fishermen were truly blessed because they had some of the best trout fishing in country due to the many trout streams in our area.
After this academic year we all moved on to other assignments throughout the world. While we didn’t get to see much of our new friends during the following years, we did maintain contact by exchanging Christmas cards and other notes. Our group remained close and we always vowed to get together for some hunting and fishing, but mostly to renew our friendships.
This hunt provided me an opportunity to hunt with an old friend and hunting buddy who I have named the Prairie Dog King of Montana, Ron Stevens. When Ron and his wife Ilah retired from the Army they decided to make Bozeman, Montana home, where they still live. In retirement, Ron had the time and energy to polish his hunting skills in the great northwest. Each year he would send me a Christmas card in which he totaled the game collected that hunting season. The numbers were most impressive as he accounted for elk, deer, antelope, and the thousands of prairie dogs and ground squirrels.
So I decided that this is the year that I would make the effort to hunt with Ron in Montana. Accordingly, early one morning a friend of mine, Bob Shaw, another retired colonel and a member of the Alamo Chapter, Safari Club International (SCI) and I headed out for Montana, a 1,500-mile trip. We had over nights in Amarillo and Denver before reaching our destination in Montana on the third day.
Along the way, we made a few of stops in Raton, New Mexico that might be of interest to those who like to shoot small caliber rifles at very small targets. First, you may know that the NRA Whittington Center in located in Raton. This shooting complex conducts over 100 shooting events each year, January thru December. Second, Raton is the home of BJ’S Shooting Shop where they stock almost everything related to shooting. They also have a large inventory of firearms. Third, Raton is also the home of Bo Clerke, National Bench Shooting Champion, founder and owner of Clerke International Arms. Bo is one of those gunmaking geniuses who developed everything from the original 30mm chain gun for the Apache helicopter and the 25 mm chain gun for the Bradley fighting vehicle. Today, he is a major manufacturer of 17 and 22 caliber barrels. Spending a couple of hours with Bo and seeing his manufacturing plant was worth every minute. He is a prince of a guy who really enjoys his work and sharing his vast knowledge and experiences.
Ron met us on our arrival that night and we planned how we would be hunting the next three or four days. Hunting this time of the year is weather dependent because if there is a good rain the ground becomes impassable for even the hardest vehicle. The months of May and June are the rainy months in Montana. We got lucky, four good days of hunting with only an occasional sprinkle. So the weather was perfect for what turned out to be an unbelievable four-day hunt with a good friend and a heck of a shot.
But first lets discuss the game, the Prairie Dog (Cynomys). He is a small rodent native to the grasslands of North America. They live in large colonies or towns that can span hundreds of acres. Families usually consist of 1 male and 2 to 4 females. They are mostly herbivorous, but do eat some insects. They feed primarily on grasses and have up to 4 pups per year.
Ecologists consider it to be an important prey species because they are the primary diet for the black-footed ferret, swift fox, the golden eagle, the badger, and the ferruginous hawk.
On the other hand, the farmers and ranchers who make a living off of the land consider them to be pests. These rodents damage crops, grasslands, and the terrain. They clear the area of vegetation around the burrows and build tunnel systems with many chambers that pock mark the surface with unguarded holes that can be very dangerous when navigating the area. Much livestock has been lost to these silent booby traps.
For those of you who like numbers, perhaps this little exercise will help you put the crop damage in prospective. If 7 farms or ranches each let 7 hunters collect 7 prairie dogs, ground squirrels, or rabbits that would have each eaten 7 plants that would have produced 7 potatoes – The hunters would have protected a total of 16,807 potatoes.
I have also been told that 5 adult rabbits will in one day eat about as much as a medium size cow. Don’t know if that is exactly correct, but if it is supporting a large rabbit population is very costly. Farmers and cowboys do the math.
The Genus Cynomys of the prairie dog is broken down to five categories, they are:
1. Gunnison’s
2. White-tailed
3. Black-tailed
4. Mexican and the
5. Utah Prairie Dog
This hunt was limited to the Black-tailed Prairie Dog that is the largest remaining community in the western states that we hunted.
Ron took this time to also discuss three types of hunting that can be conducted in Montana. State laws dictate the type of hunting that is legal and also talks to illegal hunting methods. In Montana, the most common legal hunting methods are:
1. Motorized Hunt -- Here the hunters ride to a prairie dog town and use the vehicle as a shooting platform. The vehicles range from ATVs to 4X4 trucks and Jeeps. We saw one outfitter who had mounted a shooting table and a couple of stools in the bed of a pickup truck. The hunters would shoot from these positions and the guide would continue to position the truck so the hunters would have many shooting opportunities.
2. Walking Hunt – First, some special equipment is needed – shooting sticks, snake boots, and a portable stool. In this case the hunter walks to an active dog town and sets up his stool and shoots from the setting position using the shooting sticks to steady his hold. This mobile hunt continues by always moving to more productive areas.
3. Fixed Base Hunt – More special equipment is needed – shooting bench, rifle rest and or sand bags, a chair or stool, spotting scope or binoculars. Once this equipment is set up one can expect the shots to be longer than the two previous methods because the dogs will have been disturbed by the shooting and the barking of other dogs. Pictured below is the Do-All Bullet Bench that comes with a carrying case and sells for about $140.00
We decided that we would try all three methods of hunting for this elusive and crafty animal. We were prepared to shoot at very small targets at ranges from 50 to 300 yards. So we packed the following items in Ron’s pickup:
Rifles by make were: Browning, Remington, Cooper, Sako, Kimber, CZ, & Ruger.
The calibers were: 22 rimfire, .204 Ruger, .221 Remington Fireball, .222 Remington,
. 22-250 Remington and the .223 Remington.
The other equipment included shooting benches, chairs, shooting sticks, stools, snake boots, and plenty of ammo that ranged from 32 grain V MAX to 55 grain HP. We also packed our lunches and a cooler with water and some soft drinks.
Once packed, we headed out to meet our first rancher who is a real cowboy ranching over some 26 sections of deeded property. He also has the use of another 126 sections on which to graze his cattle. This is a very large cattle ranch that also accommodates many game animals to include deer, antelope, grouse, mountain lion, and the little critter, the prairie dog who pock marks the grazing land that the cattle need and enjoy.
Upon meeting this rancher we talked about many interesting things. One topic was the hunting public. According to him, about 80% of the hunters are true sportsmen who obey the rules and honor the game and protect the property on which they are invited to hunt. The other 20% are useless. Here I cleaned up the wording for this report. They abuse almost every element of the sportsman’s code of ethics, either knowingly or through ignorance or neglect.
I made the comment that I had noticed on the drive out that the road signs were used for target practice. His response was that was the least of the problems that the ranchers face. He then told us of two experiences that he had, each emphasizing this position.
Once an attorney and his young son showed up at this ranch, with an antelope tag, a new Browning rifle with scope and wanted to hunt his ranch under the provisions of The Block Management Program. This program is a cooperative agreement between private landowners, public land agencies, and the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) to provide free public hunting opportunities on private lands.
While checking in with the rancher and obtaining a map and directions to the area he and his son could hunt he asked the rancher if he could help him with his new gun about which he knew very little if anything. He said that the gun shop mounted the scope for him, but did not show him how to load the gun. Could the rancher help him get it loaded? The quick thinking rancher looked at the gun and then told the attorney that there was a fellow in town that knew all about that kind of gun and he would be the one to show him how to load the gun and safely shoot it. The attorney and son left in search of this individual and never again returned to this ranch to hunt. As it turned out, the person to whom the attorney was referred was the Director of Safety for this hunting area.
A second story was about a man from Michigan who showed up to hunt antelope. The rancher had been working cattle in the area where he was sending this hunter, so he knew of the group of 11 antelope that ranged that area. He sent the man up to that pasture and when the man finished hunting that day, the rancher asked if he got his antelope. The hunter replied that he did not see any antelope, but did see 11 white belly coyotes.
So hunters, we have to do better than that. We do not need to shoot the road signs. Nor do we need to hunt with rifles or equipment with which we are not familiar creating an unsafe situation. As a minimum, we should be able to identify the game that we are pursuing and be prepared to care for the game once collected. Those are just basic minimums that every hunter should have deeply engrained in his hunting philosophy and practices.
Now the hunt was on. One would think by the enthusiasm displayed that these three old colonels were now young lieutenants off on a mission of great import. The first method we used was the Mobilized Hunt, using Ron’s pickup as the vehicle of choice. Ron would position us so we could establish a firm rest off of the truck. Some positions were established by resting on the hood. The open doors, windows, and the roof also made for good shooting positions. We would ride until we found a likely target and give it a try. Ron was most patient with us as we tried these demanding shots. He would then take his turn and there was never any doubt at to the results. His hits were often so solid that the dog was literally blown into the air some 4 or 5 feet. All of his shots were most solid from his .221 Remington Fireball and .204 Ruger caliber rifles, Coopers, Remington and CZ.
That afternoon we decided to do a Walking Hunt. Each of us took a different sector and would shoot there until the dogs would no longer cooperate. Then we would move a few hundred yards to a new location and continue the hunt. This is perhaps to most productive hunting technique that we used.
The following days we incorporated all three hunting techniques, depending on how the towns were set up and the area needed to be covered. So we had four very productive days of hunting and seeing the beautiful country. We also got to meet many wonderful sincere folks with whom we had the opportunity to share some experiences.
We also took this opportunity to visit the more popular tourist places and to look around the area. Montana in the month of May is truly a sight to see. As I said, the weather was most accommodating and mild, ranging from 45 to 80 degrees daily with some wind.
After watching the weather forecast for what would have been the fifth day of hunting in Montana we decided that the rain had made the decision for us to depart on that fifth day. So we headed south to Denver. We were in Wyoming when we ran into a section of highway that was literally covered with dead prairie dogs that had met their demise by fast moving vehicles. So we thought this should be a good place to hunt, there was evidence that the dog population was vast. Accordingly, we quickly located the local sporting good store where we introduced ourselves and expressed an interest in hunting. Those folks were also very polite and accommodating. Before we knew it we were on our way to hunt on state owned land and no paper work requirements had to be met. The only rule that I remember was that when shooting, we had to have one foot on the ground. After a few hours of hunting this area we headed out for Denver, arriving about midnight.
The next day while traveling the back roads and off of the beaten path we discovered some rather large prairie dog towns in Colorado. So we stopped there and asked the rancher for permission to hunt this property. We were again greeted with open arms and given permission to shoot all we wanted to. In Colorado, a nonresident hunter must have a license to hunt prairie dogs. A one-day temporary nonresident license costs $11.00. In order to get a license there is a toll free telephone number that will connect you to an agent in Kentucky who will sell you the required license and also provide a confirmation number that can be used to hunt that day. So once that was completed the hunting began. After about three hours of shooting we departed for Amarillo, arriving there about midnight.
The trip continued through Oklahoma and the northern part of Texas as we made our way back to San Antonio. While we did not pull the trigger in three of the listed states, we did a lot of hunting looking for places to accommodate future hunts. We took many notes of likely hunting places and started making plans for another venture that provides much action, challenging shots, and a chance to meet some mighty fine folks.
So we thank all of our hosts from New Mexico to Montana and especially Ron for making such a fine hunt available to us and giving us an opportunity to enjoy much of the state of Montana.
In conclusion, we discussed many issues while hunting. One such issue was “What would be the characteristics of the ideal rifle to take on a hunt of this nature?” Here is what I believe that we concluded, the rifle should be:
1. Light enough to be carried without wearing the hunter out.
2. The recoil should be minimum so the shooter can follow the shot to its conclusion.
3. The energy should be sufficient to deliver an impacting blow.
4. It should be an elegant, aesthetic and ergonomically designed firearm.
5. Single shot is adequate, but not required.
6. Scope – variable 4x14 or fixed 12 power with a dot reticle.
7. Barrel length of 22 inches is adequate.
8. Calibers: This is dangerous territory, but try either the .204 Ruger or the .221 Remington Fireball.
As a closing item, Ron and his wife Ilah have been doing a great deal of community work where Ron was born and raised, on the banks of the Yellowstone River. One such project was to build picnic benches along the riverbank. They have completed several of these sites and dedicated each of them as memorials. The following picture is of the plaque from one of those structures. This very peaceful, warm and charming structure is dedicated to their son who was killed in a Blackhawk helicopter accident in 1987 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
I had the pleasure of knowing and hunting with Jeff in Carlisle. He was indeed a very fine young man, a few years older than my son and hunting buddy Ed. He is surely missed. Sometimes, life is just not fair.
A Sportman’s Target?
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Hunting in MT, WY, CO, NM, OK, & TX
