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WomenHunters Prairie Dog Hunt, Vannoy Ranch Wyoming
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 An invitation to WomenHunter club members to shoot Prairie Dogs for free was announced by Cynthia Vannoy (WH member) on her Claremont, Wyoming Ranch. Several women considered it, but Laura Snyder (and her husband Bill) from Denver and Kathleen Kalina from Minneapolis were the only ones able to attend on June 22-24, 2007.
The Vannoy ranch was homesteaded first by Cynthia’s grandfather in 1917 and is now operated by her Mother Lorraine, Cynthia and soon her daughter. It was great to see a multi-generational ranch still operating since the early homesteading.
Claremont, Wyoming, (population 212), is 30 minutes from the tourist town of Buffalo nestled at the foothills of the snow covered Big Horn Mountains. Reservations are crucial and we were lucky to get Motel 6 reservations.
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| Lorraine Vannoy (left) and Cynthia Vannoy (right) WomenHunters members. Clairmont, Wyoming. Cynthia is also a guide for antelope and mule deer. |
When we first arrived at the Vannoy ranch, it was the first time that we had met other WomenHunter club members for a hunt, so it was exciting. I was struck by the beauty of the green rolling hills and strong aroma of sage everywhere. Antelope ran through the hills past us where-ever we went on the 10,000 acre ranch. Cynthia guides hunts for antelope and mule deer here and it must be pretty easy to get your tag full.
Laura and Bill Snyder are veteran Prairie Dog hunters and were excited to see the dog towns in this area. I had not shot Prairie Dogs before so it was a new type of hunting for me. Cynthia brought us to a one of the populated dog towns that her mother was anxious to be rid of. They wanted to expand their livestock but the Prairie Dogs cause havoc with grazing land by consuming all the grass and making holes for livestock to fall in. I know what that is like, because I fell into one of the holes and hurt my knee.
Prairie Dog Hole
 Prairie Dogs are only found west of the Missouri River and are rodents who often carry bubonic plague, (yes the black plague that destroyed one third of Europe every hundred years). Humans cannot touch the carcasses since the plague can be passed to us. Birds, however eat the carcasses and not susceptible to the disease. Hawks and eagles lay in wait for food from when we leave after a good hunt. These little beasts multiply like their rat cousins and create what is called as dog towns with miles of tunnels. They consume nearby grasses like lawnmowers and rob livestock of grazing land. Some ranchers poison these rodents, but the poison can pass up the food chain, making shooting the best option.
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The holes are wide enough for three or four animals to come out at once, making the holes a real hazard for animals, trucks and people. Hundreds of holes in an area can make an area unsafe to livestock until the Prairie Dogs are gone.
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Varmint hunting for Prairie Dogs is an odd type of hunting. There is no camouflage clothes needed, no stalking, and no big rack to pose with after the kill.
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Author, Kathleen Kalina (WH member) standing next to a Prairie Dog that she killed. See the head sticking out of hole. The distance to the truck in background was the length of the shot with a 22-250. Not a big carcass or wall hanger.
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Here are the WomenHunters ready for battle with the popping, jumping, running Prairie Dog beast.
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| From Left: Lorraine Vannoy, Kathleen Kalina, Cynthia Vannoy, Laura Snyder. |
The hunt begins by setting up bench rest tables for the 35-300 yard shots. Binoculars and rifles with scopes are crucial. The heat and wind are tremendous factors. It was 99 degrees F by 10:00 a.m. on the first day. The wind was 15 mph by the afternoon, making it hard to control the drift of the bullets. Gusts of 20 mph made the shots at 200 yards drift to the left by 10 feet or more with a .223 or 22-250. We constantly had to compensate for this. A shade canopy was put up by Bill and Laura Snyder to deal with the hot sun.
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Wind meter set up by Laura Snyder gave us an idea of amount of wind and compensation to adjust for in order to hit the long shots.
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When we arrived at a new dog town, with multiple burrows all around, we could hear barking and see heads popping and staring at us. We knew this was a good spot to set up. Despite the fact that they could see us, the Prairie Dogs continued popping out of holes and eating grasses. After heavy shooting, they would move to another sector and we waited for them.
The .22 Ruger was good for shots at 35-50 yards if there was no wind. When the wind picked up, and the shots were over 50 yards, the only reliable weapon was the 22.-250 and .223. Both of these get very hot after 15 shots and must be cooled. Laura and Bill brought several .223 to trade off with the hot guns. I had a .22 Ruger and 22.-250 Remington 700. The .223 and 22-250 are bolt action and shoot one shot at a time. If the wind drifts your shot, you have to reload, wasting valuable seconds. The fun of the .22 Ruger is that if the first shot missed then it was possible to shoot a running Prairie Dog with multiple shots while compensating for wind. The small .22 bullet becomes useless in high wind and long shots.
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Close-up of Prairie Dog kill.
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Antelope are plentiful on the Vannoy Ranch |
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Laura Snyder is spotting with binoculars for the long shots for her husband Bill. Because of the recoil and narrow field of sight in the optics of the scopes, you don’t know if you hit the rodent in the long shots. Having a spotter lets you know if the bullet drifted to the right or left or hit.
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Left to Right WomenHunters shooting Prairie Dogs: Laura Snyder, Lorraine Vannoy (with Binoculars), Kathleen Kalina (in back standing with rifle), Cynthia Vannoy (right side of table).
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Laura Snyder (left) and Cynthia Vannoy (right). Daisy, Kathleen’s Springer in the background. She cheered us on with every shot. She had to be tied since she would have retrieved those plague ridden beasts.
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It may seem simple to sit at a table with a gun rest and shoot at these 12-inch rodents, but the distance, wind and popping up and down of these little beasts is quite a challenge. Bill Snyder estimates that a good shot with a lot of wind at 300 yards gets one out of five hits. No wind and shorter shots should get one kill for one bullet. The Prairie Dog has a sand bag for a hole that he ducks behind quickly. Just when you think that you hit him right on and then investigate, you will see the shot hit the raised sand right in front of him because the bullet dropped slightly due to distance. Sometimes aiming the crosshairs way above the animal was the only way to get a positive hit. If the wind changed direction or speed, then the crosshairs had be placed high and left.
This type of hunting is addicting, because once you think you got one, another pops out of the same hole and you just can’t stop until you’ve got them all. Twelve hours of shooting per day proves that the excitement is overwhelming. We enjoyed two days of constant shooting with other WomenHunters and we all learned something from each other. It was a great hunt and a lot of fun.
To contact Cynthia Vannoy for Prairie Dog, Mule deer and Antelope hunts: 307-461-0286
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