Boom Towns

How to find the Midwest's best prairie dog shooting.
Outdoor Life Online Editor

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North Dakota
Dog Density: There are 200,000 animals on 20,000 acres* of public and private land in western North Dakota.

Hot spots: South- central North Dakota and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation; southwestern part of the state near Dickinson and Watford.

Contact: For shooting opportunities in the southwest, call the Medora Ranger District office in Dickinson (701-225-5151) or the McKenzie Ranger District office in Watford (701-842-2393). For Standing Rock Reservation, call 701-854-7236.

**South Dakota **
**Dog Density: **No estimate for private land. Public land estimated at 10,000 animals on 1,000 acres.

Hot spots: Southwestern South Dakota, near the town of Wall; around the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands on the Nebraska border.

Contact: To find private landowners in southwestern South Dakota who welcome hunters, contact the Wall Ranger District office (605-279-2125) or the Wall Chamber of Commerce (605-279-2665).

Nebraska
**Dog Density: **1.4 million dogs on 137,000 acres

Hot spots: Custer and Lincoln counties in central Nebraska; Chase and Dundy counties west of McCook in the southwest; Panhandle counties of Box Butte, Scotts Bluff, Morrill, Cheyenne and Deuel.

**Contact: **Call the Chamber of Commerce offices in the above counties for private landowners who offer access to prairie dog hunters.

Oklahoma
Dog Density: 320,000 dogs on 32,000 acres

**Hot spots: **Cimarron, Texas and Beaver counties

Contact: For information on private lands where prairie dog hunters are welcome, contact the Cimarron County Chamber of Commerce (580-554-3344), Guymon Chamber of Commerce (580-338-3376), Beaver County Chamber of Commerce (580-625-4726), Hooker Chamber of Commerce (580-652-2809) or Laverne Chamber of Commerce (580-921-3612).

*Biologists tabulate populations based on the combined acreage of prairie dog towns. On average, 10 prairie dogs occupy one square acre.