prairie dog AR

does anybody hunt prairie dogs with a ar 5.56 and what scope/ ammo

I would like like some pros/cons

I have 2 Remington R15's, VTR 22in. fluted barrels in 223, Zeiss 4.5X14 Z 1000 scopes.
I shoot Hornady PSP 56gr. The ammo shoots really well in my guns. I have lula loader and I can load my 10 twenty round clips at home and at night in motel.
Most of the shots we take are around 300yds. and I do not hit every shot but I sure enjoy shooting at them. We normally hunt Fri. afternoon, Sat.morning and Sat. afternoon until dark, and Sun. morning, then we leave to come home. Most of the time I shoot around 400 rounds of ammo, I have shot more 1 time.

I use a Rock River Arms Varmint upper with a 20" varmint barrel for prairie dogs. The only downside that I see is you can ruin the fun for your shooting parter by shooting the dogs too fast. Particularly when multiple prairie dogs are near one another. I have killed up to 4 before the the last knew what was happening. You absolutely cannot do that with a bolt gun. Pair the varmint upper with good aftermarket trigger and you have a very economical 3/4 MOA or better rifle. Longest shot to date was laser measured at just over 400 yards. Most of the shooting that I have done has been in the mountains of New Mexico and the shots are at a more reasonable distance than what others have stated they do on the prairies.

For ammo, I cannot beat the reloads from Orr Tactical in Needville Tx. Orr loads their own ammo and they shoot better than what I have been able to accomplish in bulk on a single stage press. From them, I use the Hornady V-MAX in 55 grain. For my hand loads, I was using Nosler Varmageddon 55grain.

Do not skimp on your optics. You will be looking through your scope for hours. Lack of clarity or distortions at high magnification will be a problem. The first year, I used a Nikon 223 4X18X40mm and did ok. Before this years, hunt I used a Burris Veracity 4X20-50mm. The clarity was much better on the Burris and my eyes felt it. For the distances I was shooting, the 20 power was overkill and detrimental. You want/need to see the shot hit, and even with the 223 and heavy weight rifle/scope combo; many times I would loose the dog from the scope at the shot at 20 power.

Hope this helps. I am by far an expert, but do have some experience in what you are wanting to do.

down side is wind at long distance, I prefer something with heavier bullets

thanks for the detailed reply--very helpful

Sounds like good excuse to get a 224 Valkyrie.

MO