I've hunted prairie dogs for years, since I was old enough to carry a gun. I started out using a Daisy .177 caiber pellet gun. Worked pretty well on the year's first crop of new babies. But, I found getting closer to any of the larger p dogs to be quite challenging, plus a pellet gun would not have done much good on a full grown dog anyways. Since then I've used a .22 LR, .22WMR, and .22 Hornet. All do a fine job of putting an end to p dogs but a lack a little bit of punch on the downrange side. Like most other animals, once they have been shot at a couple of times they become very shy. Thus, those that do show their face tend to be in the 200-350 yard range. My current setup, a HOWA M1500 chambered in .223 with a Bushnell Elite 3200 5-15X50AO scope and equipped with Harris bi-pods allows for clean kills with 40gr. CT Ballistic Silvertips at well over 200 yards. The only advice I can give you is to find a good, comfortable place to sit, be still, watch the wind, have a rock solid rest for those long shots, and bring lots of ammo. Good luck and good huntin.