Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: Nemo on October 15, 2016, 09:27:04 PM
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Hey guys, I'm a relatively new hunter in my second season. This weekend my dad has asked me to take him out with me and my dogs and I wanted to try something new with him- we haven't had a chance to do Chukar yet. I am coming from the Sound and have heard there is not-terrible chukar hunting around the Yakima. Can anyone point me in some really general directions? As in: Wenas? Oak Creek? I'm not asking for any honey-holes, just wondering which general area we should be looking in. Of course I would love to run into quail and grouse and even pheasant or waterfowl too if we had a chance but I really thought some chukar might be fun. We're both in decent shape and can handle a workout.
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Look for rimrocks, sagebrush and cheat grass. Any ridge around Yakima with a combination of these three things will have chukars on it. Find water and fall green up shoots and you're in business.
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Pheasant doesn't open for another week, unless you plan on hunting the reservation. That opened today but requires a different license.
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Ran into a big covey of them up above mud lake this morning.
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Thanks for the tips guys. I meant a week from today actually, so I have a little time to make a game plan. I'm not too familiar with the river area itself, mostly up in the hills shooting duskies and ruffs. It's a long drive for us anywhere out there and while we don't mind burning boots I'm hoping we can start off somewhere where we at least have a chance rather than ending up in the totally wrong type of country.
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I haven't been hunting in the Yakima area, but as of late I've been finding most of my birds at the mid level of the ridges. If you divided a slope into thirds, I've had my best luck in the middle third. Look for grassy saddles and also in the basins below the saddles.
Edit: Typically, I will start at the bottom and I will go right up the spine of the main ridge, or else the spine of a side ridge and work up that until I hit the main ridge. Once on the spine of the ridge, I hunt back and forth (my dog works both sides very well) and make a loop back to the truck. If I hear birds below me in the cliffs I will work my way down into them.
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Thanks for the tips guys. I meant a week from today actually, so I have a little time to make a game plan. I'm not too familiar with the river area itself, mostly up in the hills shooting duskies and ruffs. It's a long drive for us anywhere out there and while we don't mind burning boots I'm hoping we can start off somewhere where we at least have a chance rather than ending up in the totally wrong type of country.
Amazing that people not willing to put in time and expenses and want handouts :dunno:
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Thanks for the tips guys. I meant a week from today actually, so I have a little time to make a game plan. I'm not too familiar with the river area itself, mostly up in the hills shooting duskies and ruffs. It's a long drive for us anywhere out there and while we don't mind burning boots I'm hoping we can start off somewhere where we at least have a chance rather than ending up in the totally wrong type of country.
Amazing that people not willing to put in time and expenses and want handouts :dunno:
Thanks for everyone willing to give a hunter a new tip! Hopefully we'll end up somewhere with some potential, everything so far has been really helpful.
No shortage of haters though! If you look you might see me saying I don't mind putting in effort, but have never hunted this animal, am new to hunting in general, and don't know the terrain or area well. It's nice to know that some of us are still willing to give each other pointers- otherwise what is a forum like this for except to spend your time trolling and telling people they shouldn't ask for help? Is your personal public-land honeyhole so rich and prosperous you can't stand to have someone else tell me what kind of vegetation to hike through because that's cheating? I hardly call that a handout, I call it asking more experienced hunters for some wisdom.
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Don't mind the haters. There are TONS on this site when people ask for help. Funny enough, if you look through their post histories they asked for help at some point too. Unfortunately the folks who like to shame people for asking advice are usually pretty vocal. SMH.
Anyway, welcome. Wish I had advice, but I'm new to hunting, struggling to get my feet and not be overcome by frustration too.
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If buy bear paws maps and post them on here to help people not willing to put in time effort and money and never contribute info on here would that be ok?
Would those that criticize my actions be haters?
How about sharing your deer waterfowl and elk spots on here? :dunno:
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I've had many good bird and water fowls ruined by trying to help people too lazy to spend the time money for gas
I find the ones that want the handouts usually bring all their friends ruin a spot quickly
If you had any experiencing upland hunting you would realize an area can be ruined quickly by too much pressure. The clueless come in and shoot every bird they see instead of letting some the females live.
I've been helping folks with hunting homing and fishing a spots 9 years on here Nemo
How many have you helped :dunno:
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Because nobody asked you for your spot. And rather than ignore the thread and keep your opinion to yourself, you decided to make a self-righteous and unhelpful comment. Go back to your post history, you'll see that you've asked for advice before too, right after joining. How is this any different?
Re-read the question. They're asking on what types of terrain to look for, not a handout.
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Also, a new hunter may not know that there are bearpaw maps to buy. Don't assume.
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I've had many good bird and water fowls ruined by trying to help people too lazy to spend the time money for gas
I find the ones that want the handouts usually bring all their friends ruin a spot quickly
If you had any experiencing upland hunting you would realize an area can be ruined quickly by too much pressure. The clueless come in and shoot every bird they see instead of letting some the females live.
I've been helping folks with hunting homing and fishing a spots 9 years on here Nemo
How many have you helped :dunno:
He was given good general information to his first request but not good enough
What's the problem
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how much upland hunting do you do Jenna?
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If buy bear paws maps and post them on here to help people not willing to put in time effort and money and never contribute info on here would that be ok?
Would those that criticize my actions be haters?
How about sharing your deer waterfowl and elk spots on here? :dunno:
I've had many good bird and water fowls ruined by trying to help people to lazy to spend the time money for gas to scout
I find the ones that want the handouts usually bring all their friends ruin a spot
I've been helping folks with hunting homing and fishing a spots 9 years nemo
How many have you helped :dunno:
The "spots" I asked about comprise several hundred thousand acres, and I was asking if anyone knew which of these are better terrain for this specific bird. You may have all the time in the world to scour the message board and rip on people for asking extremely general advice. I work for a living and don't live down the block and was wondering which wildlife area might be better. Far cry from a fishing hole or a deer spot. Keep in mind though, friend: this is all land we all own together. We all have access to it and hunting rights based mostly on whether people think hunters are jerks. Something to think about maybe.
I've been reading this board for a couple years and it's always a shame when one person decides to make it about something like this. I understand being burned; I hardly see how me being in one 70,000 acre wildlife area over another for one whole day is going to burn you. Last I checked Chukar in a sub-prime area of a sub-prime Chukar state isn't exactly a big buck sweet spot. Your ID says you live on the eastside, so I do wonder if you burn as much gas or as many hours getting to upland birds as I do, or if you really taught yourself from scratch like I have or had a dad, uncle, brother or friend to help you- the community system which makes up the best aspects of hunting- to turn around and tell a stranger not to ask for help. For what it's worth I'm always happy to tell people where I've had success to at least the scale of a 10,000 acre area, and if I wasn't I probably wouldn't need to bitch about them asking. Thanks for your opinion- if you want some tips on waterfowl or blacktail out this way I'm happy to help.
Thanks, Jennabug. If you're into small game and looking for a group let me know. I live out west but head over the passes often and my friends and I are always happy for new blood.
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Oak creek and lt Murray wildlife areas. They like rock out croppings as well as rolling hills. I've even seen them in areas on clemans that had a fair amount of timber. I don't shoot them very often because I'm usually deer hunting when I'm in that kind of country but they are very fun to hunt if you can get into them. They are also pretty tough in my opinion and I'd use lead 6's or even steel 4's.
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Oak creek and lt Murray wildlife areas. They like rock out croppings as well as rolling hills. I've even seen them in areas on clemans that had a fair amount of timber. I don't shoot them very often because I'm usually deer hunting when I'm in that kind of country but they are very fun to hunt if you can get into them. They are also pretty tough in my opinion and I'd use lead 6's or even steel 4's.
Thanks! I've been around LT Murray quite a bit lately and taken grouse but never ran into chukar, I'm wondering if it's just because I've been up in the timber instead of rock faces or basins. I picked up some Prairie Storm 6s- I usually shoot a little bit bigger than that, 5s or 4s, but several people have recommended 6s.
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Thanks, Jennabug. If you're into small game and looking for a group let me know. I love out west but head over the passes often and my friends and I are always happy for new blood.
You're welcome Nemo. I kinda felt bad for threadjacking, but I see this a lot, and as a new hunter it pisses me off. I'm learning from the ground up, which has been reading as much as possible, listening to podcasts, and scouting when I have enough time off work and life responsibilities. Then I see other new hunters ask for general advice, where to find hunting clubs/classes etc and either get ignored or ... (above)... anyway, you nailed it in your reply.
This is my first year hunting, though I completed the hunters education requirement last year, I'm trying to keep my focus limited. It's hard to do when seeing so many awesome successes on the forum to not think "I want to do it all", but I honestly don't have the time and money. I tried a few weekends of turkey hunting public land, with no success yet, and may continue in late season after the big game seasons are over. My husband and I are both from the Yakima area, not far from Ellensburg. We don't mind kicking around and burning boot leather. Maybe we could organize sometime for early November. I'll PM you later. :)
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He was given good general information to his first request but not good enough
ribka, I'm thinking you may have misunderstood. As I read it, he wasn't requesting more specific information. Just commenting that having a place to start (e.g. the information that was given, and he thanked them too!) was helpful.
To answer your other question, I haven't done any upland yet. I'm learning more before I start.
Again, I'm not saying you need to give up a spot. My comments are directed at "how" you replied. Perhaps the reason that new people on the forum ask for help then immediately go away is because they don't feel welcome. :bash: Only long time members get to ask for advice?
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Guess some folks got out of the wrong side of bed today. My experience with chukars has been that once you are able to identify good habitat you can find birds just about anywhere, just like a plethora of other species.
Pay attention to subtle nuances in where you find birds (north or south aspect, etc)and look for patterns over time. Right away this year I noticed we are finding birds much higher because of the amount of precipitation this year.
Best of luck on your hunt. Shoot me a PM if you have more questions.
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Nemo,
Ribka, Merkleman, Jaybird, and I also work for a living as well. Sometimes, I work over 100 hours a week and still find time to look for birds.
You need to get on wdfw and do some research. All the info you need is there. What you need to do is burn boot leather and spend money on gas.
You know the Indians searched for birds until they found them. They didn't have Internet.
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Oak creek and lt Murray wildlife areas. They like rock out croppings as well as rolling hills. I've even seen them in areas on clemans that had a fair amount of timber. I don't shoot them very often because I'm usually deer hunting when I'm in that kind of country but they are very fun to hunt if you can get into them. They are also pretty tough in my opinion and I'd use lead 6's or even steel 4's.
Thanks! I've been around LT Murray quite a bit lately and taken grouse but never ran into chukar, I'm wondering if it's just because I've been up in the timber instead of rock faces or basins. I picked up some Prairie Storm 6s- I usually shoot a little bit bigger than that, 5s or 4s, but several people have recommended 6s.
yep get out into more open faces. Also when you're out there moving and looking for them always keep your ears open. A lot of times I'll hear them them before I see them. Or you'll hear them and be able to pinpoint where they are better. In my experience big flocks always seem to flush far away but singles or pairs hold pretty tight. Break up the big flocks and smack them.
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Thanks JLS and Shooter, I'll let you guys know how we do. From some of the advice on here and my maps I'm starting to get a gameplan together, we'll see if it's any good. Thanks guys!
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Nemo,
Ribka, Merkleman, Jaybird, and I also work for a living as well. Sometimes, I work over 100 hours a week and still find time to look for birds.
You need to get on wdfw and do some research. All the info you need is there. What you need to do is burn boot leather and spend money on gas.
You know the Indians searched for birds until they found them. They didn't have Internet.
I work for a living? What's the internet? I hear that jaybird guy hunts chukar with his personal helicopter!! ;) :P :P
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If buy bear paws maps and post them on here to help people not willing to put in time effort and money and never contribute info on here would that be ok?
Would those that criticize my actions be haters?
How about sharing your deer waterfowl and elk spots on here? :dunno:
I've had many good bird and water fowls ruined by trying to help people to lazy to spend the time money for gas to scout
I find the ones that want the handouts usually bring all their friends ruin a spot
I've been helping folks with hunting homing and fishing a spots 9 years nemo
How many have you helped :dunno:
I work for a living
I'm still laughing out loud :chuckle:.
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Ok. I am going to break all rules and give up a honey hole. Chukar hunting in Afghanistan! If you want the GPS coordinates, PM me and I will share them. But I would recommend more than a shotgun! :yike:
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For a new Chukar hunter I would recommend the Firing center if it is open right now. Nice roads and you can find some birds along the river and close to the I90 corridor.
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If I buy one of bear paw's maps and post them on here to help people not willing to put in time effort and money and never contribute info on here would that be ok?
Would those that criticize my actions be haters?
How about sharing your deer waterfowl and elk spots on here? :dunno:
I've had many good bird and water fowls ruined by trying to help people to lazy to spend the time money for gas to scout
I find the ones that want the handouts usually bring all their friends ruin a spot
I've been helping folks with hunting homing and fishing a spots 9 years nemo
How many have you helped :dunno:
I work for a living
I'm still laughing out loud :chuckle:.
I have a job ergo I cannot scout
Ill have to use that one :chuckle:
and the roads on the firing center are good :tup:
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I see that some folks haven't escaped the junior high "dogpile" mentality. Sad.
Back to the OP. You might very well find grouse in the same spots as chukars. I have found blue grouse very close to chukars.
Anywhere in the Wenas is a good place to start out. Look at all of the ridges between Eburg and Selah. That is what good chukar habitat looks like. Extrapolate this to the Wenas and go for a hike.
Also, 5 shot is fine for partridge in general. I shoot #6s out of a 16 gauge now, but in the past I pretty much shot #5s out of my 12 gauge for everything.
Take lots of water for the dogs, and make sure you are giving them breaks on a regular basis. It's really easy to burn out a dog way too fast in that type of country. If you rest them and give them plenty of water, you'll have a lot more dog on your hunt.
Also, do a search on the internet, there are some good chukar blogs out there that will give you lots of information. Other than the steepness of the terrain, you'll notice that good chukar habitat in the Great Basin looks strikingly similar to good habitat in the Columbia Basin.
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Take lots of water for the dogs, and make sure you are giving them breaks on a regular basis. It's really easy to burn out a dog way too fast in that type of country. If you rest them and give them plenty of water, you'll have a lot more dog on your hunt.
+1
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The responses to this thread are
a little a lot ridiculous. If they keep up I'll go ahead and clean it up and do some nuking. Let's not go there.
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JLS mentioned a couple terrain features to look for which is super helpful but if a person doesn't know what Rimrock is its sort of another thing to chase. Or cheat grass to Eastside it's a known pain in the dogs ears to wets ideas not as much.
Sometimes we might think we are spoon feeding when really we are handing over a bunch of time googling terminology.
So in that vein is Rimrock the same as basalt fields?
I am not much help I used to see chucks back in the 90's all around the Eburg-yak hills. My last stint in eburg I saw one chuck in 4 years.
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Just want to say one more time thanks to everyone actually offering some tips. This is all useful and between this, google earth, my HuntX maps, and talking to the local WDFW station there I think I've got enough for a start. Again, I really do appreciate it.
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The responses to this thread are a little a lot ridiculous. If they keep up I'll go ahead and clean it up and do some nuking. Let's not go there.
Pm sent
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JLS mentioned a couple terrain features to look for which is super helpful but if a person doesn't know what Rimrock is its sort of another thing to chase. Or cheat grass to Eastside it's a known pain in the dogs ears to wets ideas not as much.
Sometimes we might think we are spoon feeding when really we are handing over a bunch of time googling terminology.
So in that vein is Rimrock the same as basalt fields?
I am not much help I used to see chucks back in the 90's all around the Eburg-yak hills. My last stint in eburg I saw one chuck in 4 years.
Good point run, and a good reminder that what seems intuitive to some is confusing as heck to others. Yes and no to your question. In the Wenas area you are indeed looking for basalt fields, columns and cliffs. In other areas they may be granite escarpments. The important thing to know is that chukars like to roost on rock bluffs and cliffs.
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Thanks for that bit. That information is super helpful.
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Finding an area that holds chukars can be a time consuming task, but is a rewarding experience if you have the right frame of mind. Two of the best ways I know of are to scout with your ears, and to hunt after an early snow when tracks are visible. Chukars are vocal birds and their “chuk chuk chuk” can often be heard from a distance in open country. (After you’ve hunted them all day to no avail, you will understand they’re actually laughing at your folly of trying to get in range.)
http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/upland_birds/chukar.html
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/chukar
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The WDFW website is a tremendous scouting tool. According to harvest data on that website, Yakima, Asotin and Chelan counties are on average the top three counties for chukar harvest; Douglas, Kittitas and Okanogan counties do very well, too. Match those harvest figures with the described habitat for chukars with the WDFW Public Hunting Areas on the website and other public land and...GOLLY, I think I'll try hunting there!
I've used this match game for years with other species and it seems to work fairly well.
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"In today's instant gratification society, more and more pressure revolves around success...."
words to live by :tup:
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"In today's instant gratification society, more and more pressure revolves around success...."
words to live by :tup:
Other words to live by:
"Don't fall into the trap"
:tup:
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"In today's instant gratification society, more and more pressure revolves around success...."
words to live by :tup:
Other words to live by:
"Don't fall into the trap"
:tup:Nuke the topic!
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"In today's instant gratification society, more and more pressure revolves around success...."
words to live by :tup:
Other words to live by:
"Don't fall into the trap"
:tup:
Nuke the topic!
Why would I do that?
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Best advice I can give you about chukar hunting is more about your dog's and less about terrain. Make sure your dog's are in good shape, this includes their pads. Keep them trained all year and have fun. My first season of chukar hunting I didn't get a single bird and the only reason I get them now is because of my dogs. I don't find them the dogs do.
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Jaybird, stop giving away all your secrets! Everyone else is... :chuckle:
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Google is your friend. Here is an article. Yep....its outdated by years.....but it may give you some starting off points to take further.
http://nwsportsmanmag.com/headlines/2012-washington-upland-bird-forecast/
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Wow. Even the moderators are involved now.
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This one has a catchy name..........
http://www.chukartalk.com/where.html
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Take first aid for your dog's. Exspect major pad issues. And don't think you can just carry your dog out. Water bring 40 Oz just for the dog.
Exspect to walk 10 to 15 miles or how every long your dog last.
Be extremely careful with your dog around cliffs. It it like to chase Birds chukar's have lead a few off cliffs. Take a leash.b
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Wow. Even the moderators are involved now.
Tagging along, this one and few others have everyone's attention, maybe it's the moon.
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Wow. Even the moderators are involved now.
Dale must have forgotten to tell us when we signed our contracts that we couldn't participate in threads.
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Wow. Even the moderators are involved now.
Dale must have forgotten to tell us when we signed our contracts that we couldn't participate in threads.
You got a contract? After you signed did you get a paycheck? I haven't received a contract or paycheck?
"I'm just here so I don't get fined."
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Wow. Even the moderators are involved now.
Dale must have forgotten to tell us when we signed our contracts that we couldn't participate in threads.
You got a contract? After you signed did you get a paycheck? I haven't received a contract or paycheck?
"I'm just here so I don't get fined."
2 words.
Red bubbles
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Me and my uncles use to do a lot of chukar hunting. Killed a lot of birds. I would not even think about sending someone and there dog into that god forbidden country. Maybe try grouse hunting? :hello:
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Wow. Even the moderators are involved now.
Dale must have forgotten to tell us when we signed our contracts that we couldn't participate in threads.
You got a contract? After you signed did you get a paycheck? I haven't received a contract or paycheck?
"I'm just here so I don't get fined."
[/quote. Ah, So Mr. Deney does own the site. Hmmm...
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Nemo,
I may have written this on this board before. I shot my first chukar in November of 1974. I was all of 22 years old. It was one of the finest things I ever did; as I have had more fun chasing them since then. I have worn out countless pairs of boots and hunted with some very fine dogs. It has been nothing but sheer joy to hunt them. I love the desolate country they live in and the solitude I find while chasing them. In short that first bird turned me into an addict. Good luck and take care. My goal is to be chasing them long into the next two decades. Lee
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Nemo,
I may have written this on this board before. I shot my first chukar in November of 1974. I was all of 22 years old. It was one of the finest things I ever did; as I have had more fun chasing them since then. I have worn out countless pairs of boots and hunted with some very fine dogs. It has been nothing but sheer joy to hunt them. I love the desolate country they live in and the solitude I find while chasing them. In short that first bird turned me into an addict. Good luck and take care. My goal is to be chasing them long into the next two decades. Lee
Hey thanks Lee. I'm really looking forward to the weekend wth my dad and my dogs. I'm not setting any expectations- I have heard legends of how hard these birds are to hit even if I find them. Omak is a really pretty area, too. My girlfriend's family is there so we've spent a lot of time out that way but I haven't had the pleasure of hunting the area myself. Thanks for the words and happy hunting.
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I run into chukars every year while hunting deer. I've seen them many times while quail & pheasant hunting. My main problem is not having the time to hunt them. The more time spent hunting in general , the more one starts figuring out where certain species tend to be, and learning about different parts of the state. Good luck. I'm hoping to get out there myself this year .