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Author Topic: Best chukar hunting in WA?  (Read 23221 times)

Offline fethrduster

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Best chukar hunting in WA?
« on: January 28, 2012, 08:47:53 AM »
If you had to pick one area in WA with the best chukar hunting, which would it be?  The Grand Ronde area?  Omak area?  The Snake?  Just curious what you all think.

Offline high country

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2012, 09:29:17 AM »
Those are all good. The key is finding the birds in any one of those spots. Some guys will say any one of them suck and others will way they are great....its all about locating the birds in the habitat.

Offline Phantom Gobbler

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2012, 09:45:44 PM »
Those are all good. The key is finding the birds in any one of those spots. Some guys will say any one of them suck and others will way they are great....its all about locating the birds in the habitat.

I agree, I know areas in Central Washington that friends have taken limits from.  I have hunted the same areas at different times and gotten totally blanked.  The ole mountaintop sprinters can be totally maddening.  Keeps us going and trying to stay in good enough shape to still chase them.

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Offline fethrduster

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2012, 06:28:02 AM »
Those are all good. The key is finding the birds in any one of those spots. Some guys will say any one of them suck and others will way they are great....its all about locating the birds in the habitat.

I agree, I know areas in Central Washington that friends have taken limits from.  I have hunted the same areas at different times and gotten totally blanked.  The ole mountaintop sprinters can be totally maddening.  Keeps us going and trying to stay in good enough shape to still chase them.

That's been my experience too.  I go to Oregon and have 6-10 covey days, and I hunt here and get blanked.  So frustrating.  I'm going to keep at it though.  Just got a lift and new tires on my grand cherokee so I can explore some new areas this year.

Offline high country

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2012, 11:56:11 AM »
We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

Offline fethrduster

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2012, 05:57:19 AM »
We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

Good point.

Offline Stilly bay

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2012, 12:25:33 PM »
We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

 :yeah: like having a chopper drop you off at the top of the mountain so you can hunt down hill and really mess with the chukar's heads.

Im not sure how unorthodox you can get while chukar hunting ( maybe I can't think outside the box) but I read an article awhile back about a couple guys that hunted chukars with labs, but the labs would stay a good distance behind them (read downhill) and try to run the birds up towards the guns.

the few times I have pursued chukars I have been extremely lucky in finding them. like with all upland birds I try to keep water, weather, and shelter in mind for the areas I hunt-  I traded food for weather since I think (in my limited experience) wind, rain, and fog have a greater effect on the birds than their next meal.

and I wouldn't give up on a spot because it didn't produce the first time you hunt it, or even the second time.
"Love the dogs before loving the hunt; love the hunt for the dogs." - Ben O. Williams

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Offline BigGoonTuna

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2012, 05:04:03 PM »
We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.
do what i do:  pack a rifle, then you're sure to see a ton of those little buggers. :chuckle:
you can still get gas in heaven, and a drink in kingdom come,
in the meantime, i'll be cleaning my gun

Offline Cascade_fisher

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2012, 09:10:12 PM »
I like the Grande Ronde. Take a good pole so you can at least catch fish.
American by birth, Southern by the grace of God

Offline Chukar

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2012, 10:18:43 PM »
Straight up tie between North Central Oregon and Asotin County for these reasons:
Easy to find public ground
Lotsa space
Plenty of birds
Alas...
Never enough lung space, constant shortage of fresh legs, depleted stable of rested upland dogs and always a random and varied amount of accurate shooting makes Chukar hunting sweet and easy in one spot and further spaced and torturous in another.
Whereever you can get em is the best spot.

Offline T-Bone

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2012, 08:50:08 AM »
A good source for finding the "Best Chukar Hunting In WA" or the "Best Hunting For Whatever..." is the WDFW website's Harvest Statistics by specie. Match the best counties with the public hunting areas on the website and you can narrow your scouting (both internet and physical). For the record, Chelan is the #1 chukar county in the state followed by Asotin and Grant:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2009/reports/small_game.php

Tom
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Offline high country

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2012, 08:58:09 AM »
Holy crap, I just came home from my dads new place on the john day river and I will say that is the mecca of quail and chukar.

Here in wa, guys all use the same roads and trails to access chukar country. We tend to do things different.....cross a river in a raft, hunt the bottom if there is pressure at the top....kind of unorthodox to some, but it works for us. I have been meaning to try the black balloon tied on my vest to see if it helps. I have also learned this.....forget your plan, aim the dog into the wind and follow. Nothing seems to work better.

Offline fethrduster

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2012, 02:08:39 PM »
The John Day is mostly where I hunt too.  Chukars galore. Five hours from Tacoma, vs. over six to the Asotin area.  That said, I've yet to explore Chelan co./Omak area, which is about 4 hrs. Looks like it might be worth a trip.

Offline Fishnfowler

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #13 on: March 22, 2012, 10:03:58 AM »
I know a place or two, but those cards are held pretty close to the vest:


Offline doyourtime89

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Re: Best chukar hunting in WA?
« Reply #14 on: March 22, 2012, 12:04:49 PM »
That looks like a good mess of birds there...cool pic....I am going to try to get my son out there this year after some birds.  He has only hunted big game and loves shooting our shotguns and wants to bird hunt.  But we don't have a dog and I don't have much bird hunting experience or knowledge, so I have been trying to read and look around to see what I can do to get him out there and have a decent chance of getting some shots.

 


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