Chukar

[shootanfish]

Got up early to get the dog on some birds. Rain the first hour got soaked
First thing the dog kicked up was a muley.  Good thing the pup comes with E-Brakes.
Two miles in and nothing, had to go to work so back to the truck we go. Just as I
see my truck the dog slams into point 40 yards down the rocks. I hustle to him just as four Chukar
flush. I make two terrible shots hitting one on the second shot. Pup retrieves back to hand then
broke off around the corner of the rocks and 30 yards away retrieves a second bird I watched fly
off with the others, second bird only had a busted leg. Kudos for the pup, this makes up for chasing deer.
Hope other got shots of too.

[fluentvoo]

Just got home.

Chukar numbers look real good. Hunted from 730 am till 4pm, lotsa shooting. While popping some ibuprofin, I was thinking about making a top ten list for chukar hunters. Feel free to add anything i forgot.
Here goes:

1- Yes you have to go up there.
2- Yes you have to go down there.
3- Shortly after flight, chukars go nearly supersonic on the way down.
4- It is WAY FARTHER THAN YOU THINK TO THE RIDGE THEY FLEW OVER.
5- Pack as light as possible. As the day moves on, those 20 guage shells even feel heavy.
6- Don't ever break in new boots on a chukar hunt. NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
7- Few rocks are stable on the mountainsides.
8- You cannot carry enough water.
9- Don't take an expensive shotgun that you dont want dinged up.
10- If you walked up 3000+ feet in the morning, it is EXPONENTIALLY harder to walk down 8 hours and miles later.

[chkr hntr]

Heard them as they were moving away but didn't see any. I think all the muzzle loaders had them spooked. Lot's of guys out, but only saw one other party bird hunting. Only saw one quail, which I hit on a left to right, usually my worst shot but got a nice solid hit. Other than that we put up a jack rabbit and saw a big bull snake. Fun to get out though!