Hitting the upland hard this year for my dogs first full season.WE WANT QUAIL!

[GrampasGuns]

Very excited for the upcoming upland season. My dog is over a year now and showing a lot of promise and I will be able to show him his first full season. I want to get him on wild birds this year and will be starting from scratch. We went grouse hunting 3-4 times last year and i shot a few farmed pheasants over him also.  I have some good spots in mind but have very little experience with upland birds, I have been focusing on shooting ducks the last few seasons and now I want to focus on the dog and working him. He is my first gun dog and I want this to be a fun and successful season for him.

Any tips for a guy who wants to target quail and chukar?



Cheers

pic is of my gordon Hodgie on point on a wing I had in the bushes last summer. Cant wait to get him out on some wild ones!

[Forks]

Hwy 12 east of tri cities is a good region to start. Start getting permission if your after quail, they hang around houses/silos. Chukar are a whole different world.

[BiggLuke]

My tip is go before Pheasant opens.
Quail and huns are open then, for a couple weeks I think, and there are a lot less bird hunters.
A LOT LESS.
You would have huge areas to yourself. Perfect for a new dog.   

Places like sinlaheken release sight would be stellar in the early season.

[GrampasGuns]

Great info brothers. Much appreciated, cant wait to get out there with the dog!

[10Key]

For quail, central Wa is your best bet. TONS of public land and decent bird numbers. As has been said, chukar are a different animal and will require a BIT more work to find and hunt. As for when to start hunting, feel free to hit the mountains in the early season for grouse, but I would tend to hold out for a bit to chase quail. The hot weather of the early season sucks for dogs, you'll both have more fun when it cools off. Just my two cents

[Forks]

10 key brings up great points. Don't burn out in the early season, i'm most successful in nov.-dec.-jan. when most hunters are gone and a little snow pins birds in cover. Have fun.