New hunter looking for Chukar

[Nemo]

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?

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

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. 

[270Shooter]

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.

[Nemo]

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. 

[jennabug]

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.

[jennabug]

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.     Only long time members get to ask for advice? 

[JLS]

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.

[Naches Sportsman]

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.

[270Shooter]

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.

[Nemo]

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!

[merkelman]

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!!

[Naches Sportsman]

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?

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

I work for a living

I'm still laughing out loud  .

[merkelman]

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!

[Datoneer]

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.

[ribka]

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?

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

I work for a living

I'm still laughing out loud  .

I have a job ergo I cannot scout

Ill have to use that one

and the roads on the firing center are good

[JLS]

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.