WHERE TO GO FOR CHUKAR?

[BIGINNER]

I JUST RECENTLY GOT INTO BIRD HUNTING,..  WELL  WHERE WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO GO OUT CHUKAR HUNTING AROUND TRI-CITIES AREA?  (PREFERABLY WEST OR NORTHWEST OF TRI-CITIES) PEOPLE TOLD ME THERES SOME CHUKAR AROUND THE VERNITA BRIDGE AREA, AND THE WAHLUKE AREA.  I WILL CHECK THOSE PLACES OUT THIS WEEK.  I LIVE IN BENTON-CITY SO THOSE PLACES ARN'T TOO FAR FOR ME.  WELL... ANY HELP WOULD BE APRECIATED.   

[Professor Chaos]

you should look east as opposed to NW.  Your best bet is going to be in the breaks of the snake.

[BIGINNER]

ok,  thanks,  i knknow a couple of places along the snake that look promosing.   does anyone knoe about places along the columbia?  around vernita bridge?  what about toward yakima?   i never really went out in that direction much, but now that i live in benton city those places are alot closer for me.
anyone ever hunt chukar in the rattlesnake hills?

[Professor Chaos]

vernita is surrounded by wildlife refuge and Hanford on the other side.  I wouldnt be suprised if there were a few birds above crab creek but the options around vernita proper are very limited.
again when it comes to the rattlesnake hills, you are dealing with some private ground and not ideal chukar country...
would you rather drive 30 min to hunt hard and not find birds, or rather drive an hour and be in birds... choice is pretty easy for me.
good luck

[BIGINNER]

lol  true....  How long does it usually take to get onto some birds?  This is gonna be my first season_ and my dogs first season.  So I don't really know what to expect. I know chukar territory is rough.  But i've been hiking 10-15 miles every weekend through really rough areas_ so I can take on "chukar land".  It's not finding birds that i'm worried about.

[Pathfinder101]

I am not aware of chukar around Rattlesnake.  As far as I know, the only places to reliable find Chukar are up in Okanogan, or down in the Grande Rhonde/Snake River breaks in the far Southeast corner.  I did see a flock of them above Asotin when I was pokin' around there last month.

[300magman]

grew up in Prosser,,,,, look out in the sage brush around Horse Heaven hills............should find pockets of them

also look around Bald Mountain up out of Yakima............. above  the GOLD CREEK store on hwy 410

[Pathfinder101]

grew up in Prosser,,,,, look out in the sage brush around Horse Heaven hills............should find pockets of them

also look around Bald Mountain up out of Yakima............. above  the GOLD CREEK store on hwy 410

hmmmmm....news to me....(good news )

[BIGINNER]

I SEE THEM AROUND BADGER MOUTAIN ALL THE TIME.  LOTS OF THEM.  (NO HUNTING ALLOWED)   

[fluentvoo]

I JUST RECENTLY GOT INTO BIRD HUNTING,..  WELL  WHERE WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO GO OUT CHUKAR HUNTING AROUND TRI-CITIES AREA?  (PREFERABLY WEST OR NORTHWEST OF TRI-CITIES) PEOPLE TOLD ME THERES SOME CHUKAR AROUND THE VERNITA BRIDGE AREA, AND THE WAHLUKE AREA.  I WILL CHECK THOSE PLACES OUT THIS WEEK.  I LIVE IN BENTON-CITY SO THOSE PLACES ARN'T TOO FAR FOR ME.  WELL... ANY HELP WOULD BE APRECIATED.   

If you are in Benton City, just go north to the saddle mountains. There are coveys there. If you don't mind walking 15 miles, then you'll get birds.
The columbia and snake also have chukar. Take LOTS of water if you are going Sat. Chukar hunting + heat = miserable without enough water.
If you are driving to the saddle mountains area, you can always drive a little further and go north of vantage and hunt em along the columbia. Guess it all depends on how much time you have and how much walking you wanna do to get to em.

[Professor Chaos]

If this is your first year hunting chukar you are in for a treat. You'll never find a better bird.  Nor a tougher one unless its the himalayan snow cock.

[fluentvoo]

I JUST RECENTLY GOT INTO BIRD HUNTING,..  WELL  WHERE WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO GO OUT CHUKAR HUNTING AROUND TRI-CITIES AREA?  (PREFERABLY WEST OR NORTHWEST OF TRI-CITIES) PEOPLE TOLD ME THERES SOME CHUKAR AROUND THE VERNITA BRIDGE AREA, AND THE WAHLUKE AREA.  I WILL CHECK THOSE PLACES OUT THIS WEEK.  I LIVE IN BENTON-CITY SO THOSE PLACES ARN'T TOO FAR FOR ME.  WELL... ANY HELP WOULD BE APRECIATED.   

If you are in Benton City, just go north to the saddle mountains. There are coveys there. If you don't mind walking 15 miles, then you'll get birds.
The columbia and snake also have chukar. Take LOTS of water if you are going Sat. Chukar hunting + heat = miserable without enough water.
If you are driving to the saddle mountains area, you can always drive a little further and go north of vantage and hunt em along the columbia. Guess it all depends on how much time you have and how much walking you wanna do to get to em.

I should be a bit more specific-
My first year hunting chukar SUCKED to say the least. People would say things like said in my post: "there are covey's in the saddle mountains"...... That's not much help, now that i think about it. You drive to the saddle mountains, and realize how MASSIVE an area that is to cover.. i asked myself things like do i go high or low, what kinda stuff should i look for, above or below the cliffs and rimrock, places with trees or no trees, etc..

Everyone has different opinions and everyone has different ways of going about hunting chukar, so I'll give ya mine. If it helps, great!

If its a ridge, get up near the top and walk all the way around it first, then walk the top of it. Start a hundred or so yards down from the top and work your way around the ridge or spur. Then walk the top of the ridge. Chukar fly downhill (actually they haul ass downhill) and then usually bail off the the right or left over a hump or ridge. They usually land just after the hump they flew over, so you can walk down and get another shot at em. If you bust a covey and they dont fly a mile away, walk near the hump they flew over and wait for them to call each other. (its a chuck chuck chuck sound) they make to gather up again. If you hear them, slowly work towards the sound.

The crops are usually full of seeds and bugs in the early season, and grass in the later season. The grass is cheat grass which is very fine grass that grows in little tuffs or bunches. If you see this kinda grass where you are, that's a good sign. The grass is sweet smelling when you mash it between your fingers.

Look for chukar poo on the ground. They *censored* alot, and they leave a brownish to green turd with a white cap on the end. Its maybe the diameter of a pencil or pen. Where there is poo, there are chukar or have been chukar. If you walk for 2 miles and haven't seen poo, that's not a good sign.

Work the draws in the mountain side. They like to work up the draws browsing there way to the crest of the mountain or ridge. They will be in and around sagebrush or tall grass. I haven't seen them in forested areas or areas with trees. (they might be in those areas, i never see em in there tho).

They run like hell sometimes before flying. I have tracked coveys in the snow without a dog just by following the foot tracks, once the covey reaches an open area where they can't run around in tall grass and sagebrush, they bust.

Use the fact that they always fly downhill to your advantage. if you are walking up a draw and they bust, there's a good chance they will give you a nice slow flying shot at the start. They lift off and have to go to the side or over you on the way down.

Reload FAST after shooting, keep your shells in an easy access front pocket. Lot's of times I have pumped out all my rounds, only to have late flyers take off with no rounds in the gun. So remember, they may not all fly at once.

If i think of anything else I'll post more. If you need more specifics, pm me. I was pretty discouraged my first year chukar hunting alone, but once you learn how they operate, its super fun!

Did I mention take LOTS of water? and that they eat rocket fuel?

[J Snow73]

Wow that was a good post fluentvoo I actually learned alot from that, I had that scenario in my head the whole time

[BIGINNER]

thanks man.  You litterly read my mind and answered alot of my questions.  I wantd to hunt this weekend_ but my wife is working so i'm gonna be with the kid.   Will probably check out some places next week.   Oh... When is better, morning or evening?

[woodywsu]

Saddle mountains and the quilomene areas are great. Breaks of the Snake are better. A little bit of snow makes the hunting great. Watch out for the slippery slopes though in the winter. I can think of a few individuals who have been killed over the years hunting chukar. Good luck and be safe.