WHERE TO GO FOR CHUKAR?

[fluentvoo]

I have to drive 3 hours to hunt chukar each weekend (westsider), and I am a morning kinda guy. I have really only hunted them morning till about 5 or so at the latest. The earlier the better for me. We usually walk up to the top of the ridge in the morning and hunt the top or a few hundred yards down the rest of the day before heading home.

I already thought of some other things i can add to the last post.

Side hilling in *censored*ty boots is brutal. Wear decent boots with decent soles. All terrain shoes might feel good when it's hot out, but at the end of the day your feet will be hamburger. Something to support your ankles helps alot.

They like to clump up when the weather is nasty out. If the snow and wind are blowing, I have found them packed in brushy sagey stuff in draws to stay outta the weather. So later in the year when the weather goes to piss, works those areas extra hard.

They rarely are in the wide open no sage brush or grass areas. As an example, ppl say to look for nasty rocky terrain. This is true, but you need grass or sage with that. Like a big ol rock slide with no grass isn't gonna have birds in it. So dont waste yours or your dogs feet going over it. Also, if they are in a wide open little vegetation area, you likely won't get a shot at em. They know you are there and will bust outta shot range. So dont waste much time in wide open areas.

If there is a rock ledge or bluff just off the top of a ridge, they like to hang out just below or above them. So as you approach a cliff, SLOW down and creep to look over with your gun at the ready.

They do like rocky outcrops surrounded by grass or sage. An example would be a bulge of rocks on a ridgeline that is surrounded by the grass and sage.

As far as morning or evening, I can't say what's best. I like to start just after first light in the morning.

edit, thought of more

I use an older 20guage pump. It's light and I won't cry when It gets scratched up when I trip/fall. The less weight you have to carry the better imo. 

I use 6 shot, sometimes two 6's followed by a 4. 4 later in the season when they jump earlier. Growing up I used 7 1/2's for grouse. Far to many times i went out in the beginning with 7 1/2's and saw feathers floating in the air and no chukar on the ground.

[Professor Chaos]

good posts F. 

If i may tack on from my experience...
Lots of Water.  for both you and the dog.
never leave the car with less that 2 boxes of shells... trust me on this one.
beware of the "hold bird"  -  nothing like seeing the covey flush at 45 yards and emptying your gun only to have a couple birds wait for you to shoot before flushing at your feet.  I'd bet the 3rd shell in my pump kills 50% + of my birds.
Do not stop!  The birds will fly down and around the hill, and run uphill.  If you go slowly they will get above you and then it is game over... or at the least a lot of work to get back on them. 
Be ready as you crest a ridge/draw.  Maybe times they will sit right on the other side, BUT if they are not immeadiately on the side of the draw, keep walking into the draw.  If you stop on that ridge, and they are in the draw, they will flush out of range. 
Adding on to that... dont let your dog cross the ridge ahead of you. 
Mark your birds where they drop.  find feathers and work downhill.  They can roll a long long ways. 
North facing slopes early in the year.  South facing in the later parts of the season.
Wear a glove on your non trigger hand.  It is much nicer to brace yourself as you fall with a protected hand.  You will fall.  Your gun will be beat up. 

[fethrduster]

As long as you keep your gun to the outside when you fall, it should be fine.  I hunt with a nice gun and haven't had any problems.  That said, a light 16 or 20 ga. pump is a great choice for chukars.  Expect to cover lots of ground.  Friends I hunt with use a garmin astro on their dogs, and it is common to have dogs lock up on point 200-700 yds away.  I don't have one, so I have to keep my dog fairly close when I hunt alone.  Hunting without a dog would be tough.  You would miss a lot of birds that way.

[BIGINNER]

I HAVE A DOG,  BUT SHE;S ONLY 3.5 MONTHS OLD,  SHE'S A CHAMP THOUGH.  RETREIVES PIGEIONS, SHE'S GUNBROKE AND SHE FINDS BIRDS IN THE FEILD WITH NO PROBLEM,  BUT I DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM HER UET,  SHE'S TOO YOUNG,  AND DOESN'T HOLD POINT FOR VERY LONG

[Professor Chaos]

I'd leave her at home.

[teal101]

Unless you're in your early 20's or younger, NEVER and I mean NEVER chase chukars uphill, it's a waste of time   Those suckers can hop and skip their way up those rocks faster than a dog can and will do it till they feel safe then bust out the sides out of range.  Being young I've done my fair share of chukar chasing and consider myself in pretty good shape, I can hardly ever catch em.  Double back and come from above if possible.

Check cliff sides.  I've spotted quite a few of them sitting on a ledge or an outcropping on a small cliff.  I've also hunted them very close to 200ft cliffs and they will vertically fly up them, sort of hovering their way from outcropping to outcropping.  It can be quite frustrating.

When you first start your hike up make sure to listen carefully for coveys sounding off in the morning.  They're pretty easy to locate this way.  Once one group sounds off the others will follow suit.  I've heard coveys on one side of the Columbia call and birds on the other side respond.  It's not the most reliable way to locate birds as you can't rely on them to call, but it's just one more thing to keep in mind.

Like said before, good boots!  My Danner Pronghorns are destroyed from chukar hunting.  Chukar inhabit the same terrain as bighorns.  It's rough.

Hunting with a partner (young buck preferred ) hunt one up on the top or along the cliff edge if there is one.  Have the next person down below a few hundred yards and slightly staggered forward.  My dad and I hunt like this with good success.  I go up top, do the work and bust the coveys.  He gets easier walking down below and gets passing shots on birds I kick up.  We've kicked a lot of coveys out of the bottoms too right where the brush starts getting thick.  The person up top keeps them from running up and they bust.

The poo thing is excellent.  Follow the chukar poo, it;s a sure sign of birds.

As for the young pup, best leave her home.  She'll tire quickly hunting that kind of terrain and beat herself up.  Chukar hunting is hard on seasoned dogs.  Let her get some experience first.

[beagledog]

Biginner
Shoot me a email @ mccloudcorey@yahoo.com
I also live in Benton City and know a few places were there are some chuckers close to home real close actually
maby we could meet up after work and see what your dog can do if you want also I have some private land in the lower valley to hunt birds on mostly quail

[wonder]

Nice write-ups gentlemen.  I was thinking about getting after some birds but still don't have a reliable partner and don't really like hunting that extended without another hunter along.  Hunted Chukar a lot down in Northern California along the Nevada border and the same tactics you guys described here were the same ones we used down south.  Amazingly fun bird to hunt. Went through a lot of ammo when it was hot and could count on at least an 8+ mile hike each time we went out.  Up and down all day long.

Thanks again and good luck this weekend !

[GSPdude]

This is a great group of posts. I am in Naches but have a friend in the Tri Cities that wants to meet up somewhere in the middle...I was thinking Benton City, and the ridge just south of town there...are there quail, or chukar or partridge in the area? We both have dogs and can hike...any other ideas.

Thanks!

[BIGINNER]

THEWRE DEFINATELY IS QUAIL THERE SEEN LOADS OF THEM OUT THERE MYSELF.  DUNNO ABOUT CHUKER THOUGH.  LOOOKS LIKE CHUKAR TERRITORY THOUGH.