Best chukar hunting in WA?

[fethrduster]

If you had to pick one area in WA with the best chukar hunting, which would it be?  The Grand Ronde area?  Omak area?  The Snake?  Just curious what you all think.

[high country]

Those are all good. The key is finding the birds in any one of those spots. Some guys will say any one of them suck and others will way they are great....its all about locating the birds in the habitat.

[Phantom Gobbler]

Those are all good. The key is finding the birds in any one of those spots. Some guys will say any one of them suck and others will way they are great....its all about locating the birds in the habitat.

I agree, I know areas in Central Washington that friends have taken limits from.  I have hunted the same areas at different times and gotten totally blanked.  The ole mountaintop sprinters can be totally maddening.  Keeps us going and trying to stay in good enough shape to still chase them.

[fethrduster]

Those are all good. The key is finding the birds in any one of those spots. Some guys will say any one of them suck and others will way they are great....its all about locating the birds in the habitat.

I agree, I know areas in Central Washington that friends have taken limits from.  I have hunted the same areas at different times and gotten totally blanked.  The ole mountaintop sprinters can be totally maddening.  Keeps us going and trying to stay in good enough shape to still chase them.

That's been my experience too.  I go to Oregon and have 6-10 covey days, and I hunt here and get blanked.  So frustrating.  I'm going to keep at it though.  Just got a lift and new tires on my grand cherokee so I can explore some new areas this year.

[high country]

We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

[fethrduster]

We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

Good point.

[Stilly bay]

We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

  like having a chopper drop you off at the top of the mountain so you can hunt down hill and really mess with the chukar's heads.

Im not sure how unorthodox you can get while chukar hunting ( maybe I can't think outside the box) but I read an article awhile back about a couple guys that hunted chukars with labs, but the labs would stay a good distance behind them (read downhill) and try to run the birds up towards the guns.

the few times I have pursued chukars I have been extremely lucky in finding them. like with all upland birds I try to keep water, weather, and shelter in mind for the areas I hunt-  I traded food for weather since I think (in my limited experience) wind, rain, and fog have a greater effect on the birds than their next meal.

and I wouldn't give up on a spot because it didn't produce the first time you hunt it, or even the second time.

[BigGoonTuna]

We all deal with that at popular places.....consider changing your tactics to something unorthodox...think outside the box.

do what i do:  pack a rifle, then you're sure to see a ton of those little buggers.

[Cascade_fisher]

I like the Grande Ronde. Take a good pole so you can at least catch fish.

[Chukar]

Straight up tie between North Central Oregon and Asotin County for these reasons:
Easy to find public ground
Lotsa space
Plenty of birds
Alas...
Never enough lung space, constant shortage of fresh legs, depleted stable of rested upland dogs and always a random and varied amount of accurate shooting makes Chukar hunting sweet and easy in one spot and further spaced and torturous in another.
Whereever you can get em is the best spot.

[T-Bone]

A good source for finding the "Best Chukar Hunting In WA" or the "Best Hunting For Whatever..." is the WDFW website's Harvest Statistics by specie. Match the best counties with the public hunting areas on the website and you can narrow your scouting (both internet and physical). For the record, Chelan is the #1 chukar county in the state followed by Asotin and Grant:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2009/reports/small_game.php

Tom

[high country]

Holy crap, I just came home from my dads new place on the john day river and I will say that is the mecca of quail and chukar.

Here in wa, guys all use the same roads and trails to access chukar country. We tend to do things different.....cross a river in a raft, hunt the bottom if there is pressure at the top....kind of unorthodox to some, but it works for us. I have been meaning to try the black balloon tied on my vest to see if it helps. I have also learned this.....forget your plan, aim the dog into the wind and follow. Nothing seems to work better.

[fethrduster]

The John Day is mostly where I hunt too.  Chukars galore. Five hours from Tacoma, vs. over six to the Asotin area.  That said, I've yet to explore Chelan co./Omak area, which is about 4 hrs. Looks like it might be worth a trip.

[Fishnfowler]

I know a place or two, but those cards are held pretty close to the vest:

[doyourtime89]

That looks like a good mess of birds there...cool pic....I am going to try to get my son out there this year after some birds.  He has only hunted big game and loves shooting our shotguns and wants to bird hunt.  But we don't have a dog and I don't have much bird hunting experience or knowledge, so I have been trying to read and look around to see what I can do to get him out there and have a decent chance of getting some shots.