Late season chukar hunting

It’s not over till it’s over. There’s almost a month left in the chukar season here in Idaho, even longer in Utah, so keep after ‘em. I am looking forward to several more chukar hunts and possibly a couple of days in Arizona after quail. There’s still time to get those young dogs out and show them some birds.

Let me know how your season finisher goes.

@#$% Chukars!

Photo: N. Muckerman
A picture is worth a thousand words, eh?

I don’t know what it is about chukars, but, MAN I love to hunt ‘em.
There’s just something about getting a chukar in the hand after working so hard for them. Allie (lab) and I had a fun chukar hunt yesterday. I was planning on going after sharp-tailed grouse again, but since it was a cool day I decided to try for chukars. We got into several coveys and got some shooting, despite the fact that they were flushing a little wild for this early in the season. I downed several and Allie made some nice retrieves over some steep rocky slopes. I am kicking myself over three easy shots that I missed due to either poor footing or quick shooting as they were diving over an edge. One bird surprised me by flushing out of a juniper tree like a grouse as I walked through a small stand on my way toward a great outcrop that I was sure held a covey. That one caught me off-guard and I hate to say I missed. I guess that’s why I love hunting chukars, they make you work for every bird.

As for chukars, all the reports I am hearing are really good. All the spring and early summer moisture really seems to have boosted production. Folks I have spoken with in several places around Utah and in northern Arizona and Nevada are all reporting the same high numbers of chukar chicks. I am excited about this hunt.

This weekend I was able to take advantage of the extended Utah chukar season.  This year the season started two weeks later and ran two weeks longer. I was very supportive of this regulation change for two reasons: first, it’s cooler for the dogs on the opener, and second, the birds are not as reliant on water sources, so they are not as tied to the guzzlers when people start hunting them.

We had a great hunt this weekend, the weather was overcast and chilly, which made good conditions for the dogs and the hunters. Even better, there was a fresh dusting of snow on the hillsides. I love to hunt chukars after a snow because you can figure out where they are and what they are doing by tracking them.

We knew the general area we wanted to hunt, so we were driving along surveying the area. We stopped at one spot that looked good and right away we heard chukars calling to us. One would think that I’d have learned by now that when I hear chukars calling I should just walk away. Needless to say, I haven’t. We shelled up and took off after them.  About two-thirds of the way to the top they started calling to us from a steep box canyon back below us. After muttering, we made a plan to go back down and come at them from two sides. As we closed in, I called out that we had them surrounded and they should come out single file. Being the ghost sirens they are, they simply vanished.

The snow did help out. While working my way up the mountain, I came across a single fresh, fresh chukar track in the snow headed up and across the slope. Allie (my lab) and I got on the track and determined to follow it out. Sure enough he led us all the way to the top. I figured he would probably run to the top and fly off the other side, but I thought I’d track him down and find out. In this case it paid off, sort of. We tracked this bird all the way to the top and around an edge. Just as we came around the edge two birds flushed, one right at me flushing from the dog, and the other down and away. I was able to down the first bird with the right barrel and hit the second bird, a far shot with the left barrel. The second bird cocked his wings up like a courting pigeon and sailed way, way down the mountain. Allie quickly came back with the first bird, and I sent her after the second. She made a great retrieve on the second working her way down mountain following the scent.  Where the second bird came from is one of those chukar mysteries.

Later Allie and I were able to get a third bird low on the hillside when she picked up scent and worked over a knoll and up a small drainage and flushed a lone bird. She was still in the drainage and didn’t see the chukar fall. Together we went back over the knoll to look for the downed bird. Once over the rise we could see a tiercel kestrel stooping back and forth after something down in the draw. For a three and a half ounce falcon, he was pretty optimistic about catching a 20 ounce chukar. We apologized to the kestrel and gathered up our third bird.

With the kind of chukar year we have had this year, and for so late in the season, I felt really lucky to have bagged three birds. My hunting partner had about the same luck that I did, so we headed back to town having had a great day. What we learned from this trip: late in the season the birds were single males or in pairs and were widely distributed, rather than in flocks. Birds were at all elevations on the mountain, but based on tracks, more of them were on the lower 1/3 of the slope.

I’ve been struggling finding good chukar numbers around home, so I traveled down to Southern Utah to look for Gambel’s quail and chukars. It was a spectacular day with fresh snow on the ground. The quail were a bust, but we did find a fair number of chukars. Problem was, that like Homer’s Sirens, they called us from just a ways up the hill, then a little farther. Before I knew it, I was at the top of the mountain, it was getting dark and they were calling me from just the next mountain over.

 

This year around us chukars have been hard to come by. Numbers seem to be down quite a bit. Saturday I had a great day out with the dogs and a new friend who shares a passion for upland game.  We hunted hard over some rough steep country. Luckily I was able to end up with at least one chukar.

I remember three or four years ago chukar numbers were really up. I could go out and see numerous coveys and consistently shoot a limit. I remember one Saturday I stayed home to get some yard chores done before the snow flew. I worked as long as I could before I had to get out and at least try for some chukars. With just an hour of light left I was lucky enough to pull down a limit of chukars. I am confident that numbers will be back, but until then, I’ll have to keep pounding the hillsides. One hard-earned chukar is real trophy and it tastes that much better.
 

 

We went chukar hunting this weekend. Late season chukar hunting is always tough, but worth getting out. It was a cold, but beautiful sunburn kind of a day. We did find two small coveys of birds high on the mountain, but they were seasoned and got the better of us. We ended up taking only one bird home, but had a great day. Everyone got a great workout and we saw some spectacular scenery. We only have 10 days left in the season!