What a difference some moisture mixed with sunshine makes for hunting. The dust and pollen for the most part are gone. And a lot of that dirty brown color is getting replaced by green. Here’s a picture of where the dogs and I were headed today. We were headed for that highest peak and beyond and then hunting back towards the truck on the lower trails. Notice the green-up.
There’s plenty of green-up to help put fat on the chukars and huns. Problem was we didn’t find a bird for the first two hours. I didn’t even see a dropping. After dropping over the other side a ways I figured this hunt was going to be a bust and came up the next ridge to the right. Before I got to the top I finally saw some chukars skirt around the top. They were coming up a few here and a few there so I knew the boys were involved and not doing there job. Knowing that the birds probably would not give up much elevation I went to where all the flushing was and circled the ridge into the wind. It worked and it wasn’t long before Ol Alpha siad Grady was on point.
As I moved in on the point I checked and could see that Jake was behind Grady ten yards or so. A good covey busted and the Browning dropped a chukar which Grady was happy to fetch the bird back to me. Well there goes the busted day. And it continued like that for the next few hours. We’d go for a while without any action than suddenly one of the boys would notify me there was going to be some action. And there usually was.
Sometimes it was Grady doing the pointing and sometimes it was Jake. Grady has the red collar and Jake has the green. But they were always both involved. Maybe not at first, but when the second dog would come into sight he could tell it was time to slow down because of my actions. It’s amazing how a hunting dog can tell the difference between a casual walk and a serious one.
We had a few false points that surprised the heck out of me because of the staunchness but maybe the boys were trying to keep me on my toes. I think they were trying to pay me back for taking them to a birdless area for the first two hours.
We still were doing a lot of climbing as well as going down on points but even though I was getting pretty wore out the boys kept me as energized as possible.
As we neared the truck I was beat and so were the dogs. I had covered 6+ miles, Jake 17+ and of course Grady won the marathon with 24+ miles. Both dogs were walking beside me as I helped them under the fence fifty yards from the truck. They were tired. When I reached the truck Jake was with me but no Grady. The Alpha beeped that Grady was on point. No way as tired as he was would he still be hunting. I headed that way and Jake could tell he better get over and check things out. I walked over the knoll and Jake was already on point or honoring Grady.
I moved out front and flushed a covey of chukars and dropped two. Both crippled. I was excited that the two dogs each picked a different bird to chase down the slope. Jakes bird was the shorter retrieve
but Grady finally got his mega retrieve back to me.
From a bust to a great day. Yes those last two birds finished a limit. It had nothing to do with me except that I kept trudging on but it was a good day for showcasing my two boys. More than anything else, notice how much green is in the pictures. Chukar hunting doesn’t get much better than it is right now.
The Reigning Chukar Champions 
Fantastic!!! Over the last month the pictures of places where you found birds all had good grass and brush. That’s still the key to finding birds that will hold for a point and allow you to get close enough for a shot. There are still vast areas which have greened up but not enough cover to hold the birds. In October we found whole hillsides where the grass had never sprouted in the spring or summer. Multiflora rose combined with better grass were very productive. Places where the grasshoppers had eaten all the leaves off the rose bushes had no birds. Long time chukar chasers have dealt with these issues periodically for decades. That’s why you are successful and others are crying the blues.
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Crexrode, That’s the great thing about living here in Idaho and close to chukar country. Conditions can change fairly quickly. You just have to love chukar hunting and not get burnt out in those bad times. The same can happen with the snow season. The snow gets to deep for humans to get to those burned off slopes higher up where the chukars are flourishing. Wait a few days and there may be a steep southern slope melted off enough to get higher if you’re crazy enough to want to.
It’s much tougher for the out of staters. You have to try and make the best of it while you are here whether conditions are right or not. Besides bragging on my dogs, that’s why I post as much as I do. Trying to let those who don’t have the same fortune that I have know what’s going on with the birds in our great state.
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