Is chukar the ultimate game bird?

quail hound

quail hound

Moderator
I know this is a pheasant forum but bear with me. Are chukar the ultimate game bird, will they become our saving grace? Chukar are explosive game birds that run in coveys, hold hell for pointers, and are excellent table fair. Chukar live in habitat that for the most part is inhospitable to other game birds, their range may over lap other game birds (quail, huns, sage grouse) but for the most part don't compete with these birds for survival. They are not threatened by problems that our other birds face; over grazing, deforestation, urbanization, clean farming, and for the most part inhabit huge tracts of public land so access is not a problem. The very vastness, openness, and seclusion of their habitat makes a hunter feel at one with nature and the high desert can be one of the most beautiful places on earth. So again I ask, is the chukar the ultimate game bird?
 
For me, no. Because I cant walk out my door and shoot them. Plus I kind of like my flushers and I don't think they would work well for a covey bird.
 
Mo I am a springer man myself and although my dog may not be optimal on chukar he does put them in the bag. I have watched him chase a covey up a hill, circle around them and flush them back to me for beautiful over head shots. Basically what I was saying in my post was that heaven forbid we lose more pheasant habitat chukar will always be there singing their siren song, daring us to make the climb.
 
quail hound said:
Mo I am a springer man myself and although my dog may not be optimal on chukar he does put them in the bag. I have watched him chase a covey up a hill, circle around them and flush them back to me for beautiful over head shots. Basically what I was saying in my post was that heaven forbid we lose more pheasant habitat chukar will always be there singing their siren song, daring us to make the climb.
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Don't get me wrong I would love to hunt chukar some day. I am sure they are a blast to hunt, but due to were I live I got to root for the commie chicken.
 
What will I hunt when I am old...

Chukar are a great gamebird, I won't argue that. However, the only places I have ever hunted them are steep and hard on the body. My elk hunting spot is easier hiking. So not sure how long I can continue to hunt them.:mad:

Oh, I hunt them successfully with a lab. Works for me. Everyone should hunt them once. As a good friend once said "you shoot the first one for sport and the rest for spite.":D
 
I would hate to see what a chukar would turn into , if hunted as hard as pheasants!!!!!!! NOT me!!! Climb my a$$ off to watch them flush 100 yds. out!!! Sorry, I would rather watch Soccer!!!! LOL

After opening day those Roosters that are left are like damn big Whitetails or big Mulies!!!! Cagy critters for sure, but for the most part on relatively flat ground at minimal elevation!!!!:cheers:
 
I wasn't quite sure where you were going with this based on the title and first post...

IMO, I love pheasants, but ruffed grouse are the king of game birds. Admittedly I've never hunted wild chucker, but based on everything I've read I'd put them second.

As for the saving grace upland birds that will do better than all others with todays problems - habitat loss, predation, etc, that would be the wild turkey. They live at both ends of the succession spectrum - cut grass and mature woods. Most people love these biotypes and despise weedy fields, burning, clear-cutting, brush, etc. They also stand up to predators the best - hawks don't eat them, they'll fight nest predators, etc.

As for the saving grace for what we'll have to run dogs on, I'd say in the end it'll be game preserves. :(
 
I hope not

1GB said:
I wasn't quite sure where you were going with this based on the title and first post...

IMO, I love pheasants, but ruffed grouse are the king of game birds. Admittedly I've never hunted wild chucker, but based on everything I've read I'd put them second.

As for the saving grace upland birds that will do better than all others with todays problems - habitat loss, predation, etc, that would be the wild turkey. They live at both ends of the succession spectrum - cut grass and mature woods. Most people love these biotypes and despise weedy fields, burning, clear-cutting, brush, etc. They also stand up to predators the best - hawks don't eat them, they'll fight nest predators, etc.

As for the saving grace for what we'll have to run dogs on, I'd say in the end it'll be game preserves. :(
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I will quit before it comes to working the dog on game preserves. However, I don't see a problem having wild birds to hunt for the rest of my lifetime. Weather it is huns in Canada, quail in the southwest, chukars in the west, or wild roosters across the range. Hell we have ruffed and blue grouse in this state that never see a bird hunter. That is just the some of the wild upland birds that I know of. Now if the price of gas goes to $10/gallon, I may be less of a traveling wingshooter but I doubt it.

I see the glass at least half full.:)
 
I have hunted chuckars, on many occassions, when I was in my twenties! I am unfamiliar with the holding variety, just the running uphill at lung splitting altitudes, only to flush and fly downhill, to start the process over. Unique, certainly, not the greatest, or the salvation of the shooting sports. If we are reduced to hunting chuckars, it's going to be a small fraternity of the young and fit. I agree with the comments above, as to the king of gamebirds, the bobwhite gets my vote, but is the most likely to disappear, based on recent history.
 
oldandnew said:
I have hunted chuckars, on many occassions, when I was in my twenties! I am unfamiliar with the holding variety, just the running uphill at lung splitting altitudes, only to flush and fly downhill, to start the process over. Unique, certainly, not the greatest, or the salvation of the shooting sports. If we are reduced to hunting chuckars, it's going to be a small fraternity of the young and fit. I agree with the comments above, as to the king of gamebirds, the bobwhite gets my vote, but is the most likely to disappear, based on recent history.
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oan, Yup you hit this one out of the park. I'm to old to chase the red leg.

Rorbert, You have youth on your side. Great threat, and if I was 20 years old I'd be on board. :thumbsup:
 
Ok I admit they are an extremely hard bird to hunt, that's why they are lovingly referred to as devil birds.:D There is just something about them that I can't get out of my head. I think about them all the time even when I am quail or pheasant hunting. Any bird that makes me seriously contemplate buying a English pointer and quitting smoking can't be all that bad. As for the birds holding, an old quail hunters trick works equally well on chukar. Upon the initial covey dispersal shoot a shot in the general direction no matter how far out they are. Subsequent birds hold hold tighter and tighter after this. Flush a bird twice and on your next approach you can almost pick the bird up off the ground with your hands.

I couldn't make the drive today, but tomorrow or Monday I will be making the climb up the hill. I'll probably be alone because no one else is dumb enough to subject themselves to the fun.:p
 
quail hound said:
Ok I admit they are an extremely hard bird to hunt, that's why they are lovingly referred to as devil birds.:D There is just something about them that I can't get out of my head. I think about them all the time even when I am quail or pheasant hunting. Any bird that makes me seriously contemplate buying a English pointer and quitting smoking can't be all that bad. As for the birds holding, an old quail hunters trick works equally well on chukar. Upon the initial covey dispersal shoot a shot in the general direction no matter how far out they are. Subsequent birds hold hold tighter and tighter after this. Flush a bird twice and on your next approach you can almost pick the bird up off the ground with your hands.

I couldn't make the drive today, but tomorrow or Monday I will be making the climb up the hill. I'll probably be alone because no one else is dumb enough to subject themselves to the fun.:p
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Qh,

Don't be giving up that Info, To much Info. LOL :D
 
Chukar Sporting Clays?

I would like to improve my shooting average on chukars, so I am always on the lookout for "Devil Bird Sporting Clays" course,

1. Most targets would be going downhill at a high rate of speed.
2. Before you can call pull you have to run uphill xx yards
3. No flat spots to shot from, one foot must always be higher than the other
4. Half the "shooting stands" would be loose/wet talus rock
5. Some targets are only "exposed" for 3 seconds and at 40 yards

I am sure there are more....:D
 
Chukar Guns

One additional thought on chukars, they are the great gun equalizer. When you start hunting chukars your gun may have high trade in value. However, if you hunt them very long and very often your guns trade value will more than likely be less than a rusty Remington 870 express :eek:(no offense to intended to 870 owners). Post chukar hunt, I have seen chunks of wood missing from stocks of formerly nice doubles, broken forearms on pumps, deep scratches in metal, and thats just the ones I know of. LOL! :D
 
I've read and gotten reports from "chukar country" aka the tri-state area of oregon-idaho-nevada that population fluctuations can be extreme based on weather - more so than most other game birds. I was about to go to this area in early 2009 but the locals said forget it - the numbers went down 75%

Have not hunted them yet - but am determined to do so.
 
RK special, start running the stairs in outdoor stadiums this summer, and carry a couple of bricks and a backpack. if you can do it and smile, I think you'll have a ball chuckar hunting, or shooting argali in the Hymalaya's. All the best. Go get them for the rest of us.
 
++1
1GB said:
IMO, I love pheasants, but ruffed grouse are the king of game birds.
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And I've hunted a lot of chukar, both on preserves and in the wild....... they are a lot of fun to hunt, it may be about habitat more than anything else.
 
Chukar? They're for wimps. This is the real deal:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004448/index.htm

Seriously, if I were maybe 30 years younger, I might have to give these buggers a try, just to say I had. For that matter, I still mean to try chukar, if I ever end up in the right place at the right time - never has worked out so far, but they've always intrigued me. I've only seen a few in the Spring in the canyons around Grand Junction - love that country.
 
I'm with the other rickety old dudes on here - 20 to 30 yrs ago I would have been all over wild chukar given half the chance & gladly made the travel & trek to add just one exotic/elusive Himalayan snowcock to my wild bird list if I had even known they existed at the time...Those days are long gone now & I've finally made peace with my old geezer limits - I'll just content myself with flatland birds for the most part other than the occasional blue grouse close to home...More power to all you young billy goats!!!! :thumbsup: :cheers:
 
Hard to hunt? Don't hold? Tough country? Ok you guys are right. I went out today and saw 2 coveys of about 12 birds each and ended up with 0 birds.:eek: But I had a blast and those calls will haunt me until I go back. I even got my brother to tag along and I think he also caught the bug.:thumbsup: The dog and I will sleep good tonight and have chukar dreams.:D Next time we're heading north to prime chukar country. Here is a pic of our chukar hills.

IMAG0197.jpg
 
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