Burn the bird

[JLS]

Henry and I went on our annual post Turkey day chukar hunt. We decided to try somewhere that I hadn't hunted in a number of years.



Daybreak on the canyon



The way up



It's kind of steep here, I shot a bird crossing down this slope. He was dead on the air, but it still took Henry several minutes to get it and bring it back up the hill



Some canyons are just off limits



Henry with bird number six



A pile of red legs



Henry with the spoils of the hunt



Henry on point





The way down. We almost got completely cliffed out. Dog survival instincts make it a little hard to help them down.

 

[PNWGator]

Fantastic trip report!

 

[Gr8bawana]

Chukar country at it's best. Your pooch Henry is indispensable in country like that.

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Beautiful Question: never hunted Chukar out that way.... do they hold tight for the dogs???

good luck to all
the dog

 

[choc dogs]

Dang that's cool. Give Henry some extra scratches from me, I've been in some of that country.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Bet the residual calories from the turkey are long gone after that hike. Great pics!

 

[Sawtooth]

JLS,
Looks like a great day in some beautiful chukar country. Love the pictures of both your dog and the area. That side by side looks to be doing the job. Thanks for the report.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Henry is awesome! That's young man's chukar country. Makes my hips hurt just looking at it.

 

[JEL]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rjlefty3]

Wow, that's great country! Nice to have a dog like that too!

 

[noharleyyet]

Always enjoy the views and writing of your threads.

 

[JLS]

PDR,

In general I think chukars hold pretty well. You don't typically have the running flushes like you get with roosters. If you approach from below, they will run on the dog. I try to come from a side or from above. That said, the best shot opportunities come when the dog is above and you are below. We got the last covey pinched and it was an easy double.

Brittany,

It was a tough hunt for sure. I was a little sore this morning.

Sawtooth,

The side by side is awesome! And yes, it's beautiful country with some really neat history.

Henry is a fantastic chukar hunting buddy. It's always fun to watch him work the wind on the ridges.

 

[JLS]

Always enjoy the views and writing of your threads.

Thanks Ken. I wish I was a better photographer, but I'm certainly not packing an expensive camera up and down these slopes.

 

[Sawtooth]

JLS,
What chokes are you shooting in your SxS? I would love to pick up a SxS some day, but I have two kids I have to get through college first.

 

[JLS]

JLS,
What chokes are you shooting in your SxS? I would love to pick up a SxS some day, but I have two kids I have to get through college first.

Improved and modified. If you shop around they aren't prohibitively expensive. I picked this one up for $800.

Edit: You can find 12 gauges a little cheaper. If you want a 16 or a 20 the demand seems a little higher.

 

[1_pointer]

Super!! Much more fun for both you and Henry than what I dealt with post turkey meal. Well done.

 

[Nameless Range]

Amazing country. Henry probably sleeps well after a day in that stuff. Great pictures.

 

[Irrelevant]

Puts our Columbia River breaks to shame here around Wenatchee. That is some impressive country. And a limit of chukar is, for me, that mythical unicorn. 5 in the bag seems to be my personal limit.

 

[----]

That's incredible country.

I can't understand why a sane man would ever choose birds over big game, but if you're going to lose your mind you may as well do it with style, and you definitely are.

 

[Jim/Wa]

I'm heading down to Asotin this evening for a couple days of chukar chasing. Looking at your photos, I'm not sure if I'm inspired or intimidated. Maybe a little of both...