Chuckars

Aaron84 · Sep 18, 2019

Hunted chuckars once, would like to give it another try this fall. My question is how difficult are they to hunt with out pointers? Tia

BIGJOHNT · Sep 18, 2019

They don't call them the devil birds for nothing. You will chase them all the way to the top of the mountain. Then they well set wing and fly back to the bottom. It is literally a running joke: The first time you hunt chukar, it's for fun. After that, it's for revenge. But I plan on chasing some this year with my new Drahthaar pup.

X7ahunter · Sep 19, 2019

You at least have a dog to hunt with I hope. I hunt em with my lab successfully. As long as the dog works close and not a a hundred yards, you'll do ok.

Aaron84 · Sep 19, 2019

I can't have a dog, due to my boy being highly allergic to pretty much everything. So it will really just be an excuse to get out in the hills.

Zeke · Sep 19, 2019

JT's comment about "revenge" is spot-on!

The blessed days when everything works out on chukars stand right up there with some of my best big game hunts but these are, admittedly, damn few!!!

Zeke

#livelikezac

IdahoHntr · Sep 19, 2019

Without a dog, chukars are about one of the hardest birds to go after. They like to run more than they like to flush, especially if you don't have a dog to keep them honest.

I remember a while back my dad and I had a free morning during a Christmas vacation in southern Idaho so we decided to go try and chase some chukars where we had seen them deer hunting a bunch. With some fresh snow we cut a whole flock of chukar tracks as we were driving up and decided to follow them. Well, hours later we went from following 30 tracks in the snow to one! We did kill that bird though, so I guess it wasn't a complete fail.

I would just not expect a whole lot going out without a dog. I've done the best driving around in areas where you can actually see them out in the rocks and ambushing a flock once you've found them. One perk is that without a dog, I sure ain't above ground sluicing the dirty buggars!

Gator · Sep 19, 2019

Watch for someone headed up the mountain chasing them and wait at the bottom.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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Aaron84 · Sep 20, 2019

Thanks for all the advice, sounds like maybe I'll just go jump shoot some ducks off the canals instead. Not a whole lot of good places to hunt birds down here in Saint George. Still want to get out and test out my new shotgun.

heartshot · Sep 20, 2019

Go shoot those invasive doves down there.

notdonhunting · Sep 20, 2019

A 15 Years ago I used to go out west of St George out around the Nevada boarder and I would hunt Quail we hunted mostly without dogs and had pretty good Success. Quail do not run as fast or as hard as Chuckers. I can not remember the names of some of the springs and other water sources that we hunted around but it seemed like we had success at every water source we stopped at. You might want too look into hunting Quail.
Happy Hunting.

Aaron84 · Sep 21, 2019

Can?t find anywhere out of city limits to hunt them, they mostly hang out in town.

Aaron84 · Sep 21, 2019

Thanks donnothunting, I'll give that a try this November.

hook1969 · Sep 23, 2019

I hunt the devil birds with a lab which can be frustrating. When they start running uphill he wants to chase them. Unfortunately my old legs can't keep up and many times they get flushed out of range! I have started to use an e-collar which sometimes helps. I think most of the Wasatch front mountains and the areas out west that look steep and nasty hold birds but it can be tough finding them especially w/o a dog. Also check the DWR info on places to find them.

Aaron84 · Sep 23, 2019

I'm thinking, I'll stick with dove, quail, and ducks. Unless I make a friend with dog/dogs that hunts them. I'm too out of shape to be chasing a bird in the terrain they live in.