Hunted chukar on the opener today with my buddy John. I’ve never hunted them, so I set my expectations low and we headed to the lava rock mountains north of Barstow. I was warned that chukar hunting isn’t about filling the freezer. It’s all about the challenge, and if you get a few or even one, you’re fortunate. Let’s just say I get it now. Your first chukar hunt is for sport, and after that it’s revenge.
The weather was great, cool in the morning and a strong breeze throughout the day. What the heat didn’t do the terrain more than made up for. Rugged, dry, sharp rocks, steep ravines. But really beautiful with wide open spaces.
Around noon I spotted a small covey of birds and got off one shot before they were out of range. Feathers flew but I didn’t hit him hard enough I guess and he kept flying. Tough birds! High base steel 4’s and he shrugged it off. A while later we found a few more near a guzzler and John bagged one.
Ran across a few quail but couldn’t get good shots, and the one I managed to down scrambled into a rocky enclave and vanished.
So I still haven’t bagged a chukar, but had a great time in an amazing, brutal environment. I will be back.
The weather was great, cool in the morning and a strong breeze throughout the day. What the heat didn’t do the terrain more than made up for. Rugged, dry, sharp rocks, steep ravines. But really beautiful with wide open spaces.
Around noon I spotted a small covey of birds and got off one shot before they were out of range. Feathers flew but I didn’t hit him hard enough I guess and he kept flying. Tough birds! High base steel 4’s and he shrugged it off. A while later we found a few more near a guzzler and John bagged one.
Ran across a few quail but couldn’t get good shots, and the one I managed to down scrambled into a rocky enclave and vanished.
So I still haven’t bagged a chukar, but had a great time in an amazing, brutal environment. I will be back.
