September is usually too hot to really get after chukars, so I focus on grouse. Thursday I got out for a quick afternoon chukar hunt, and was able to find one covey and pull one bird out of it. Today, however was the first day I really went after chukars. I was planning a grouse trip, but it was raining here at 5300′ and snowing at ~7000′. I decided the roads would be too muddy and slick, so I went chukar hunting instead.
I love to hunt chukars in a light rain. They seem to hunker down, and don’t post lookouts, so I’m to be able to get right up on them before they flush. In between showers when the sun pokes out, they come out in swales and feed and dry off. They leave good scent trails for the dogs and hold a little better for pointers.
We (2 dogs and I) had a great day. We had to work hard and cover some rough country, but we were able to find 3 good sized coveys and scratch out a limit (5) of birds. Two things that really made the day, were that a young pointer I am working with (Morgan) was able to point a bird, I dropped it on a long going away shot, and she made a beautiful retrieve to hand; the second thing was that just after I finished my limit, the setting sun came below the clouds and cast a beautiful pink light on everything. It made for a magical end of the day.
Â
