Well today was my first chukar hunt this season. It opened on 9-18-04 but I have been waiting for it to cool down some. I was hoping that gretta would not forget how to work chukar. On the first hunt I chose a place I have seen chukar while deer hunting. i have hunted it twice and so far no luck. The second place I had hunted with good sucess. This one was no different. Last year this spot was gretta's first chukar. She pointed a bunch last year and did ok for a 9 month old puppy. This time the wind was blowing out of the canyon. I was on the edge and Gretta was working the wind about 100 yards off my right side. She locks down solid! My part in this dance is to keep the birds from running to the canyon so I move up the canyon. Soon gretta is loosing scent on the running birds so she swings out and up the canyon and locks again. This goes on for about 75 to 100 yards and now I know i am out front. The birds are stuck between us and now. Gretta has worked just close enough to keep them down and now I am moving in. The flush is just what I was looking for. All the birds blow up and fly over me going to the canyon. I shoot the first one and go for number two. I shoot and the bird rocks but does not go down. I watch it fly about 300 yards and then go straight up in a death climb, then it falls.
Gretta get's the close one and we head after the long fall. I tell her to "hi loss" and she starts to work ground scent. Soon she points dead, and this is the first time she has ever done that. I just picked it up and went after more birds.
The next bunch was in the same place i had seen it last year. I got another double. Then we went for Sage grouse. We pulled up to the spot and got out. Gretta pointed at the truck. I got out my gun and walked over to where she was pointing and up came two sage grouse. I pulled another double on these birds. I am posting pictures and one is to compair the size of the two grouse. One is a young of the year male, and the other is a OLD MALE! This bird weighs almost 6 pounds! Talk about king of the grouse. Ron

Alectoris chukar.
Here is a web page to see. Ron
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2882id.html

Ron



Congratulations. Looks like very nice hunt.



What is the latin name for chukars?



Cheers

/ JOHAN

Ron, that is awful flat ground to be housing Chukars. I want to import some of them to Washington.