Celebrating and reminiscing about great days on the chukar hills from past seasons. These beautiful moments, funny ones, exhausting ones, and even frustrating ones always remind us of the beauty of the sport and what the culture of chukar hunting means to all of us.
The following is a collection of some photos we’ve never shared and a few of my favorites that you might have seen before. Remembering those wonderful times spent with friends, family, some moments alone, and of course with good dogs will help all of us get through these uncertain times and give us something to look forward to this coming autumn. We again thank you for following us along on this journey over the years. It’s because of you we hope to keep this up another decade.
Winter hunting can be a little slippery.This was a beautiful place to hunt but we found it over grown with cactus, poison Ivy, and rattlesnakes that day. We’ve never been back.Big country, God’s country.Peat honoring 6-month old Susie. The funny thing was that out of camera view, Susie was pointing some cattle on the other side of a fence. I was freezing cold and miserable in this photo but we kept climbing and following the dogs. Sometimes you misjudge what the weather might do and just deal with it.Heading down after I got us lost. We were only temporarily lost but it’s always a little disconcerting when you get turned around and disoriented in the backcountry.Cold cowboy coffee. We thought it would be fun to sleep on the boat on season opener. We brought everything but the kitchen sink and still managed to forget the camp stove. We also had a rude awaking in the middle of the night when we woke up with our boat laying on its side on rocks. We now know that Idaho Power lowers the water level in the reservoir at night.Snowy point. Hauling in a stranded boat of fisherman after we got done hunting. They were lucky this cold day since we were the only other people on the water. Oh, and Bob discovered that in the process of towing this boat we’d shredded our boat’s prop.Angus pointing. I thought he was just resting in the shade but a couple of chukar busted right in front of him. I kicked myself for not being ready with my shotgun. Good day Bob spent spent with his brother Geoff and his Brittany Donner. Dog trio on the rim. Bob can hunt for hours without pulling out his camera so these moments are rare.Opening day, 2018Sam spoon feeding Hannah and Angus. Sam started us on the post-hunt Vienna Sausage tradition. We’ve tried hunting with snowshoes a couple of times over the years. Too much snow was hard on the dogs. A rare two balloon day. Prepping for the perfect after hunt photo. Tough climb but the views were spectacular. The early season is always hot and dry.Vienna sausage post-hunt treat tradition continues.Early season after-hunt cool-down.Trying to get the dogs to look at me for group shot.Huns. I love the expression on Angus. Standing there watching 6-month-old Peat on season opener eating his first chukar and we couldn’t do anything about it. He did the same thing 5 more consecutive times. He hasn’t done it since.It always seems like we spend more time going up than going down. That’s probably because we do.Proud parents of a baby boy Peat. Angus looks dejected. Peat looks like he’s planning the years of shenanigans he’s in the process of executing.Friends forever after a rough start. The Sunburst Brittany Clan. All three kids hiked all day with us in tough terrain.The kid followed us up every mountain. The kid “Jarret” is now a high school junior.Snowballs on Angus and inside my boots. This is the one the day I wished I’d worn gaiters. We went hunting with my brother-in-law only once but it was memorable. Opening day of chukar 2019. We thought we’d only have Angus for a few hunts but he lasted the entire season and is still going strong. My first ever chukar on my first season. Angus pointed and retrieved it, which made it even more special.Heading back to the pickup. Late afternoon hunts are always nice, and I love the light in this photo. Hunting stories in Hells Canyon Beer pub with Sam.Where’d they go? Snow chukar at all. This was when I only carried a camera. At the time I didn’t know what I was missing. Young Angus and Huns. We used a vest for a few hunts but stopped using it. I’m not sure why.Boots with good ankle support is definitely required for chukar hunting. I’m never sure how to hold my bird for photos. I always feel awkward.My Benelli. I use an auto loader but rarely shoot more than once on a covey. It’s always hard to show steepness in photos, this one sums it up.Failed negotiation with Jarret over sharing his Peanut Butter and Cheeto sandwich. Jan 2020 highlight was meeting Custer. He’s on my left and also the nephew of Angus.Not a bad view. Taking a break after the long hike up from the reservoir. Peat on point.Birthday seat covers for my hunting rig.Bob looking for deer while taking the kid bird hunting. Four Sunburst BrittanysThanksgiving Day hunt back in 2016. We made a video of the day and so far it has had 1.6 million views on Youtube. There’s some sort of weird chukar hunting cult out there. 😉Sam and Hannah. Sadly, Hannah passed away this past winter. I take a lot of photos of dogs drinking water, this one is my favorite. Covey Rise. It’s always hard to capture birds in flight.Angus in pursuit of a downed bird that Bob shot when this single busted behind him. Behind the scenes in the early years before Angus turned gray. The year of mega snow fall. We couldn’t hunt but it didn’t stop this Red tailed Hawk. Steep country. I love it. Angus retrieving my chukar this season. We couldn’t go up or down, the only way was across and it was like walking on tiny marbles. I ended up crawling on my hands and knees. Last photo of the 2019/2020 season.
Leslie, thanks for this post!! I’ve looked at the photos four times this morning and watched the 2016 video again. During this stressful period it was nice to shift my thoughts to the good times in Idaho. With Bob out of school, I would hope he has filled all the fly boxes with guaranteed to catch fish patterns and you guys are plotting float trips.
Good morning Cliff,
Thank you for being a faithful follower all these years. I hope you and your family are healthy over there.
Yes, the good times keep us going. Bob is still teaching right now in our district. The students and teachers can’t attend school in person so they’re doing it remotely using a platform called “Zoom.” The past four days he’s been in the office all day and he’s still doing writing and reading assignments that he has to grade. It’s a very difficult way to teach and he’s pretty stressed over it.
Bob talked about making some flies because we hope to spend summer on the river. Montana bound again as long as it isn’t closed to out-of-state anglers like they just did in Oregon yesterday.
Sam,
I’ve got more photos of you and Hannah and a couple of short video clips you might like to see. We’ll buy you a pint of beer in our pub when we’re allowed to socialize in person again. Leslie
I’ll take you up on the beer. Hope it will be soon.
Thanks for the photos! I especially liked the photo of Angus pointing in the shade on that steep hill. It reminded me of dogs long gone; Nitro, Dixie, Gus, Smokey, Granite, Birdy, Quill, Sage and others I wish I had taken a photos while hunting. Sorry to here Sam lost his great dog Hannah. Please pass on my regrets.
Ron,
You have lots of dogs to remember. I’m sure each one was special in their own beautiful way.
Hannah was a sweet girl, I’ll pass your regrets onto Sam the next time I see him.
Take care out there. Leslie
Always love your post and photos. Thanks for putting a smile on my face again. Cactus, rattlesnakes and poison ivy wasn’t your Hells Canyon trip was it?
Brett, you know the place well. It was that weekend we met you in the campground.
Thanks for reading our blog. Maybe our paths will cross again one of these days. Stop by for a beer if you’re ever in our neck of the woods.
Leslie (and Bob)
Lovely photos and memories.
Thanks Larry. Stay safe out there and when the coast is clear come on up for some brew, we’ll have a bunch on tap.
Leslie and Bob
Leslie, thanks for this post!! I’ve looked at the photos four times this morning and watched the 2016 video again. During this stressful period it was nice to shift my thoughts to the good times in Idaho. With Bob out of school, I would hope he has filled all the fly boxes with guaranteed to catch fish patterns and you guys are plotting float trips.
both of you take care
Good morning Cliff,
Thank you for being a faithful follower all these years. I hope you and your family are healthy over there.
Yes, the good times keep us going. Bob is still teaching right now in our district. The students and teachers can’t attend school in person so they’re doing it remotely using a platform called “Zoom.” The past four days he’s been in the office all day and he’s still doing writing and reading assignments that he has to grade. It’s a very difficult way to teach and he’s pretty stressed over it.
Bob talked about making some flies because we hope to spend summer on the river. Montana bound again as long as it isn’t closed to out-of-state anglers like they just did in Oregon yesterday.
Take it easy. Leslie
Awesome photos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Greg, we appreciate you reading. Stay safe out there. Cheers, Leslie and Bob.
Great pictures of great times. Thank you.
Sam,
I’ve got more photos of you and Hannah and a couple of short video clips you might like to see. We’ll buy you a pint of beer in our pub when we’re allowed to socialize in person again. Leslie
I’ll take you up on the beer. Hope it will be soon.
Thanks for the photos! I especially liked the photo of Angus pointing in the shade on that steep hill. It reminded me of dogs long gone; Nitro, Dixie, Gus, Smokey, Granite, Birdy, Quill, Sage and others I wish I had taken a photos while hunting. Sorry to here Sam lost his great dog Hannah. Please pass on my regrets.
Ron,
You have lots of dogs to remember. I’m sure each one was special in their own beautiful way.
Hannah was a sweet girl, I’ll pass your regrets onto Sam the next time I see him.
Take care out there. Leslie
Always love your post and photos. Thanks for putting a smile on my face again. Cactus, rattlesnakes and poison ivy wasn’t your Hells Canyon trip was it?
Brett, you know the place well. It was that weekend we met you in the campground.
Thanks for reading our blog. Maybe our paths will cross again one of these days. Stop by for a beer if you’re ever in our neck of the woods.
Leslie (and Bob)
Will do
Oh, so good! That balloon caption made me laugh!
As Viv Savage on Spinal Tap would say, “Have… a… good… time… all the time.”