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.
Been meaning to put together a highlight reel of our season last year. Took me a while. There’s something about the turn in the weather that makes me begin to feel like it won’t be too long before we can start another cycle. The one major distraction from thinking about next bird season is the current, horrendous tick season (see my post from last year about ticks); after a run last weekend I pulled 32 ticks off of poor Angus.
But I digress. We got out a lot last season and, thanks to my wife whose video skills have gotten quite good and who has no interest in shooting birds with a gun (lucky me!), we got some good pictures. Although I have a favorite spot I go to whenever I have the time, we made it to a bunch of different places and saw some incredible country. Angus, with very little training, is more than I could ask for in a hunting partner. I’m lazy on the work and don’t have the patience to make him steady to wing. We see plenty of birds and my shooting – which I hope to improve this summer – yields us more than we like to eat (although with the risotto recipe I came up with might make me want to increase the take).
Angus and I headed to the hills yesterday to see if we could find some chukar. These birds live in steep, rocky, hard to reach places. It is always a workout, and those who hunt chukar regularly are obsessed with it, and in very good physical condition. And their feet usually hurt because of the fact that the birds are never on flat ground but always on steep slopes. They are easy to shoot – if you’re lucky enough to find them – but very hard to hit because they are fast, savvy, and have mastered the art of surprise. But they are very good eating and the activity brings a lot of other fulfilling things to the table, like amazing views and happy, well-exercised dogs.
Angus had never sought chukar, partly because I stopped taking Glenna hunting due to her 20-mile range. She had an incredible nose for birds and could find anything anywhere. But she hunted for herself, and when the covey broke she would spend the rest of the day – literally – chasing each bird down and into the next county. She excelled at making sure there would never be any birds near me.
So I had no idea how Angus would do because he’d never had his nose on these birds and I’d never seen him point anything. I hadn’t done any serious training with him, and didn’t expect much from this outing other than a good workout. But I am very pleased to report that – after he stumbled into a covey and chased a few down – he used his nose to find four coveys and even pointed them. The birds broke because of my approach, and I missed all of the eight shots I took (time to start shooting skeet). But my little dog with tiny feet covered the ground carefully, thoroughly, and successfully while staying close enough to me to make an excellent hunting partner. I couldn’t have been happier with him, and look forward to our next attempt at bagging some of these amazing birds.
UPDATE (Nov. 20): We’ve now been chukar hunting three times. Waiting a week for our second outing was almost impossible. I spent most of my waking hours reading and thinking about chukar and guns and bird dogs. When the day finally came, we headed back up the hill and got into birds even sooner than before. Angus busted the first covey but after that knew exactly how close he could get before locking up and lifting his little front foot as if to say, “I believe I have them pinpointed, sir.” As usual, I whiffed.
Until the last covey we saw that day. He pointed, I flushed and somehow managed the composure to follow one bird, get the line, and shoot. Miracle of miracles, the chukar cartwheeled to the ground, ending up about 100 yards below me down a slope as steep as Carter-era inflation. Angus, following the birds, saw the one I hit and found it at the base of a sagebrush. I never would have found it. He grabbed it with his mouth, looked up at me, and proceeded on a beeline back up to me, grunting with pleasure as he dropped the bird at my feet. Not being particularly religious I had no prayers to recite, nobody or no thing in particular to thank. Just Angus.
Angus's first taste of chukar
It’s weird to underestimate something you adore, but I had vastly underestimated Angus’s natural ability. We’ve been out regularly for a while now, and he’s the quick study I never will be. Last week, despite usually being careful to keep to the ridge tops so as to stay above the chukar, we found ourselves fairly well down a slope. I came around the ridgeline to find Angus pointing, facing up the hill. “Crap,” I thought, “they’re above us and running straight up the hill.” I told Angus to “find the bird” and he heaved his wee frame up the hill after them. I was fried and couldn’t follow, figuring my only chance was that he’d bump a single down toward me. Ten seconds later I heard chukar music and managed to connect on a long crossing shot. A few seconds later Angus comes wheeling downhill, finds the bird, and brings it back to me. “Mission accomplished, sir! What’s next, sir?”
It’s discoveries like this, which might simply be good luck, that make all the other problems of life seem – at least temporarily – so insignificant. But the best part is that Angus, after waiting three years for me to wake up and smell the chukar, is finally doing what he’s wired to do. Maybe he’ll teach me something in his spare time.
Last Wednesday Leslie had a day off and came along for several reasons: she had some new boots she wanted to try out (see her blog about that!), she wanted a good workout, and had agreed to take photos and video. Check ’em out below…
