Not just for the birds

Tag: chukar hunting strategies

  • Book Review: Strategies & Tactics for Chukars and Huns

    There’s a new book out on chukar hunting, which I had a chance to read recently. Strategies and Tactics for Chukars and Huns, by retired wildlife biologist Mike Stamm, is currently available as an e-book on Amazon. It’s a welcome addition to the limited book-length information on chukar hunting, and — while looking at similar things as the books by Pat Wray and Richard O’Toole (whose book seems out of print) — focuses more on the title’s promise: how to hunt these birds successfully.

    Written in a straightforward, conversational way, Stamm’s book surveys what most experienced chukar hunters do to prepare for and execute a successful hunt, from equipment, clothing, footware (even more thorough than my several posts on chukar hunting boots), maps (real and virtual), and — most importantly — how to approach birds in different terrain and at different times of the season.

    We get a lot of questions from visitors to this blog about where to find birds. Stamm’s book is worth a read for people relatively new to this endeavor because it spends some time on what kind of habitat to look for (and how to look for it), and will give other more experienced hunters either new ideas about or validation of their own strategies and tactics.

    This is a self-published book, and is admittedly a work in progress. One of the things I like about it are the author’s own illustrations, which show a humorous side to the activity, which is in keeping with most serious chukar hunters’ self-conception: you have to be able to laugh at yourself to want to keep doing this ridiculousness; when the birds are laughing at you from the rimrock above, if you don’t laugh, too, you’re in for an even harder day. The illustrations also make me feel much better about my own shoddy artistic talent. So there’s that.

    My favorite illustration in Stamm’s book. I can think of other figures that visit (or live in) chukar habitat to describe as “outlaws.” I prefer to think of chukar more as naturalized overlords facing an invasion from bovine and ATV abuse.

    Two things missing from Stamm’s book, in my humble opinion, are (first) an informative diatribe about medusahead and the forces that have led to its status as the thing that will extinguish chukar in natural habitat, and (second) any mention of the best chukar dog breed ever, the Brittany. If you can look past those two things, I think it’s well worth a read.

  • Low Down on Chukar

    Steep hill chukar hunting
    Up, up, and, oh crap, UP!

    Well, after my recent post, “Getting High on Chukar,” in which I revealed that up north I have seen more birds lower on the slopes than I do down south, I went low over the Thanksgiving break in my spot down south. In other words, I decided to try the northern tactic in the south. It wasn’t the best day, but I have to remind myself that the worst day chukar hunting is better than the best day at work.

    I went with a friend. Conditions were pretty wet to start, which wasn’t bad and made the ground nice and pliable. After about a half hour of steep side-hilling not far above the creek we came to a sharp ridge and draw, and I expected to see some birds there because of all the cover and the ridge protecting them from the wind. Sure enough, as we came over the spine of the ridge we saw Angus pointing downhill about ten yards below the ridgetop. Unfortunately, though, the birds busted before we could get in range. No shots, and about ten birds in the covey. It looked like they hugged the hillside and flared about two ridges away, so we skidaddled after them, paralleling each other on the hill about 75 yards apart, with Angus bouncing between us.

    After a couple ridges and some unpleasant brush-busting and minor falls, we’d bumped up two or three singles, and missed each of them. I felt we should get to a higher vantage point and work down, but the terrain was pretty imposing for such a feat so we continued at the lower trajectory. After a covey busted well above us, probably in response to our talking about what the hell we should do in the hardening rain, I decided to head straight uphill and head back to the truck.

    Steep hill for chukar hunting
    My wife, who photographs some of these “walks,” always says, “Photos don’t really show how steep it actually is!”

    On the grueling way up I realized why I prefer getting high to start and working down. When you work low at first, there’s nowhere but up, and – Murphy’s Law or whatever – it’s usually the worst kind of “up” – rocky, loose, brush-encrusted, pitches requiring hands-and-knees ascending. Yuck. The fact that we didn’t see many birds throughout this ordeal was like a birthday boy watching his mom scrape all the frosting off his cake and run it down the disposal. Well, maybe not exactly like that, but sort of. Anyway, once we got up to the top ridge, the sun came out and the walking got easier. Still, we couldn’t find many birds up there, but at least I knew where I was. And, maybe best, the truck was below us.

    So, I’m not sure if I learned much on this day that I didn’t already know. I actually think the birds’ elevation is far more mysterious than “high” or “low” and depends on way more factors than I understand. Therefore, since I still know next to nothing about chukar behavior, I’ll continue “learning” by starting high and working down, especially if I can figure out which way the wind is blowing.