Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game nevada chuckars

Will be in Reno, Nevada Oct 14-21 for the first time on business and would like to squeeze in some chukar hunting the first several days. Would appreciate any info/general locations that I might be able to pull this off. Thanks

In general, Winemucca is the Chukar capital of the world. Virtually all the mtn. ranges around it have birds. Suggest you look at Nevada's Dept of Wildlife web site. They have contact numbers, and results of Chukar counts sometime after Labor Day. <BR> Have you ever hunted Chukar ? They are very challenging. Suggest you bring mountainering boots, a shotgun you wouldn't mind beating up, and lots of determination.<BR> One hard and fast rule-never go after birds that are above you. They run up hill, and fly down. And they live in great places for desert bighorn sheep. Have fun. E

Will you have access to a truck while in Reno? How far can you travel while here?<P>I would suggest getting to Gerlach for your chuckar expedition. Any of the hills in the lava area are good if there is a water source to grow bugs. You will find gravel roads off the highway that are well traveled...so you don't HAVE to have a truck...but you'll have to walk a little further from where you park. Don't bother asking ANY of the locals where good chuckar hunting is...all they will tell you is "Anywhere". If you need a place to stay, call the Soldiers Meadows ranch. They can put you up and host your chuckar hunt if you like. Very nice folks running the place up there.<P>As stated above, Winnemucca has some decent chuckar hunting. As does the range just south of Rye Patch reservoir. You'll definately need a dog in those areas.<P>If you just want to hunt quail...there's a whole bunch of Californai Quail in our area. Pick a spot that's away from housing developments...it's easy to want to pluck them off the fences in peoples backyards...but best not. I look for water towers up the hill from subdivisions to get my dog on them. Law says you have to be 1/4 mile away from dwellings. Try areas east of Hidden Valley, North of Spanish Springs, South of Reno...all the way out to south of Carson City...heck...they are everywhere.<P>I have some secret spots for chuckar that are within 10 miles of the city. These are my grudge coveys and I have yet to take one cuz I always spot them up hill from me. They are hard work and crafty beasts. Point is...it is not worth your time to try and hunt chuckar near Reno. At a minimum, get out to fernley/Fallon where there is some open country. Winnemucca is about 2 - 2 1/2 hour from Reno. Gerlach is about 2 hours. Either place is your best bet.<P>Nate

Nate - I am planning on hunting Nevada's chukars Jan. 19 or Jan. 26. It's a long ways off but would be interested in learning more about Soldiers Meadows Ranch. I have been unable to locate it. <P>The Idaho season closes the middle of Jan. and I just hate to quit. I have been thinking to hunt near Wells or Jackpot but am open to any suggestions.

<A HREF="http://www.soldiermeadows.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.soldiermeadows.com/</A> <P>Nate

Nate - Thanks for the URL.

Boise. Usually Wells, and Jackpot, don't have many Chuckars. You'd be much better off in the other areas. Look for them right at snow line, right after a storm. One of the prime times to get'em. E

E - Sorry I'm late with this response but didn't logon over the weekend. I've driven through the Jackpot/Wells area a couple of times and it appears to have good chukar habitat. Have you hunted the Jackpot/Wells area? Care to offer advice on a drainage in the Winnemucca area? <P>I agree with your snow line comment. It always seems the freshest grass is closest to the snow line. We have some pretty awesome chukar hunting around home but our season closes the middle of Jan. and I hate to stop early. <P>BTW, what do you consider good chukar hunting? For me it would be something like:<BR>one covey or less than 10 birds is a bust, poor day if less than 40, an average day is 100, awesome is more than 400. I know I have seen over 1000 birds in a single day of hunting but that was a long time ago.

Hi Boise. I've hunted the Wells/Jackpot area. It's a great deer, elk, and pronghorn area. There are some Rocky Mtn. bighorn there too. Some Valley Quail, but we saw no chuckar. The local biologist told me that if they have a few light snowfall years, they will get a buildup of some birds. But normally very few. The Winnemucca area has lots of areas where the birds can get out of the snow. So they do real well. I call a slow day when I see 10 or less. A good day when I see 40, or more. I don't think I've ever seen 100 in one day. We are talking California here. I never hunted Chuckar in Nevada, only California. And then only some so-so areas. Not enough time to go to the better areas and hunt them. <BR> On the best drainage, that changes from year to year. As above, check the Nevada Dept of Wildlife website. They announce the results of their aerial surveys every year with other years for comparison. Chuckar are very mobil, and sensitive to the timing of the rain, or snow. Just because it's wet, or dry, doesn't always mean a good, or bad, year. E

E - Sound like you need to entertain the idea of traveling a little further north! Our chukar population has been on a steady climb since the disasterous foothills fire of 93(?). We are hunting at higher elevations than prior to the fire but it is less rocky. We are finding new places all the time while hunting deer and general scouting trips. <P>It would be easy to substaniate the 1000+ bird day by talking with individuals who hunted the Snake River breaks 15-20 years ago. I will always remember shooting at a large covey of birds and having a second covey jump up, I reloaded quickly and was able to get more shooting when a third covey of birds got up. I hadn't moved and saw something close to 100 birds. We all wore backpacks because the birds would fall out of our vest. Those were the days!