Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Upland bird hunters?

My long time black powder friends and I have been doing an annual bird hunt in the northern tip of New Hampshire for around 30 years. We started out with muzzle loaders but have grown older and lazier so now use modern guns. This allows me to miss faster. This annual trip is one of the highlights of my year. The weather is usually nice, the fall colors are out, getting to spend some time with old friends and maybe a bird or two will be bagged. It don't get no better than that.

Back in the good old days of SW KS pheasant hunting I had a mammoth sized chocolate lab.

Dad had run over her when she was a pup so she had bad hips from the get go. But that meant she was slow and stuck right by my side. Until she got wind of a bird close and she’d give me that look like “come on boss” and start on the trail at a wallowing lope. She’d bull through whatever thick thorny mess of cover and root them out to put them up. The shooting was usually easy as they flushed close, nothing as satisfying as pillow casing a big rooster with an ounce and a quarter of 6s at 12 yards. Cripples she was slow but she’d stick with it and run them to ground, didn’t lose many when she was around.

More than one time a guy asked if I was really bringing that old dog at the start of the day. At the end of the day they’d be wanting to buy one just like her. I could take her and hunt slow like we were sneaking and stalking and not walk past birds and kill most of the ones we put up. With her staying so close and us being pretty quiet we didn’t put many up wild out of range either.

End of the day we’d clean birds on the tailgate and she’d crush and gnaw the elbows off all the wings we cut off. Then eat all the guts out of every bird as we cleaned them. Big old stinking bloody filthy dog that I had to lift into and out of the truck because of her hips. I always snuck her into the motel room and gave her a couple aspirin in a slice of cheese at bedtime. Good times.

I’ve seen plenty of them not 20 miles from where Geno lives. Always wanted to bring my dogs and hunt my friends place there, but between the stupid regs in Cali about guns and ammo and the joy of carrying a dog in a semi with a small sleeper, it never happened.

Doc…..Those blue sunglasses on you remind me of Elton John …..👍🏼

I like pheasant hunting. Love quail hunting. But I am addicted to hunting chukar. I'll trade them all for some great chukar hunting. My grandpa chased chukar until he was in his mid 80's. My Dad is 73 and he'll be hunting them with us in a few weeks. My son is 13. He knocked down his first chukar at age 11.
Guess it's in my blood.

Great Dogs!
Great Birds
Great shotgun!

GREAT PHOTOS!!

Sounds like a good hatch for chukar everywhere this year. We hunt them all over central Nevada.
I don't understand guys who say: "I quit hunting when I had to travel for birds" I'll drive 6 to 8 hours to hunt chukar every chance I get.

Yeah,

but your rich and rollin' in the nuts.

Fixed income and a long ass drive to AZ to hunt this year is going to take some of my resources that could go into chukar hunting.

It certainly is fun, but we're at almost $6 a gallon for LGB gas here now. I guess I want a chance to make more meat than a few birds, although with my luck a couple of chukar makes a better meal than the deer I don't get.

Ate a javelina tag in AZ a couple of years back when gas was too high, didn't see spending that kind of money for a vacation and a few pounds of meat, even as delicious as it is. And I love the area we hunt..

Maybe the economy turns around and my retirement plans start earning better rates again I'll chase birds more frequently. Don't know the odds, but I'd sure like to go after one of those snowcock.

How many of you guys really anticipate upland bird hunting?