More success photos

Keep sending them in.

Mark Midtlying

Quinn Inwards new pup, Joker has already got it figured.

Final days

Well the Idaho season has come to an end. We hit the hill as hard as possible the last three days and although we were successful in many ways, the last day painted a picture of what the future for me and the mountain is likely to look like. It wasn't pretty and although the pictures I took are the greatest parts of my hunts, they don't show the old man behind the camera. I hoped I would never get old ,but this year made me realize those dreams would not continue.

The first couple of days were on hills a little more negotiable than the third, but still put quite a hurt on the body. No falls or anything like that, just sore back and other muscles. I saved the last day for the bad stuff knowing where Greg and I would finish the season. Day one we had a darn good day and packed quite a good day on my back  to the truck.

It was warm and the snow was departing the mountain quite rapidly and we were lucky to beat the bad slides home.

We heard later that the road had been closed for a couple of hours that evening. The next day we hiked high above the fog and found a fair number of birds that wanted to tease us and we got some good entertainment, but it wasn't without some struggling. Not for the dogs but for me. My lungs and back said to make it a short one but we still gained about 1500 feet in elevation.

We got some great points and once in a while I even made a good shot ,but we cut the day shorter than usual. I always love taking point and honor shots with the camera.

Three days in a row are getting too much for Jake, even though he just turned 7.And  I knew he would be staying home the next day so I was concentrating more on his points as we headed back down the hill. He didn't disappoint me at all and finished the day with some fine action. The number of birds I've shot over him in the last 7 years is amazing.

Now to the killer. Day three. As I said. I knew where we were headed and I also knew how steep it was so I saved Jake the misery by leaving him at home with Barb. It was hard leaving my buddy behind, but I knew it was best. Greg Allen and I have hunted this spot for over 25 years and this was our first trip to this steep mountain this year. I mentally was prepared, so I thought. Here's a short video of Greg and his three girls Trudy, Katie and the pup Elsa. I headed up the slope early to video the excitement of the girls ready to go. Greg and I have been doing this together for over 30 years and he and his girls are the best hunting companions a guy could ever want.

Don't let the video fool you. This mountain is as steep a mountain as you can hunt. There is never a flat spot to sink your feet into. Even the ridges and draws are too steep to go straight up. Most places you can at least find a deer trail to follow, but not this mountain. You just side hill around and up the mountain until one ankle gets sore and than do a 180 until you get to the elevation you want to hunt. Greg always heads up the road about a half a mile and then hits the slopes to put some distance between us. I always know where he is from the distant shots or the covey of chukars flying high above me around the hill. Grady had no problem traversing the side hills, but even his points 150 yards away and usually up hill or down seemed to take me forever to get to.

Once again, don't let the picture fool you. The hill I am on is as steep as the opposite hill. In fact it is a continuation of the hill we are side hilling.  It just continues and the birds love it. I'd have to say I had at least 15 solid points on the day and most of half of them I just couldn't get to. Gaining the elevation was just kicking my butt.

When I would get to the point and shoot well the bird would always fall at least 100 yards down the hill making for hard and tiring retrieves. Once again this video shows the lst half a Grady's retrieve and the video does the steepness no justice.

Have I mentioned that the mountain was always steep. This long off shot of Grady is pretty much the same elevation as I was, but due to the steepness it still took me several minutes to get to his point 190 yards away and then not get a shot because the birds were down hill and to quick for me to get a shot.

 I took one passing shot that day and I ended up rolling side hill two or three times because of the steepness. I'd probably still be rolling if I had fallen down hill instead of  the way I did. I have to say seeing the number of birds I did kept both Grady and I excited but my body just decided to quit on me. Grady had find after find and I got some good photos and made a few nice shots afterwords but the work only began for Grady at the shot. The retrieves were long. 

As I look at these pictures I think was it really that bad or was I imagining it being steep. Did I mention how steep it was. This was my favorite point of the day and after the photo I made a crippling shot on a bird that fluttered down the hill out of sight.

Grady went down for the retrieve but had no idea the bird went as far as it did, so I had to head down the slope to what seemed forever until Grady found the bird and retrieved it to me. I looked back up at the elevation we had lost and decided there was no way I could get back up there and decided to stay at the current elevation. Grady's last point was shortly after that with the same results but this time the bird made it almost down to the road. Grady had no idea I had hit it and I knew I had to go down and help him find the bird. We did find the bird but I was spent for the day. We walked the final mile on the road with chukars calling us from above. In years past there is no way that I wouldn't have taken their challenging calls unless I had already limited out but this day was different. The will to continue was gone. It was almost not fun. Back at the truck we met Greg and took some photo's of his take.

Of course Grady had to get in the picture. In the past I would have considered this a great hunt but by now I was sore enough I was thinking of my bed back home. We drove the hour and a half back to Payette where Greg dropped me off  at my truck and continued my hour drive home. I stopped 6 times just to stretch and by the time I got home Barb had to help me bring the gear in while I soaked in the tub. 

If this post sounds like the whimpering of a whipped pup, it is. I'm apologizing for the future. Hopefully I'll be still posting, but it will probably be less success stories. I'm going to find more huntable areas for me and the boys and I know that means fewer birds. But you'll never hear me say it's not like it use to be because I know they are up there waiting for someone else who loves chasing chukars as much as me to come and challenge them.

I hope someone else comes along and starts a post about chukar hunting. Someone who has the energy to chase the birds in their natural habitat and understands the ups and downs of chukar hunting. Someone who understands that there will always be good bird number years as well as bad. Someone who knows that there is little interference by humans to affect those us and downs. Limit changing and season changing will not change what has worked for the last fifty years. Keeping public lands public will be the biggest challenge to keeping great chukar hunting. There are plenty of people out there to complain about those things as well as the tools and ways that others hunt. We need an ambassador for chukar hunting and the great dogs we follow and great birds we pursue.

Now, for my feelings about the 2019-2020 chukar season. For me it was above average. It started out with seeing a lot of young birds later in the season than usual so my early season found fewer shot birds but it picked up as the season progressed. We didn't have any rough weather conditions so accessibility wasn't much of an issue. Hunting pressure was minimal. The biggest plus for me was my shooting percentage. For the first time I was in the 70% range. 73% to be more exact. I think that was because I'm much slower now and am usually only getting one shot off so I'm taking more time.

One more thing. My rants for the year. Once again there is the talk about seasons and limits. Some want to move the limit back to 6 birds. Why? How many times do you shoot eight birds and what will it accomplish? It won't affect the bird numbers at all but might make some feel better because they got a limit. Most people know golf. That is like saying let's make the hole 4 inches bigger and make 80 par instead of 72. As far as the seasons, the game management has done a great job in finding what works best. The early season works for some and the late season for others. Accept it and move on. Some don't like the heat and some don't like the muddy roads in January. I wouldn't chukar hunt without a dog but I see no fault in those that drive a road until they see a covey bust and than chase them down. What makes their way of hunting any different than mine. This year I heard the rant of hunters riding in their four wheelers while their dogs ran and than would get off and shoot birds when the dogs would point. Not my style but do you really think they get more birds than the walking hunter? As long as what they are doing is legal put it out of your mind and enjoy your hunt the way you should.

Good luck to all in the future and I hope I'll hear from you soon.

Conner's back.

My little buddy has become a duck and goose hunting fanatic. So when he called a couple of days ago and said he wanted to do some chukar chasing I was more than thrilled to hit the snowy slopes again. The bird numbers were great and I'd have to say we saw a couple hundred birds. Most of them were running straight up the ridge or flying from the predators high above but they kept us encouraged that sooner or later we would get some points.

Conner and the boys had a little more hustle than I did and were soon hunting way ahead of me. I was amazed at how the dogs abandoned me for Conner. I guess they knew who the shooter was and I was happy just to hang back and watch. The day started out with this point (Grady is in the brush and Jake was honoring) and shot.

I really felt bad when the bird fell on the other side of the draw and the three of them had to go find it while I caught my breath.

Not much later, the boys pointed another covey and Conner got a double with one dropping dead and number two crippled it's way down to the deep brush. Conner had to help the boys located the bird and Grady finally stuck his head in and brought it out.

We had gained as much elevation as we thought we needed and started to cut across the slopes. Of course the northern exposures had a foot or two of damp snow to trudge through but the southern faces were bearable and the boys had yet another find for Conner. I cut the video short trying to get into a better position to watch Conner but before I got there he had one more bird in his bag.

The final point on camera was too much for me to handle. I'm saving the flush of these birds for another time. I was thrilled to watch Jake honor Grady as soon as he saw him but suddenly his attention turned to scent. Somehow the three of them had walked into the middle of a large covey of chukar that were lucky Conner was carrying my alternate over and under. He fired his two shots and dropped a bird. He didn't even try and reload but yelled up at me "wow, I've never seen that many chukar at one time.

Conner now had five chukars in his vest and I hadn't fired a shot. It's no wonder the dogs wanted to stay with him. We had gone almost three miles and a lot of the birds flew back behind us. Conner tried to convince me that most birds flew ahead of us but I was sure they had gone back toward the truck. As we headed back towards the truck the dogs picked up lot's of stragglers and Conner had to walk with an open shotgun. He had his eight birds.

With the camera down I finally got to participate and added another five to the pot.

The duck season closes Friday so I think Conner will be hunting with me next week end which will be the final weekend of the season. With 12 days left in the season I'll be chasing as much as possible but Jake and Grady get pretty spent after a days hunt in the snow. Of course I could go every day because I float like a butterfly through the snow. NOT!

Snowy hunt.

I had a good hunt over at the big pond today. Good because we got some birds, had some fine points, shot fair and didn't break anything or hurt anything.

We hunted in up to a foot of snow and a fierce wind. Luckily the temperature was somewhere in the mid 30's so it wasn't unbearable. There was no crust on the snow but the chukars ran on top of it as if it were a concrete highway. It's amazing to see the length of their stride.

Dog work wasn't the best because the birds running were so visible. Jake started a new habit this year of yipping at running birds and he did a lot of yipping today. We also saw birds flying high above us from all the birds of prey. The birds were also talking more than I have heard this year. I didn't see another rig on the way in and I'm pretty sure the only hunters on those slopes were the Eagles, Hawks and us.

Although we never saw the sun the temperature was warm enough to melt some of the snow. A few more days like this and it might get easier for me to get to the points. The steep ridges combined with the snow were sometimes taking me 10 minutes or so just on 200 yard points. Especially when they were on opposite of the draws. Only once today did Grady get outside of 250 yards and that was because he was on chase of about 30 birds that crow hopped around the hill

As usual the birds used the rocky area for shelter  and every time we approached one of those areas there was at least one chukar to be pointed.

I'll make it short by saying there is still some great hunting to be had over there and I assure you I will be over that way in the next two weeks as often as I can. Go get em and good luck.

It's getting harder.

Admitting defeat is tough. Especially when it is between me and an inanimate object like a mountain. After this hunt I am giving in to the mountain and snow. The two of them together have beaten me. As much as I love watching the dogs work, these kind of days are no longer a challenge but almost torture. I came off the hill hurting so bad that I was ready to give it up. Of course after the long drive home with the hounds I once again can't wait to be on the mountain again but without the snow. Here's a summary of my day. Be prepared for a little whining.

The day began with around 4 inches of new snow and the temperature on my truck said 29 degrees. The roads were fairly clear to my destination until I got to the one lane dirt road which went up the mountain for about three miles. My truck made the only tracks for the day on the road. After getting stuck twice coming out I figured out why my tire tracks were the sole tracks for the day. I was the only one stupid enough to drive in there.

The snow was falling again but the temperature was very comfortable so Jake, Grady and I headed towards the mountain we intended to hunt.

You can see a 4 wheeler road in the draw but it can't be accessed this time of the year accept by snow mobiles which I actually saw one year but they were lion hunters. I knew once we got on the mountain we would be having bird dog fun. The problem became getting on the mountain. The walk in the draw wasn't too tough but eventually we had to head up. This is where we eventually started up because we could see chukars crow hopping through the rocks above.

Needless to say, my alpha said dog on point several times but before I could even get in sight birds were diving over the top of me heading for the other side. I never knew whether the dogs flushed the birds or what and after several falls I wasn't even caring very much. I just knew I had to get to where I could get some solid footing for a shot if it ever presented itself, and I was starting to doubt there was such a place. Here's a short video of Grady as he moved over the hill wondering why I never shot.

At one spot in the draw he had a hard time leaving it with all the tracks left after the birds got off their roost. I never saw those birds but could hear them taking off one by one, wondering how much fun it would have been if I were just 50 yards up the hill.

After 2 and a half hours I finally got above all the bad stuff (not for the chukars but for me) and followed the boys looking for birds.

We had climbed over 1800 feet and I could follow game trails around the hill to get to points without the worry of splitting my head open. By now my back was killing me but there was no way I was coming off that hill without seeing the dogs get a few points and me getting a few shots. We were in about 6 inches of snow now with soft dirt underneath. I wasn't up to taking pictures but did manage to get this long range shot of Jake on point but didn't get any follow up shots as I approached because I was more interested in putting a bird in the bag.

I also got the camera out to prove that I shot straight that time.

After about four hours on the hill I decided that I had had enough and started the trek back to the truck. Both dogs were hunting a lot closer now and I knew they felt the same. By now my back was gone and after we picked up one more bird I decide to break my gun down and put it in my pack. I shot a quick picture of my take with Jake and Grady, put everything back in my vest and slowly headed for the draw and the trail.

From that time on the boys seemed to know we were done with the hunt and pretty much broke trail for me to head down. By the time we got back to the truck I had gone 6.2 miles, Jake went 18.8 and Grady went 26.4. As I mentioned I got over 1800 feet in elevation gain and we had been on the hill for almost 6 hours.  That means I was covering a whopping mile per hour. To be honest, that surprised me. I thought I was even slower than that.

It was a very successful days in most ways. Bird numbers were great with some coveys looking to have close to 40 birds or more but those were the coveys we never got close to. We got more birds than I probably deserve but not as many as the dogs deserved. We saw deer, elk and a coyote. Pretty much what most would call a great day, including myself. 

But back at the truck I wasn't feeling so good about it. I wasn't sure about the hour and a half ride home with my back hurting like it was. I stopped every 15 minutes to do a lap around the truck and stretch the best I could. The dogs were fine just to sleep in the back seat of course. My back has been getting worse every year and last year my doctor said I should probably look into getting an operation. This year it has seemed to get worse by the month. But more than a bad back, I think it's the snow and frozen north exposures. From the moment I stepped out of the truck until I returned I felt tensed up on each step. Somehow I think the brain prepares you for these conditions and you use different muscles as you hike.

I know that's a lot of whining for such a wonderful day but it opened my eyes to my capabilities as I approach 69 years of age. It's time to let the young men take on the mountain on these snowy days. Hell, I'm retired and can pick and choose the days I hunt now. I've got 4 and a half months to choose from so all I have to do is convince Jake and Grady that is best. 

Just a thought for you guys reaching the middle ages. Stretch a lot and don't let your upper body get so out of shape and maybe you won't ever have to say I can't swing left to right or vice versa. Being sore is the pits.

Chukar populations.

Today after reading a post from Bob Mcmichaels  "Chukar Culture" blog I decided to try and dismiss some of the common myths about chukar seasons and numbers. Understand that I know Bob and respect his and Leslie's abilities to hunt chukars and keep us entertained with his blog. His hunting with Angus and Peat (Brittanies) is well known and his blogs are informative and fun. Rather than stealing his page with a long rebuttal I decided to use my own space to hopefully portray my feelings on a few of his rants.

First, is the mention of moving the daily limit back to 6. I remember back about 10 years ago when we fought to get the limit back up to 8 and the several meetings I had with other hunters and the F&G. The end result was that the reason the limit was moved down to 6 was because of the need to please some hunting groups. All records showed that lowering the limit did nothing to increase the next year's populations. I remember one member of a popular hunting group actually saying "he didn't care if the limit was lowered to two birds because that was his personal limit anyway". He obviously had a louder voice than me.

Most of what I say is just personal feelings, but there is a lot of literature out there to help me out. Every written study on chukar populations say that hunting pressure has very little impact on populations. In fact the average of birds taken by hunters is 8%. This isn't just a guess. Many studies have used radio footed devices to track the birds throughout the season. The main cause of death was from eagles and hawks during the migrating season. Obviously they are much more efficient hunters than humans. Plus they are adapt to getting to where we can't get. One study I read from Nevada said "the effects of seasonal limits has little impact on bird numbers but the problem is for biologist to educate hunters to accept this". Properly informed hunters are an integral part of good game management.

Second, Bob mentioned about moving the opening date of chukar season back a little. He's right. There are lot's of young birds and it would be nice to see them get a little bigger. Be careful in what you wish for. Once we lose it it will be harder to ever get it back. What about those who say January is a bad month for hunting because the birds are forced closer to the roads. I personally don't believe that, but I hear that at times and quickly try and dismiss those thoughts before they get a group together and go complain to the F&G. Those are the people that the game department hear from the most. Why would the happy hunters go in and complain until they feel they are going to lose a good thing. Remember "properly informed hunters are an integral part of good game management". You don't have to shoot the 3/4 sized birds on that early season. Be a little picky. It's easier than you think once you set your mind to it. There is also the complaint that the early season makes it too easy for hunters to slaughter the birds around a water source. This may be true but it wouldn't matter whether the opening day was September 20 or October 10, that opening week will still be the same slaughter until the birds have been educated. Opening season of everything is pretty much the same.

Every game department in the northwest pretty much have the same feelings about chukar and hun hunting. It is pretty much self regulatory in the fact that hunting pressure decreases as the chukar population decreases. In other words, there will be more chukar hunters on those peak seasons and hunters give up soon on the down years. Since I've been hunting chukars in the 70's I can vouch for this.

As far as the atv's and utv's, I wish many of the people that use them in the way that Bob mentions wouldn't do so. They give chukar hunting a black eye in my opinion. My way is boots on the ground and using the side by side just to get to an area. I don't believe the guys that are just riding on the atv while their dog is up hunting are killing as many birds as they are educating but as long as it is legal we have to accept it. I just know the places I hike to can only be accessed by foot unless you are an eagle.

One last thing I'd like to mention. Another hunting companion asked me why the F&G doesn't build guzzlers in Idaho like they did in Nevada. It's pretty simple, guzzlers do not improve chukar survival, productivity or availability to hunters. Think about it. How many times have you found hidden seeps or springs while chukar hunting. Utah State did a study on the effects of available water on chukar populations and their final conclusion was "installation of rain-catchment devices is not a feasible technique for improving chukar habitat."

I try and learn as much about the chukar seasons as I can because it is the dogs and my favorite time of the year. I always go with the intentions of getting 8 birds but that seldom happens. Yes, I do stop hunting  an area because I don't see many birds and am satisfied with fewer birds. I do try and do everything possible to keep the bird numbers up but am still conscious of what really matters. What really has an affect is what I have no control of.

Pretty much, each season becomes hit and miss as far as chukars go. This year was a prime example. I really thought with the spring we had it would be a banner year, but according to most it was just average. I had several good hunts and honestly saw a lot of birds and did see a lot of late young birds but chukars don't have a calendar. Range conditions determine chukar production but our hunting attitude is what makes for great chukar hunting.

A new decade

Today is the beginning of a new decade for all of us. For the younger hunters just starting their journey in upland hunting or any other type hunting for that matter, I encourage you to keep a journal. I've kept notes for the past thirty years but only on a tablet my first ten years until my daughter, Kerri, made me my first upland journal. Since that time I have recorded each individual hunt no matter how meaningless it may have been.

I quit keeping a journal the last two years and after reading through the past twenty years of journals I will be back at recording my hunts.

I started out by looking through my journals to find the date Dakota, my second GSP, was chased by a cougar and I ended up shooting the cat at 7 yards. Once I found the date, Christmas eve 2004, I became curious about many of the other things that happened during my thrilling chukar hunts.

Of course the most memorable moment was Tucker's first point and retrieve on Oct.29, 1996. He pointed his first upland bird which ended up being a pheasant and he was so small he had to try and drag it back to me. Since that time he brought me many memories such as the time he went head over heals several time while chasing a cripple down a steep slope. I wrote how scared I was when I watched it but also how relieved I was to see him unscathed and the crippled bird in his mouth. I had many more of those moments over the years, but got more used to it realizing that is part of hunting chukar terrain.

Although I usually hunt alone, I  travel to the hunting areas with other hunters and then we go our own ways. I'd forgotten about many of those people and the great stories we shared to and from home. Greg Allen and I have spent so many hours riding together over the past thirty years I could write a book of all the crazy things that have happened to us. Like the time we got stuck in a snow drift with his son and his son's friend. It was before the cell phone craze and we had no way of communicating back home. We were pretty sure we were there for the night and this was the first hunt the friend had been on and his parents knew nothing about Greg or I. As we huddled in the truck Greg and I wondered what the parents were thinking about us. Then the lion hunters came and pulled us out. That was clear back in 2001.

Like I mentioned, except for Conner, I usually hunt alone but I offered to take a friend hunting one day. He mentioned he might bring a friend and I was a little miffed when he showed up with four guys. I was hunting with Tucker and Dakota at the time and they had never hunted with anyone but me. I bit my tongue and figured on giving it a try but left my shotgun in the truck worrying about watching hunters and my dogs to make sure everything was safe. By the end of the day I was one proud dog owner. Team Tuckota were champs and everybody got to shoot off points. None of the guys had ever shot a chukar before and by the end of the day we came home with 26 birds.

Oh , and my fall on November 28, 2004 that put the final crunch on my right knee. The next day we scheduled my knee replacement for the first available day in February, after the season ended.

On January 8, 2005, Jeff Dooms, my neighbor and best friend shot his first limit of chukars. He had hunted with me for several years without a dog but didn't like my pace so his wife, Teresa, got him his own GSP, Calvin, and the hook had been set. Four years later he died in a head on collision. A person who shared many hours talking about our dogs. He and I got pretty beat up dislodging a deer stuck in a barb wired fence that year.

That same year, another friend of mine,Claire Eberhardt, lost his twelve year old GSP on a hunt. It was 1/23/05 and the temperature in the Owyhees never got above freezing. She didn't have one of the new Astro's and with the fog and cold had no way to look for her. We started a fire and walked and drove around calling her name for five days with no luck. On the fifth day we had figured the worst. On the way out, a local rancher, 25 miles away stopped us and had found her walking the road by his house. Happy ending and a hunt to write about.

The season of 2005-2006 was my most successful season to that date. It was the first year of the Astro and maybe that could explain my success, but I'd rather believe it was my dogs. I wrote in my notes "all I have to do is let my dogs find the birds and they will hold them until I get a good shot". I got my first double/double that year. That's a limit of huns and chukars in Idaho.

One of my notes said "the dogs pointed a coot today". I remember it well. Miles from a reservoir and a coot takes off from the sage.

2006 and 2007 were probably my funnest years. I get to hunt behind three shorthairs. Tucker, Dakota and Riley. They complimented each other very well and I can't count how many points I walked up on with two honors.

11/21/2008 was the first day I ever can remember going chukar hunting and not seeing a single bird.

I compare all of my dogs by the notes of my journals and it is amazing how I had the same complaints about each one as well as the compliments. I've finally learned that bird dogging is a process that takes time. They have all chased, they have all dropped retrieves, they all seem to have no nose at times, and they are all great.

I don't know how we hunted before the Astro came about. Several of my earlier notes mention my dogs being out of hearing range of the beepers. Somehow we managed and although I had some panic moments I never lost a dog.

Evidently I've always been a whiner. I can't count the times that I complained about how hard it is getting up those mountains. Even clear back in the early 2000's. Complaining about having fun must be a chukar thing.

Other notables, Oregon shut down chukar season 15 days early in 2004 and Idaho closed season 1/10/09. The only early closures I have notes of. The Oregon closure was for Baker county and because of that I ended up finding some more great hunting places in Malheur county. Reading through my journals brings back many of those spots I don't hunt anymore and am wondering why.

My last hunt with the three Amigo's was 10/22/09 and Tuckers last hunt was 11/19/09. Great days. My last chukar hunt with my son was 12/23/11 and he limited out.

The season of 2010-2011 beat 2005-2006 in success. It was truly the good days. That year it was nothing to go to different places every day and see 100 birds or more.

January 2011. I finally beat the mountain. This steep hill is always filled with chukars but I could never get a limit. My best at this spot was 5 for 18 shots. It had my number.  On this particular day I went 8 for 8 and finnaly beat it.

January 2012. The duct tape eight. I had to duct tape my shotgun back together to finish a hunt. Chukar hunting has been rough on many  guns.

Summer of 2012 had Riley in getting knee's fixed and he was back at it for hunting season.

This is a big one. Conner's first chukar hunt. Although he wasn't carrying a gun yet he was right with me on each step. 11/23/12.

10/19/13. Blew out left knee bad enough that I couldn't wait until season end to replace it. I got one more month in before the operation but was on the hill hunting chukar the last week of January 2014.

1/13/15, Conner's best day on the hill. 4 chukars behind the dogs at 12 years old. On 11/25/17 he shot his first limit of chukars at the age of 14. He's done that several times since.

So, that is my account of why I keep a journal. Even typing this up gets me excited and brings a lump to my throat at times. There are so many memories besides the killing on hunts and the brain don't remember them all without some help. Unlike many of the gentlemen my age, looking back over the years, I can't say it's not like the good ol days because I don't believe chukar hunting has changed that much. At least for me it hasn't.

Good December

We've been having a fairly mild December making the hills more accessible for both hunter and birds. Of course the chukars are much wilder now but luckily with good dog work, I sometimes get to those far away points.

Boy, how I love hunting behind these two.

                                                                                                                                                                           Grady really puts on the miles (averages about 24 miles per hunt) but has become a great bird finder.

He also loves the retrieve.

And sometimes I do my part.

Utah hunters

I was waiting to do this post until I got a few other success pictures from other hunters but either the success isn't out there this year or hunters are too busy having fun they don't have time for pictures. I think it's the latter.

Anyhow, I was corresponding with a hunter from Utah, Riley Galt, who hunts a lot of the same areas I hunt and he sent me some pictures of his November hunt to Idaho.

He spent a week in Idaho with a buddy hunting quail, huns and chukars and it looks like they had a good time and good success. Their week was in all kinds of weather from warm to almost getting snowed in but they made the most of their time by being on the mountain putting lots of miles on boots and dogs.

Here's a picture of Riley. I assume he is just beginning the hunt because he is smiling.

Some good dog work always helps all those miles seem easier.

Especially when you get to a stylish point after trekking through the snow.

Warm conditions make walking easier and white dogs a little more visible.

But late November hunting leads to more points in the snow than the open country.

The rewards at the end of the day from hard miles by both dogs and man are the great memories of the hunt. But a good number of birds at the end of the day don't hurt.

Thanks for the pictures guys and I hope to meet you soon.

Chukar memories

 

Made this short video today as the boys and I sat by the fire and looked at past and current pictures and videos. I'm just practicing for the day that I get some really good stuff. Filming good dog work in chukar country is hard. You very seldom get to see them lock up on point. You just know it happens and you get there. I've got literally hundreds of pointing pictures and retrieving pictures but very little video that shows the good dog work my boys do. Also, since I usually hunt alone, it's impossible to get a video of the dog pointing and me shooting a bird off the flush. Maybe I'll get that figured out one day but until then I'll just keep recording my memories.

Another bout with a sticky kitty

First off, I don't mean to steal my hunting partner's name for porcupines, but when he told me what he called them I had to use it  the name. Thanks Greg Allen, it fits.

Yes, it happened again today. Grady decided to get a taste of a sticky kitty. The day was getting off to a bad start as it was. We started hunting a fog that looked like it would rise but instead it got thicker. Greg took off one way and I the other in search of the chukars we saw tracks of on the way in. Chukar hunting was pretty slow and the few coveys we saw never got lead thrown their way. Either they disappeared into the fog too soon or I couldn't shoot not knowing where dog two was. About 45 minutes into the trip I finally got the signal that both dogs were on point about 150 yards away. I crunched my way through the snow and finally could see both dogs locked up. As I moved forward I could see a few bird heads sticking out of the snow and was ready to move forward for the flush. Suddenly Grady broke and I saw the sticky kitty by the sage. I immediately yelled but it was too late. Grady had a mouth full. I don't even remember hearing the birds flush and maybe they didn't. They may still be up there chuckling about the fool on the hill.

Crap happens and at times I feel like I'm stumbling over it too often. There were about 50 to 75 quills in his lips and mouth. Far less than Jake had two years ago and not that deep so I decided I'd pull them on the hill. Now you have to understand that Grady isn't the toughest dog on the hill and I found out he doesn't like pain much. The whimpering at each quill being pulled was pathetic but he started to put up a fight. I had never used a stiff hand on Grady but now the fight was on. There was a lot of tugging and pulling and yelling by me but I finally got him wedged in some snow deep enough that I could sit on his chest and finally get a good hold. He calmed some and I quieted down some also. Ten minutes or so and we had the job done except for a few deep down and broken.

Jake just sat there and watched more like a referee in case we got a little too rough. Things like this happen to almost all hunters at one time or another but it's how we handle them that is important. I had the right tools but I'm not sure I was of the right mind. I've always said how nice it is to hunt the mountain and never say a word. Silence is beautiful. Greg was on that mountain somewhere and either he didn't hear me or he was being kind and never mentioned I sounded like a raving lunatic on the mountain.

Although everything came out just fine I have to admit I could have been a little quieter. I was a wrestler in high school and I don't remember ever yelling at my opponent to hold still but as I wrestled with Grady I was pretty vocal for him to hold still. Point is, after I calmed down a little and let Grady calm down a little it was fine. Calmer heads usually get the job done easier than panicking.

Good luck in the next 55 days or so and watch for those sticky kitties.

Day off to contemplate

We're about half way through the chukar season and the boys and I are taking this Saturday off and enjoying some college football. I'm also doing some heavy thinking about this weird hunting season. I've had many hunters tell me they're having a hard time finding birds this year. I have to agree even though I am having a very good season.

October had some early moisture followed by very cold temperatures. Even with the cold temperatures, the grass popped up everywhere. Like normal, the birds scattered everywhere because the fresh sprouts were germinated. Mid October, I was finding small coveys of birds both high and low. Then the warm November temperatures and lack of moisture started drying everything up along with the green sprouts on the southern exposures where the chukars usually tend to use this time of the year. Many of the places, you could drop a match and start a fire. My yard is a perfect example. It is dry as a bone.

The birds I am getting are full of green grass and the coveys are once again congregated. Most of the green grass I find now is on the northern slopes and anyplace the sun doesn't hit directly for most of the day. Even though I see plenty of grasshoppers on the southern slopes I have not found any in the crops of the birds telling me the nutritional value to the birds is more towards the grass than the hoppers.

The birds are very healthy looking and I have been surprised that even the later hatched bird are developing a good layer of yellow fat. They are obviously eating well and prepared for the winter months.

My biggest thought on this season is the two hour rule. It takes two hours of humping the hills to find chukars and then the fun begins. You get your birds and then have a two hour trek back to the rig. This year the two hour rule has been stretched out some. Usually four hours is enough time to have some good success but this year I'm spending 5 to 6 hours on the hill to have the same success as the past. I believe I'm seeing more birds than normal, it is just taking me and the dogs longer to find them. It also could mean I'm getting a lot slower than I use to be but that's hard for me to admit.

So, don't lose faith. I believe some wet weather will soon make it easier for the dogs to find those birds and create some fun experiences.

I've also got some thoughts on Jakes strange behaviors this year. Although he will only be 7 in January he covers only 3/4 of the distance of Grady who is almost two. In fact every once in a while he'll walk behind me on the trail while Grady is out 200 to 300 yards looking for birds. It worried me at first but I've decided as long as he is having a good time and Grady is too I'll stay out of the way and let it be. Jake still gets plenty of points and retrieves and he seems perfectly happy to see Grady at a distance and honor. Last year he didn't seem to ever be looking for Grady but this year maybe he's got smart and decided to let the young guy do the work and he still gets to be in the action.

Sometimes Jake won't see Grady on point but knows he is by the way I am carrying my gun and moving towards a point. He'll honor me but slowly circle behind me until he see's Grady. He'll then either honor Grady or swing around behind me and try to come in and trap the birds between them. At first I whoa'd Jake but am now letting it be what it is. Grady stays locked up and doesn't appear to feel like there is any competition in this behavior.

As far as Grady's honor, it is very solid and he won't move until the flush. Grady's problem is also human  caused. Since he chases flushed birds a little further than I like I've worked on him a little on stop at flush. I've had multiple 200 yard points out of sight that by the time I got there Grady would see me and then just go on hunting. There were no birds. On our last trip I saw him bump some birds and stop. My Alpha told me he was on point and he once again stood there until I got to him. Hopefully he'll eventually quit this and save me those 200 yard hikes up and down the mountain to a pointing dog that has already flushed the birds.

So, I came up with two thoughts to help get more birds this year. Both aren't good for us but will help with success. First, until this weather changes, it's going to take a few more miles than usual and second, get out of the way of the dogs and let them do what they do best. They are a heck of a lot better predators than us so start listening to them and quit worrying about how they get the job done. Some day maybe I'll finally get that figured out.

Good Luck

Sometimes the stars align just right.

A few weeks ago, Conner took me duck hunting, something I haven't done for more than 40 years. I was impressed with how he could turn the ducks into the decoys and as you can see we had some great success.

Last Friday night, Conner invited me to a Duck's unlimited banquet along with his mother, brother and Barbara. We had a great dinner, met lot's of good people and had a great time once again. To top it off Conner was drawn for a rifle and two shotguns in the raffles. Unbelievable. Since he is only 17, I had to do the paper work and pick the guns up at Sportsman's yesterday.

Since Conner had school, I decided to take Jake and Grady to the big pond and chase some chukars and then come back through Boise on the way home. I know tailgate pictures aren't always cool but I snapped a picture of the dogs success also.

I am a lucky guy.

Oregon chukar hunt

Barb, the dogs and I spent 4 days over in Oregon last week and had a great hunt. Greg Allen and his girls came over on Saturday and hunted with us at one of our favorite hunting spots.

The hunt was very successful even with the super dry weather. Waking up to 20 degree temperature and having no frost on the wind shield is proof to the dryness. Also the crust of dust on the dogs noses at the end of the day made it obvious why more birds were bumped than usual. The plus side of the dryness was that it was easy to find bird tracks on the game trails thus keeping me excited even when the dogs weren't acting birdie.


Covey finds were far to often to keep count and day one for me was one of those great days. The dog work was great and I shot as well as the dogs held the birds. 8 for 8. That doesn't happen too often.

The following two days brought my average back to normal but it was still great for the dogs. Jake stayed at the camper on day two and Grady stayed there on day three. I figured out why Jake was ranging less and staying closer to me. I had the water and treats. Instead of giving him water every time he walked behind me I told him to hunt em up and he soon figured out I had figured his gig up. He started covering country like normal.

Every morning we would drive through Huntington, Oregon and their marijuana patches and Greg was wondering if maybe I was sniffing the air as we passed. I had two unusual sightings on the hill that day with no pictures to back them up. First off, I saw a nice bighorn ram. We have hunted that range for over thirty years and never seen even a sheep turd so I knew I had to chase the sheep down and get a picture for proof but you know how that ended up. Never saw him again. The second sighting was off of one of Jake's points. As I approached  his point a single chukar took off using a Juniper tree to block any chance of getting a shot. As I swung around the tree waiting for more chukars to explode suddenly about a dozen chukars flew out of the tree also using it for cover so I couldn't get a shot. I have seen a single chukar in Juniper tree's before but never a covey.

Greg was very kind in keeping back the laughs as we drove back to camp and I told him my stories.

The birds were in great shape with lot's of fat reserves ready for winter. Barb and I hung around the camp sight on day four giving the dogs a break since we had such a successful first three days. We only needed two more birds for a three day possession limit.

On my way home I stopped by in New Plymouth and finally got to meet Alan Howell and his girl Gracie. Alan and his wife Kate moved to Idaho from Alaska for the bird hunting opportunities and their setter Gracie has been providing them plenty of of great points.

On returning home I had some great messages from other hunters having great success also. There was a note from the small Munsterlander, Oakley who had finally got her master (Mark Midtlyng) trained and Having some great success.

By the success picture, I'd say Oakley and the other dogs are proving their worth.

I also got a note from Quinn Inwards telling me of the passing of his young shorthair Sage and the sadness of losing his first hunting companion. Like a true bird dog lover he is keeping her close to his heart but moving on with a new pup. Quinn is now training Joker, a GWP which besides being a good looking dog

is already showing some great style.

Last week seemed to be a good week for bird hunters and I think it will even get better once we get a little moisture on the ground helping the dogs use their nose. There is a little over two and a half months of bird hunting left so get those canines out their and let them show their stuff.

Good Luck.

Making another trip to remember

Not such a good day. I should have figured that going hunting today with the temperature hitting 12 degrees this morning and it being Halloween was not a great idea but who ever heard of record lows and ghost could make a bad day of chukar hunting. There is not such a thing as a bad day of chukar hunting. Well, today came pretty close.

It started out with uncertainty. I was going into a place I have hunted several times in the past years but have always walked in from the main road. A few times I saw ATVs back in there so I decided today I would take my side by side in and make a shorter walk. It didn't take long to figure out why I walk in. The rock loaded trail was beating me and the dogs to death. Grady finally decided the only safe place was to sit behind me and lodge me against the steering wheel thus keeping him immobile while Jake kept falling off the seat onto the floor and compressing the gas pedal to help keep things exciting. About four miles down the trail I noticed the right front tire was a little low. So, thanks to the lessons from the California crew, I got my trusted can of fix a flat out and figured I fill the tire. I shook the can as instructed and screwed the cap on and air started coming out of the tire so I quickly depressed the button and nothing happened. I unscrewed the cap and found the can of air and goo was frozen solid. Now the tire was low enough that I didn't want to drive any further.

I looked up the hill and decided it looked like a great place to hunt. I parked the side by side and contemplated on setting the can on the hot engine than came to my senses not knowing what kind of explosion I might create. Instead I placed the can next to a tire facing the sun with hopes of it thawing out. The boys were ready to start having some fun so off we went. About two hours into the trip I realized why I had never hunted that place before. We crossed over the canyon to see if the other ridge had any more to offer. To my excitement the dogs found a good covey of chukars but they dove off the ridge with the wind to their back with no shots fired. I might have got a shot had I heard them taking off but my ears were covered with muffs to keep them warm. Who wears muffs on Oct. 31.

Things started picking up with a point on a small group of huns and a second group of chukars but luck always had me in the wrong position to fire. Finally my Alpha says dog on point. I was just about to cross one of those short rock slides and I peaked at the Alpha to see where the dogs were. For some reason my small chukar brain didn't activate my legs to halt and I tripped over one rock hitting the remainder of the slide with my face, gun and Alpha. My first concern was the terrible sound my gun made as it hit the rocks. As I looked over the damage I realized a steady flow of blood onto the stock might be a reason to assess the damage to me. Wow! My nose sure felt big and there was quite a bit of that red stuff coming out. I don't even remember if the birds flushed or what happened but both dogs were right there seeing which one could lick the most blood off. I inserted some toilet paper and used one of the dogs cold water bottles to help stop the bleeding. After about ten minutes we started back off the hill. I finally figured out that my nose wan't as swollen as I thought but just shifted some to the left side of my face. I remembered the drill from my baseball days and running into the left field fence and having to realign my nose and with a quick pop and more blood we were back to walking.

It looks a lot better now that I've showered but trust me I'll have some good black eyes in a couple of days.

The Alpha didn't sustain any damage but my shotgun didn't fare so well. I got some good scratches on the stock,

a small chunk out of the forearm as well as a dent in the rib vent and some barrel scratches.

But things got better from that point on. We found a few more coveys on the way back to the side by side and actually ended up with two chukars and two huns by the time we reached the side by side. I was surprised to shoot so well with my eyes watering like they were. The can of fix a flat had thawed and we got the tire back up to normal before heading back to the truck. Grady was not moving from the drivers seat and our ride back to the truck was cramped for me but comfy for him. I checked the temperature on my truck when we got there and it had risen all the way up to 36. The good news is that it's supposed to get warmer.

Be safe out there, get some birds and treat those dogs to some good times.

strange month

More than a strange month, this has been a different year for me. After an exciting scouting season I was a little surprised as the season progressed at the fewer finds than usual. I caught Grady a few times chasing the birds and figured that might be the reason for fewer bird encounters. Add to that I wasn't seeing much bird sign. Weather wise, it's been one of the best opening month and a half I can remember. You name the conditions and we've had them. I don't always have great years but I can usually figure out why. Lack of birds, poor dog work or me being lazy are a few reasons I can speak of but this year too many variables had me scratching my head. But I think I have put a finger on a few of the variables affecting my success.

 First of all is Grady and the chasing birds. I don't know what I did to create his chase, but fixing this particular problem with a stern whoa has worked wonders. He's now back to a 20 yard chase before he starts back to hunting. I'm sure on some of his earlier chases he was busting other coveys and that's why I wasn't seeing many birds.

Next is the hatch. There were a lot of real late hatches this year. Just a couple of days ago I got a bird that had to have hatched in late August. In September I'm sure the dogs were having a hard time getting any scent form these young birds creating that lack of bird finds which we are not having that problem now.

Jake has the opposite problem of Grady. Suddenly he has slowed and spends more time close to me rather than hunting the whole time. He had a physical yesterday to check his thyroid etc. and has no problems so I've decided he is just smart and letting the young punk do the hard work. Two days ago Grady got 24 miles in while Jake got 15 and I made 7. Last year Jake would get as many miles as Grady. I'd like to see Jake range a little more like he used to but am perfectly happy if he stays like he's doing now.

Competition. Since last year I have done something wrong and created some competition with the dogs. At first I thought they were pushing each other on point but finally figured that I am the problem. They honor each other and don't budge until I get into the picture. If Jake is the pointing dog, Grady honors just fine until I flush the birds but if Grady is the pointing dog, Jake will break honor when I move ahead and try to circle and trap the birds. This makes Grady nervous and he starts creeping. Once again, I can halt any movement with a whoa but it's sure a lot more fun when nothing has to be said.

On this point I dropped to the right of Jake and he broke honor and swung behind me and reestablished a point below the rocks. Luckily Grady held point and we were successful.

Things are getting a little more back to normal for the three of us and we're having some great outings. I'm counting on November being a really good month with all these young birds being more mature and provide some good scent. The mornings are frosty and scenting conditions are becoming optimum. Those who saved their vacation time until November are going to be pleased.

Get out there and have some fun with your dogs and please stop by and say hello if you see my camper or truck along the road. You'll know me by my TUCKOTA plates. Good luck hunting.