Always hunt the dogs into the wind. Even if you have to make a 2 mile loop to get the wind in your favor. Don't chase them uphill.They will run uphill ahead of you and flush out of range. Again, loop around and come down on them. When you come at them from above they usually set. Don't shoot all the shells at the initial covey flush(unless you have good,high percentage shots). More times than not there will be a late flusher or two and more times than not the guns are empty. If your dog is real good at retrieving and finding cripples try to get a double out of each covey flush. If not shoot 1 bird, mark it well and get over there quickly. Cripples will run,flop, crawl under rocks and do all they can to get away. Hunt the snowline first, then go higher if you have to.Look for south facing slopes that have bare ground where the birds can feed easier.
This is a terrible year for chukar in E. Oregon.I haven't hunted chukar this season as I can't hike very far right now but I usually get plenty of birds hunting out my front door. I saw a few in deer season but haven't heard or seen a chukar since. I've heard the same about the Owyhee country from a friend who hunted deer there,real poor. If you do run into birds they will more than likely be older, wilder birds that are really a challenge to hunt and you can be proud of putting some in the bag. If you do get some you will earn them. I never thought of them as devil birds or hunting them for revenge. It's taken me into some incredible,wild country and you never know what you'll see in a day's chukar hike. I sure miss chasing them.
