Chukar without the cactus

[ab3]

So I usually hunt chukar in and around the Kamloops area, which is cactus country. Living with cactus around them is probably just another method they've devised to make it all the more difficult to get to them! Sneaky little guys. Anyways, I'll be hunting this fall with my dog and am hoping there may be a few spots that hold birds that aren't covered in cactus. Is this wishful thinking or do cactus free chukar grounds exist?

[Steelpulse]

Doesn’t exist haha. Maybe a little in some spots but I’d say probably find cactus everywhere you find the chukar

[butcher]

Might be on some agricultural land at the edge of cactus country. Used to know some ranchers near lillooet with piles around their place.

[Boner]

They exist. You just have to get above the cactus. I’ve seen chuckars over 6000 feet elevation.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Mark at Cariboo Saddlery made boots for our dogs. Work very well.

[Trojans16]

There's some in the grasslands around Kamloops but best numbers are above the lake and river - in the cactus. As said put boots on your dog and your good to go. Plus its hilarious to watch your dog work them out for the first minute or two.

[Trojans16]

https://www.gundogsupply.com/-950-.html

These boots work great and are pretty cheap

[mastercaster]

You can make your own quite easily out of motor cycle inner tubes and hold up really well. They're a lot cheaper than the Lewis boots.

https://youtu.be/wezSmsvIzlc

[BigfishCanada]

They exist. You just have to get above the cactus. I’ve seen chuckars over 6000 feet elevation.

I hunt the area pretty hard, most birds are down below in the cactus areas. I wouldnt say a lot of cactus but small plants all over. Once you go high above the la
ke into the thicker forest it will be rare to see them. You will find them along the tracks because of the grain the trains spill also. Like most birds early mornings and late evenings the run in large groups. Id more more worried about snakes than cactus

[Big Lew]

I know of a fellow that hunts the birds and doesn't put boots on his average sized upland retriever.
He said that his dog learned pretty fast to avoid most of the cactus as it also learned how to use it's
teeth to pull them out. I've hunted chuckers in heavy ground cactus areas without a dog and would
be reluctant to put my big retriever in after them. I've watched many coyotes traveling through the
same areas and noticed that they watch very closely where they're putting their feet, stopping to look
around for danger etc before carrying on. I've had cactus stuck in my hands, knees, and ankles so can
attest to how painful it can be at times.

[mastercaster]

I didn't put any boots on my griff last year on the few days that we went. Here she is plucking something, likely a cactus quill, from her rear foot. I did have to pull a few cactus off her muzzle after she pulled them from her feet and lower legs, though.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4826/44320964100_881c38ef23_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2awuwvs)

[sakohunter]

Eastern Oregon has minimal cactus but lots of basalt rock. Still pretty tough on a dogs feet. A long comb and some form of Lewis boots is your best bet to protect your dog's.

[bighornbob]

There are places around. Dogs why use dogs. Shoot them from the truck or ATV. Where I go they are basically like grouse. Hang on the road and scatter when you approach. There are places just have to get off the beaten path.

As someone else mentioned, they can be quite high, ran into some while sheep hunting at Spences bridge. I was at the top of the mountain on a fir ridge way up above the cactus.

BHB

[Jagermeister]

Cactus spines from the plants found in the areas mentioned can find their way through any footwear regardless of the material.
I’d just as soon leave the dog at home rather than submit him to cactus. It is excruciating to see a dog with a spiny knob of cactus in its mouth after having plucked it from his foot.
Break a spine when extracting and it works in deeper.

[338win mag]

Some of those cactus earn their name honestly "jumping cactus" I took my dog out in the cactus garden "once" we both went home with cactus in our feet and him in his mouth.

[Arctic Lake]

I have always wanted to hunt Chucker ! I would not be using a dog though as I don't have one . Do you use a 12 gauge or is that to big ?
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[mastercaster]

Cactus spines from the plants found in the areas mentioned can find their way through any footwear regardless of the material.
I’d just as soon leave the dog at home rather than submit him to cactus. It is excruciating to see a dog with a spiny knob of cactus in its mouth after having plucked it from his foot.
Break a spine when extracting and it works in deeper.

I can't see myself hunting upland birds like pheasants and chukars without a good bird dog. I figure the dog covers at least 3 or more times the area that I could ever do on my own. I'll put in at least 10 miles a day while chukar hunting.

[ab3]

Boots are a good idea, I just haven't seen them stop all cactus spines. My hunting boots are waaaay thicker than dog boots and they get cactus fairly far in the sole so I'm a little suspicious if dog boots would hold up.
I like the idea of moving higher up out of the cactus zone though.
...and the dog's gotta come. That's why I have her. Just want to avoid her gettin spiked.

[Jagermeister]

I can't see myself hunting upland birds like pheasants and chukars without a good bird dog. I figure the dog covers at least 3 or more times the area that I could ever do on my own. I'll put in at least 10 miles a day while chukar hunting.
I grew up in the south Okanagan and I don't recall ever seeing pheasants where there was cactus. Chukars on the other hand like that drier open sagebrush scrub where cactus flourish.
Here's a little tip on Chukars. They rarely fly up or down slope when flushed. Just follow them around the hillside.

[Jagermeister]

I have always wanted to hunt Chucker ! I would not be using a dog though as I don't have one . Do you use a 12 gauge or is that to big ?
Thanks
Arctic Lake
I used a 12 gauge, then bought a 16 gauge just for that purpose. However, I would use a 20 gauge. Hhmmmm got me thinking.

[sakohunter]

The boots just mitigate the amount of cactus you have to pull out of your dog. The cactus might be a little tough on the dogs but hunting is what the dog is for. A good bird dog is pushing to get out of the kennel to hunt birds and doesn't care about cactus.

[Big Lew]

The boots just mitigate the amount of cactus you have to pull out of your dog. The cactus might be a little tough on the dogs but hunting is what the dog is for. A good bird dog is pushing to get out of the kennel to hunt birds and doesn't care about cactus.

"
A good bird dog is pushing to get out of the kennel to hunt birds and doesn't care about cactus."

That is very true....until after the fact. I don't see much difference between knowingly sending
your dog into beds of ground cactus while being fully aware that it's eagerness will result in it
suffering from the consequences, and that of sending it into coils of barbed wire or ponds full of sharp
and potentially lethal sharp pointed branches of fallen partially submerged trees. If you care for
your hunting companion, you pick and choose the places where to use it and provide protection such
as booties and chest guards if need be....but that's just my opinion.

[Firstblood]

I have a two year old Lab with a super high drive for birds, hunted ducks and grouse lots last season and she loves nothing more in life. I had taken her to areas with cactus before, always in the spring and she never had a cactus stick or bother her, she would run right over top. I took her chukar hunting in cactus once last fall, the cactus seemed to be much stickier getting lots in her feet and mine, shoes would help but the cactus walks their way up the legs and thighs. Gilly looked at me like wtf man, so we followed a sheep trail back to the truck and I hunted on foot. After dropping her off and not having to worry about her safety, I put my self into the real chukar country, Cliffs, canyons, fences, cactus, steep slopes and lots of birds. In the future I will leave her at home for the red legged devils as Im too worried about her, just being honest. Next season I will be going for more birds, pheasant and quail included, she will be me every day.

[Arctic Lake]

I have a two year old Lab with a super high drive for birds, hunted ducks and grouse lots last season and she loves nothing more in life. I had taken her to areas with cactus before, always in the spring and she never had a cactus stick or bother her, she would run right over top. I took her chukar hunting in cactus once last fall, the cactus seemed to be much stickier getting lots in her feet and mine, shoes would help but the cactus walks their way up the legs and thighs. Gilly looked at me like wtf man, so we followed a sheep trail back to the truck and I hunted on foot. After dropping her off and not having to worry about her safety, I put my self into the real chukar country, Cliffs, canyons, fences, cactus, steep slopes and lots of birds. In the future I will leave her at home for the red legged devils as Im too worried about her, just being honest. Next season I will be going for more birds, pheasant and quail included, she will be me every day.

Is there wild quail in B.C. . Never knew that .
Arctic Lake

[mastercaster]

Is there wild quail in B.C. . Never knew that .
Arctic Lake

The Okanagan is lousy with them,,,literally thousands of them but they all seem to be in residential areas, on private property, or areas where you cant hunt. I've seen coveys that have up to 100 birds in them.

[Arctic Lake]

The Okanagan is lousy with them,,,literally thousands of them but they all seem to be in residential areas, on private property, or areas where you cant hunt. I've seen coveys that have up to 100 birds in them.
Wow Thanks never knew !
Arctic Lake

[Jagermeister]

And we used to have great pass shooting for mourning doves in the south Okanagan too. Actually, there was occasion for shooting doves around the Vernon area too. But that is a very long time ago.
As the valley bottom became more and more developed, pheasant habitat decreased exponentially. The government of the day introduced chukar partridge to offset the pheasant decline. One of the first areas was around Kaleden.

[Big Lew]

And we used to have great pass shooting for mourning doves in the south Okanagan too. Actually, there was occasion for shooting doves around the Vernon area too. But that is a very long time ago.
As the valley bottom became more and more developed, pheasant habitat decreased exponentially. The government of the day introduced chukar partridge to offset the pheasant decline. One of the first areas was around Kaleden.

A fellow by the name of Arthur Dennis Hitch who owned a huge pheasant farm while raising chucker Partridges
was named in our social studies 30 school book as the fellow that introduced chuckers into the Interior and Okanagan.
He was our next door neighbor in Whonnock off of 263rd street. I spent many a day working at cleaning his pens
and playing with his son. Later he raised quail and then had a big turkey farm as he phased out the pheasants when
the government no longer was buying birds for release.

[browningboy]

Just curious do they taste good or do they taste like sage brush so to speak? I’ve always been interested but people say they are not good eating?
Any real feedback, like people with normal taste! ;-p

[Mtn Wonderer]

Chukar are great table fair, you'll just burn more calories hunting them, than you'll get from eating them.

So much fun thou!! As for your dogs and cactus get the rubber boots They seem to work the best. buy two sets.

We tend to lose em at the rate of one shoe /year.

[PonLo]

Hi!
I would love going chukars hunting this season in the Kamloops area. I used to hunt for partridges in Spain, and finally I decided to start hunting again, in Canada.
I live in Kelowna, if somebody does not mind my company please give me a shout, as I would really a appreciate a good long walk chasing these birds.
Thanks!