It had been a long day. The weather had been crap. Lots of wind and snow flurries, so I really wasn’t expecting much, but had still hiked a long way. I had kicked every bush and brush patch I thought might hold a chukar, and had turned up empty.

Just as I hit the old logging road that would take me back to my pickup, I heard the unmistakable peep-peep of quail. I hadn’t expected to find them here, but I was willing to take the gift that was given.

As I rounded the patch of willows they flushed, and I downed one with my second shot. In typical fashion, they didn’t all fly at once. A few more flew up as I moved forward, and I was able to get another.

Since I don’t have a dog, I had been careful to mark where each bird fell, but it still took considerable looking to find them.

Feeling pretty good about myself, I headed for the truck, but was surprised when a handful of chukar flushed from the side of the road. With my brain on autopilot, I wasn’t quick enough to get a shot, but watched where they went. I was able to walk them up and get one.

The rest flew way down the hill, and I wished them luck. No way was I going to hike all the way back down there.

I am not a dyed-in-the-wool bird hunter. I don’t own a bird dog or even a dedicated bird hunting vest, but I try to get out a few times each year to do some bird hunting.

It provides a relaxing break from big game hunting, or a good backup if I don’t draw the tags I was hoping for. Also, they are really good to eat.

For quail, I usually kick around brushy creek bottoms. Quail are not especially hard to kill. Number 7 or 8 shot works just fine.

Chukar hunting can be a lot more physically demanding. I look for chukar up on the rocky hills along the John Day River. Look for chunks of Bureau of Land Management land interspersed with the private land along the river.

The hard part of chukar hunting is when you hike 500 feet up, shoot a bird and watch it fall all the way back down the hill.

Chukar are bigger and harder to kill, so I like to move up to No. 6 shot for them. Shots tend to be relatively close, so I like to use a modified choke.

The seasons are long, going all the way to the end of January, with liberal limits. Eight chukar and 10 quail a day. Get out there and give it a try.

Drop us a line at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com.