| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 10 OCT 2026 – 31 JAN 2027 | 114d |
As publishedOct 10, 2026 - Jan 31, 2027
Statewide; bag limit shared/combined with Hungarian (gray) partridge.Reduced bag (2/day, possession 4) in the Lower Klamath Hills Regulated Hunt Area.
Chukar in Oregon is an eastern-Oregon-only species confined to steep, rocky, dry rimrock and canyon country east of the Cascades, where the introduced population has spread into essentially all suitable habitat over several decades of releases. ODFW's own range description names the specific river-canyon systems that hold the population: the lower Deschutes and John Day rivers, the Snake River and its tributaries, the Malheur and Owyhee river drainages, and lesser watercourses and reservoirs along the Columbia, Burnt, and Grand Ronde rivers, plus the Steens, Hart, and Trout Creek mountain ranges in the southeastern high desert. Cheatgrass, an introduced annual grass that dominates this same disturbed rimrock terrain, is the species' critical year-round food source. ODFW's 2025-26 Game Bird Hunting Forecast identifies the Baker District and Malheur District (both in far eastern Oregon) as the current best-bet areas.
ODFW's 2026-27 Game Bird Hunting Forecast is out, and statewide chukar numbers are down again this year, settling back to levels similar to 2022. That's a step down from the 2023-24 boom, not a fresh crash. There's one real exception: in the Columbia Basin specifically, chukar are up from last year, bucking the statewide trend, and gray partridge are up there too, so a Columbia Basin trip is worth planning around both birds this season. Everywhere else, plan for a step down from the recent boom.
A statewide return to 2022-level populations after the 2023-24 boom, per ODFW's own forecast, with a regional exception in the Columbia Basin.
Join the waitlist and tell us what you’re working on — the planner reads it first once your access opens.
Free, invite-gated, unsubscribe anytime. See what it returns