National prominence
Chukar
Chukar live in steep, dry, rocky country: canyon walls, talus slopes, rimrock, and cheatgrass hillsides, usually within reach of a spring or seep. This is terrain-first hunting; expect a serious climb wherever chukar are found.
How to hunt Chukar
Steep, dry, rocky country: canyon walls, cliffs, bluffs, talus slopes, and rimrock, usually within a serious climb of a spring or seep. Core wild range is the Great Basin and Intermountain West: Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and California. Terrain shifts within a season: early-season birds stay low, near water in canyon bottoms; mid-season birds move up onto ridgetops and south-facing slopes; heavy snow pushes them onto wind-scoured rock bands and sage on lee-side ridges.
30 to 40 yards or longer, and getting longer as the season progresses; chukar don't hold as tightly as some other upland birds. Flushing dogs tend to push shots 5 to 10 yards farther out than pointing dogs. By late season, once birds have been pressured, reach is the name of the game. This is a materially longer typical range than closer-flushing upland species like California quail (15-25 yards).
Walked-up, either over close-working pointing dogs or dogless, climbing toward birds located by glassing distant slopes or listening for calls, then using a stop-and-go approach to unnerve holding birds. The species' defining quirk: chukar run uphill and fly downhill. A covey pressed from below will typically run away uphill, often out of range entirely before ever flushing. The standard tactic is to approach from above or along the same elevation line, so a flush sends birds down and across in front of the gun rather than away and out of range. Most shots end up crossing or quartering-away, downhill-angle shots rather than rising shots.
What changes through the season
- Season progression and hunting pressure
Early-season, lightly pressured birds hold closer and flush at shorter range, favoring #7.5 shot and Improved Cylinder or Modified. As the season goes on, pressured coveys run uphill ahead of the hunter and often flush wild, well out of range, pushing toward #6 shot and Modified or Full.
- Running uphill, flying downhill
Chukar run away from an approaching hunter uphill and, when they do flush, fly downhill and across rather than up and away. Approaching from above or along the same elevation, rather than climbing straight at a covey, tends to get birds airborne within range instead of watching them run over a ridge. Most shots end up crossing or quartering-away at a downhill angle rather than rising shots.
- Steep terrain favors a lighter gun
Chukar terrain means sustained climbing on loose rock and talus. A 16 gauge is favored by some specifically for reducing fatigue over a long, steep hunt, and 20 gauge is treated as the practical season-long minimum for the same reason, as much a weight-and-carry decision as a ballistics one.
- Rocky terrain favors bismuth over steel where nonlead is required
An experienced chukar hunter steers toward bismuth over steel specifically because of ricochet and choke-damage concerns on rock and talus, a terrain-driven preference layered on top of, not a substitute for, the pattern and lethality reasoning behind the shot-size figures themselves.
- Weather can override the season-long trend toward wilder birds
Extreme cold, heavy snow, or hoar frost can concentrate chukar into large coveys near limited remaining food and cover, and their reluctance to leave those spots can make them hold tighter than the general late-season trend would predict, a real exception that can call for the closer-range, lighter end of this range even late in the season.
What to load for this hunt
Lead
- Gauge
- 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 16 gauge
- Shot size
- #7.5, #6Agency
- 20 and 12 gauge are both good choices; 16 gauge is favored by some for its weight and capacity balance on long climbs, and 20 gauge is the practical season-long minimum. #7.5 shot is the standard first-shot load; #6 works as a heavier follow-up or standard late-season load, backed by pattern-density math (#7.5 packs roughly 345 pellets per ounce versus #6's 225), with a caution that moving to #6 too early raises crippling rates in anything short of a full-choked 12 gauge. A double gun benefits from running odd choke combinations across both barrels (Skeet plus Modified, Improved Cylinder plus Full, or Modified plus Extra Full), since a single covey rise often produces both close and long shots. Choke opens (Improved Cylinder) early in the season and tightens (Modified/Full) later, mirroring the range dynamic above.
- Choke
- Improved Cylinder, Modified, Full
Non-toxic
| Steel | Bismuth | Tungsten-matrix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot size | #7, #8, #3, #4Estimate #7-8 at the early-season/close end, matching the standard dove-class conversion. At the late-season/standard end (from lead #6), the size runs #3-4; steel #6 in 3/4-ounce-or-heavier loads, the same size as the lead recommendation with no size-up at all, is also a real option some hunters shoot successfully, though switching to bismuth is the better call for anyone worried about ricochet or choke damage on rocky ground. Choke opens one step at the close end (Cylinder/Improved Cylinder) but holds tight (Modified/Full) at the long end, since pattern-density needs don't relax with distance. | #6, #5Agency #6-7 at the close end, #5-6 at the long end, matching a chukar-specific source's own recommendation of bismuth #5s or #6s for this bird. Choke is capped at Modified; tighter constrictions fracture bismuth's more brittle pellets, even though lead's own late-season ceiling runs to Full. | #7.5, #6, #5Agency Close to the lead baseline throughout, #7.5 down to #5; tungsten-matrix loads carrying #5 or #6 shot in 16 or 20 gauge are a directly recommended chukar choice, within a half-size of this baseline. Choke matches the lead baseline's full early-to-late range, Improved Cylinder through Full, with no material-specific caveat. |
| Choke | Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Full | Improved Cylinder, Modified | Improved Cylinder, Modified, Full |
Where it is open, and what the survey says
- ArizonaOpen01 SEP 2026 – 07 FEB 2027No outlook this cycle — Arizona 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- CaliforniaOpenVaries by hunter/zone/method — see detailAwaiting survey — California 2026
Governed by CDFW's combined Quail (California/Gambel's/Mountain) and Chukar Hunting Outlook press release; publish date has moved year to year. Not yet published as of August 30; based on the 2024-25 window, expected mid-September to late October 2026.
- ColoradoOpen01 SEP – 30 NOV 2026No outlook this cycle — Colorado 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- ConnecticutOpens in 12 days01 JAN – 31 DEC 20262 windowsNo outlook this cycle — Connecticut 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- DelawareOpens in 49 days23 NOV 2026 – 28 FEB 2027No outlook this cycle — Delaware 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- HawaiiNo season foundNo outlook this cycle — Hawaii 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- IdahoOpen15 SEP 2026 – 31 JAN 2027Idaho's chukar season runs statewide from September 15, 2026 through January 31, 2027, with a daily bag of 8 and 24 in possession, tracked separately from gray partridge despite sharing the same season dates. IDFG's statewide forecast, published September 4, 2026, reports a strong year in the Clearwater region, with strong chick survival, large broods, and robust populations, including especially encouraging numbers around Hells Canyon. The Southwest region also reports young birds in pockets despite this year's dry conditions, and the Salmon region reads average with some pockets of higher production. No region reported a decline.Strong chick survival and brood production in the Clearwater region, including Hells Canyon, holding up even against this year's drought in other parts of the state.
- MontanaOpenVaries by hunter/zone/method — see detailMontana FWP's 2026 Upland Game Bird Season Outlook, published August 31, reports that brood counts in Region 5 point to good chukar numbers this fall. That matters more than a single regional finding usually would here: Region 5 is south-central Montana, taking in Carbon County, which holds the bulk of the state's chukar. FWP's positive read effectively covers the whole practical range rather than one corner of it. Because it comes off brood counts, it's a read on this year's production specifically, so expect the good news to show up as young birds in the fall crop. The same Region 5 brood count gave gray partridge the same positive read, so south-central Montana is shaping up as a two-bird trip this fall rather than a chukar-only one.Good 2026 brood production in Region 5, the south-central country that holds the bulk of Montana's chukar.
- NebraskaOpens in 26 days31 OCT 2026 – 31 JAN 2027No outlook this cycle — Nebraska 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- NevadaOpens in 12 days17 OCT 2026 – 07 FEB 2027Awaiting survey — Nevada 2026
NDOW's annual Nevada Chukar Forecast PDF (joint chukar/gray-Hungarian-partridge camera-based water-source monitoring) publishes each September; the 2025-26 edition (dated September 2025) remains the latest found as of 2026-08-19, and the 2026 URL (ndow.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-Chukar-Forecast.pdf) is not live yet. Expected September 2026 per a consistent multi-year publish pattern.
- New HampshireOpen01 OCT – 31 DEC 2026No outlook this cycle — New Hampshire 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- New JerseyNo season foundNo outlook this cycle — New Jersey 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- OhioOpens in 32 days06 NOV 2026 – 10 JAN 2027No outlook this cycle — Ohio 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- OregonOpens in 5 days10 OCT 2026 – 31 JAN 2027ODFW'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.
- South DakotaOpen19 SEP 2026 – 31 JAN 2027No outlook this cycle — South Dakota 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- UtahOpen26 SEP 2026 – 15 FEB 2027Preliminary: Utah's own DWR is calling chukar numbers average or slightly increased across most of the state this year, with declines specific to the south and southeast tied to drought. UDWR's more rigorous Chukar Partridge Update, a camera-based water-source production index, hasn't published its 2026 edition yet, so this narrative read is the best signal available for now. That survey's 2025 edition had noted a single below-average production year statewide, following two better winters, so it's a newer, more localized drought in the south and southeast driving this year's picture, not a longer multi-year decline.Two consecutive years of limited precipitation, concentrated in southern and southeastern Utah, is what's driving those regional declines; most of the state isn't carrying that same drag this year.
- VermontNo season foundNo outlook this cycle — Vermont 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- WashingtonOpen12 SEP 2026 – 31 JAN 20272 windowsNo outlook this cycle — Washington 2026
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
- WyomingOpen15 SEP 2026 – 31 JAN 2027Wyoming's 2026 Hunt Forecast, published August 31, reports chukar down in two regions: Casper says numbers declined substantially in 2025, and Cody expects fewer birds this year on habitat hit by drought and wildfire. Those two carry more weight than a two-region count suggests. WGFD's own species chapter puts Wyoming's densest chukar populations in the Bighorn Basin and east of the Bighorn Mountains, which is Cody and Casper country, so the declines are being reported where the birds actually are rather than at the edges of the range. It fits the year, too: 2026 gave Wyoming its warmest and driest winter on record followed by an equally dry spring. Expect to cover more ground than usual for the same number of coveys. Gray partridge got the same reduced read from the same two regions, and it shares chukar's statewide season and daily bag, so switching birds isn't the fallback here that it would be in a better year.Reduced numbers reported in the Casper and Cody regions, which hold Wyoming's densest chukar populations, on a record warm and dry winter.
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