Chucker/Ptarmigan hunting in Colorado?

kstitz · Post by **kstitz** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:00 pm

Anybody hunt wild chucker and or ptarmigan in CO? If so where? I have a 1 year old GSP and would love to get him on some wild birds in Sept. I am also looking for people to hunt with.

Kelly

Ironhorse77 · Post by **Ironhorse77** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:27 am

I'm in Colorado, but haven't hunted Chucker yet. I usually go to Nevada. But I have heard that the NW corner of Colorado has chukar. Out around Dinosaur Ntl. Monument, I think. There is a state wildlife area west of Livermore (north of Fort Collins) that I saw this summer. It has the habitat for chuckar but I'm not sure if they're there or not. I need to investigate that a little more.

SeventhSon · Post by **SeventhSon** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:07 pm

Are there really ptarmigan in Colorado???
I thought they were a Canada/Alaska bird...

parshal · Post by **parshal** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:34 pm

I've hunted both in Colorado. I've found ptarmigan (different species from the ones in the Alaska) but they are at 11,000 feet and higher. Basically, you're going to bust a lung up there. Chukars are more than a waste of time unless you know someone with private land. Yes, there are some in the Book Cliffs around Grand Junction but good luck finding them. Unless you live close you're better off spending the time to go to a state where there are more of them and you'll be successful. I would not take a one year old dog to hunt either bird in Colorado as you have little chance of success and you want to be successful with that young dog. You're better of chasing blue grouse. They're just about everywhere.

kstitz · Post by **kstitz** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:41 pm

Thanks for the info guys. I do plan to hunt "blues" in the Steamboat area in Sept. Are there any within a two hour drive of Broomfield? What about sage grouse or any of the other upland birds?

Kelly

parshal · Post by **parshal** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:50 pm

Sage grouse in any good numbers to hunt are going to be a couple of hours from steamboat. There are blue grouse within an hour of Ft. Collins but good luck finding them on a regular basis. They are best hunted on the western slope.

Ironhorse77 · Post by **Ironhorse77** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:25 pm

The dove were great last year out along the South Platte. The pheasant were scarce to non-existant up near Holyoak. It was way to dry. I bought into the "walk-in" program last year and it was a total waste of time and money. I don't recommend it. Either use the SWA's or get chummy with some farmers/ranchers in the northeast corner of the state.

I'm going elk hunting around Cortez this fall and I'm going to take my shotgun in case I run into blues down there in the mtns.

nitrex · Post by **nitrex** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:48 pm

Ditto on the Chukars in the Grand Junction, Co area. I lived in Grand Junction 2 years and hunted the Bookcliffs and surrounding area hard for weeks each season and never saw a bird. I've been told that they have moved onto the property owned and controled by the power company, and it is impossible to get the permission to go after them. If I remember correctly, the DOW released them on several occasions, but they haven't done real well.

Ptarmigan - go high and then go even higher. We used to find them often in September at 12,000 - 13,000 feet in September. Most of my ptarmigan hunting in Colorado was in the San Juan mountain range of southwest Colorado. Good Luck!

Nitrex

gonehuntin' · Post by **gonehuntin'** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:11 pm

Great thing about hunting grouse in Co. is that it's mighty purty while you're hunting them.

nitrex · Post by **nitrex** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:49 pm

kstitz,

Just west of Gunnison, CO on the south side of Blue Mesa Resevoir is a good place to hunt Sage Grouse. The numbers are good, but plan to do alot of walking in some very dry sage brush country. Your dog will need to be tough! A bigger running dog can come in handy. Good Luck!

Nitrex

parshal · Post by **parshal** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 8:53 am

nitrex, when was the last time you hunted sage grouse there? They've determined that the Gunnison sage grouse is a separate, endangered species and no longer allow it to be hunted. They are found around Gunnison which I would guess encompasses the area you're talking about. I could be wrong, though.

nitrex · Post by **nitrex** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 6:08 pm

I wasn't aware of that!!! It has been a few years as I moved from that area almost 3 years ago. There still must be quite a few Blues in the area? I usually found them in the Ponderosa Pines. I'll be in that area in a few weeks, so I'll do some investigation to see what is going on. Thanks for the info.

Nitrex

jwenorthpark · Post by **jwenorthpark** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:54 pm

i can second the info on the gunnison sage grouse -- they're extremely protected at this point, and the fines are substantial for an errant shot. there are blues pretty much anywhere but the front range. surprisingly, i've found a lot of blues around the colorado river downstream of kremmling. never thought i'd do much hunting that close to vail and aspen and summit county, but you never know what you'll find if you look. if you'd like to hunt sage grouse (and please, nobody shoot me for this), check up towards wyoming, in any of the plains on either side of steamboat.

parshal · Post by **parshal** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:34 am

jwenorthpark wrote:never thought i'd do much hunting that close to vail and aspen and summit county, but you never know what you'll find if you look.

I do all my blue grouse hunting in summit county and have even run into sage grouse there.

if you'd like to hunt sage grouse (and please, nobody shoot me for this), check up towards wyoming, in any of the plains on either side of steamboat.

Or, just hunt wyoming. There are so many more birds in wyoming than colorado anyway and the season is longer.

kstitz · Post by **kstitz** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:07 am

What areas of Wyoming and which birds?

Kelly

parshal · Post by **parshal** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:13 am

Both species for that matter. Sage grouse in particular. Wyoming has a lot more native sage habitat. It's closer than Montana which has more and a two month season. Pretty much anywhere you find sage in Wyoming you'll find sage grouse.