Cold and snow in the northern Columbia Basin may not make for the most comfortable time of year to be afield, but there’s little doubt that it’s prime time for chukar, quail and gray (a.k.a “Huns”) partridge. Scenting conditions are good for dogs, and the birds, especially chukar, tend to concentrate in larger numbers at lower, more accessible, elevations.
Chelan County offers the best quail hunting in the state, with a harvest last year of 12,600 birds, and biologists saw larger and more numerous broods this year. Public land in the county is hit hard, so serious upland bird hunters should seek out areas with more difficult access, or gain permission to hunt on private land.
Okanogan County also provides good quail (a harvest of 8,700 birds last year, well above the five-year average) and gray partridge hunting, often in the same habitat. Try the Indian Dan, Chiliwist and Methow wildlife areas.
Gray partridge populations are higher in Douglas County, particularly in the fields enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Those fields offer grass cover extending into draws.
The harvest of chukar is higher in Douglas and Chelan counties than any other area in the state. The harvest last year was 4,600 birds, 3,400 of which came from Douglas County. The state biologists say there are birds in the hills if hunters are willing to chase them.
Douglas County has lots of public land, with good chukar hunting found in the breaks of the Columbia River, around Banks Lake, and along Moses Coulee.
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