Birds Hunting in Oregon

New to the state? One of the best ways to go hunting in Oregon is to go after birds! Whether it's chukar, pheasants or quail—bird hunting in Oregon is a grand experience. If you're going upland bird hunting soon, be sure to read up on Gary's Oregon bird hunting stories and articles before you go.

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  Eastern Oregon for Sage Grouse

  Every year, Eastern Oregon offers a hunt for sage grouse on the dry side of the Cascades. It is a controlled hunt and a bird hunter must apply for the privilege. In the 1800s, up to 1.1 million sage grouse could be found in parts of what are now 16 western states and three provinces. Habitat disruption and destruction probably accounted for most of the decline. In 1998, the rangewide estimate was that the springtime sage grouse population numbered 157,000.
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  Oregon’s Bird Hunting Preserves Expand Upland Opportunities

  What do the words upland bird hunting mean to you? Kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk. A gaudy ring-necked rooster springs out of the standing corn, headed for the blue sky as you raise your shotgun to your shoulder. You shift your weight, moving your left foot slightly ahead, your cheek settling into the stock.
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  Mountain Quail in Southwest Oregon

  A jewel set in a glacier-scoured valley between Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey, Diamond Lake was named for John Diamond, who discovered it in 1852. For the fishermen who have sampled its waters, it sparkles in memory, but for the bird hunter, the real treasure can be found in the foothills to the west – ruffed grouse and some of the highest concentrations of mountain quail in the state.
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  Draw a Bead on September’s Doves

  September 1 marks the opening of Oregon’s dove hunt. For some hunters, it’s the social event of the year. For others, it’s a chance to pull shotguns out of the closet and tune up for fall bird hunting. Whatever reason you hunt doves, your best bet is to go early in the month.
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  Continental Hunts – Pheasant Hunting Phit for a King

  Shawna Mitchell dropped two 20-gauge rounds into the twin tubes of her side-by-side. A huge smile lit her face. 20 yards away, Bill Valentine and Chris Farrins loaded their guns. We stood then, looking at the top of the cliff above us. The horn sounded. For a moment, all was still. Then a long-tailed rooster broke from the sage at the top of the cliff, silhouetted against the sky. For the next 40 minutes or so, the roosters, hens and chukars rocketed off the top of the hill over our waiting guns.
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  Chukar on the Cheat

  It's the tension, three-toed tracks by the waterhole and a single hidden in the bunchgrass. It's the ache you feel in your muscles, a blur of wings and the thump of the gun. If there's one great ‘everyman's hunt' left in these United States, where a hunter can walk his own (public) ground for miles, it's in pursuit of the Himalayan import called the chukar. All it takes is a shotgun, a bird dog and a pair of boots. But there's a lot to learn about what makes these birds tick.
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  Challenging Oregon’s Chukar and Huns

  Half the challenge of upland bird hunting lies in finding a spot to hunt. Locate good bird-holding habitat and you have a place you can return to every season with a reasonable chance for success.
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  Don’t Leave Your Chukar Hunt to Chance

  I know who you are. You've got a spring in your step and a sparkle in your eye. Your most prized possession is a beat-up Remington 870 or a double gun showing its wear at the muzzle and the foregrip. There is dog hair on the seat of your truck and a half-used box of No. 6s on the floorboard. For you, the year can be divided into two parts: chukar hunting and dog-training season.
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  Four-for-Four on Blackpowder Birds

  The dogs bumped the first pheasant near the fence before we had our guns loaded. Jeremy called the pointers back and we watched the rooster set his wings and scribe a half-circle in the sky to land in the tall grass near the barn.