(KSTU) — As part of Utah’s three days of upland game hunting, young hunters were able to try their luck at snagging a youth chukar or a gray partridge.
The trial hunting program by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DNR), allows someone who is 21 years of age or older to take a person 12 to 17 years old hunting, even if the youth hasn’t completed Utah’s Hunter Education course.
Information on the program can be found here.
To increase young hunter’s chances of catching a bird, biologists with the DNR released chukars in select areas before the hunt.
“The hunt will be the first time the birds have been hunted this fall,” said Jason Robinson, upland game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “So they won’t be quite as wary as they’ll be later in the season. Also, the birds tend to stay closer together and rely more on water in early fall. Finding a good water source can get you into plenty of birds.”
More information about the youth chukar and gray partridge hunts is available on page 13 of the 2018 – 2019 Utah Upland Game and Turkey Guidebook. The free guidebook is available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks.