Deer season opened in Area 39 in the middle of October as usual in 1968. The weather was warm and beautiful for October. Harry and I have a trip planned to Canyon Creek for elk in November with Bud and Uncle Charlie. To get some exercise and toughen up our legs for the coming trip, we decided to go to the Boise Front with shot guns for chukers. Since deer season was on, Kevin wanted to go with us and carry a rifle in case we found a deer running around somewhere. He does not go on our week hunts because of school and cannot take the time off. We drove up the Bogus Basin Road to where Stewart Gulch crosses the road. There we parked the truck in a wide spot, clear of the highway. There were chukars in the sage brush and bitter brush, which filled all the side draws. Harry and I carried our .12 gauge shot guns, while Kevin used my .30-30 Winchester Model 94. We walked up the main ridge to south of Stewart Gulch, where we could l○○k down in the gulch occasionally to see if deer were hiding out in the willows. This area is prime chukar and deer country with brush and open spots and lots of grassy patches. We jumped several flocks of birds, but they were out of range of the shotguns. We walked for several hours checking all the draws and thick sage brush patches for both deer and chukars.
We came to a place where we could look down into Stewart Gulch without being seen. We very carefully sneaked over the top of the ridge, to not make any noise. Down in the flats were four does, feeding on willow leaves. They were about two hundred yards away. Kevin saw them about the same time as we did but was reluctant to shoot at them. He thought they were too far away. I convinced him to sit down for a solid rest and try to hit one of them, they were well within range. The first shot just barely missed and away they went up the far hills, in front of us. Kevin did not hit any of them, but he was sure hitting close. The deer finally went out over the next ridge, without any harm being done to any of them. I got a big kick out of Kevin trying his best to hit one of one of them. He was not leading them far enough for the way they were running and getting farther away all the time.
We went on up the ridge for about a mile more, not seeing any more deer but we did find several flocks of chukars. We managed to hit a couple of them, each. They are the hardest bird to hunt anywhere. When a chukar takes off from the ground, he is at full speed in about four feet, then he will dive off the hill at sage brush height. To get a couple of shots off at a flock, takes a sharp eye and a quick trigger finger. Chukars are fine eating birds, the meat is mostly white type with a slightly wild flavor. We spent most of the day chasing birds and looking for more deer. However, the day finally ran out on us, so we headed for home. It was a good day of hunting, and we enjoyed the fun.