Colorado chukar season 2026-27: dates, units and bag limits
Chukar is open in Colorado from September 1, 2026 to November 30, 2026, statewide. This page has the 2026-27 dates, the daily bag and possession limits, the licences you need and the rules that apply, read from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife brochure.
2026-27 season dates and limits
| Season | Dates | Where | Daily bag | Possession |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chukar season | September 1, 2026 to November 30, 2026 | statewide | 4 | 12 |
Shooting hours: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset.
Licences and stamps
- Colorado small game licence
- Colorado Habitat Stamp
- Harvest Information Program (HIP) number for this season
Rules for chukar
- Shotgun (10 gauge or smaller, no slugs, three shells at most), bow or crossbow only. No rifles or handguns.
- Keep one fully feathered wing or the head on each bird until you are home.
Do not mistake these for chukar
- Gambel's quail (different season or permit): Much smaller, with a black teardrop plume, in the brushy valley bottoms. Quail season does not open until 14 November.
- Mourning dove (different season or permit): Slim, with a long pointed tail. It needs a different limit and the three-shell rule applies to both.
How to hunt chukar
- Get above the birds. Chukar run uphill and fly downhill, so climb first and hunt along the contour or down.
- Listen at first light. Coveys call from the rims.
- This is steep, loose rock. Unload to cross bad ground and watch your footing and your dog.
Where to walk for chukar in your unit
FilledTag finds the patches of the right habitat for your date on public land in the unit you choose, each with legal parking and the walk from the truck.
Check my hunt See a sample planWhat a map cannot tell you
- Cheatgrass, the main food, is not on the land cover map.
Source
2026 Colorado Small Game & Waterfowl brochure (corrections 21 Aug 2026), pages 5, 7 and 10; CPW regulations chapter W-3 (07/16/2026): https://cpw.widen.net/s/bklvf2bjmw/colorado-small-game--waterfowl-brochure. Read October 2, 2026. Rules change every year, and corrections are issued during the season: read the current brochure before you hunt.