been thinking about these birds...
even talked to a biologist down there about public hunting...
anyone have any experience?
was told by an outdoor writer on another forum that they're like shooting pheasants in a mesquite thicket...
who's done it?

I want to do a hunt if you find an outfitter.

There was a thread on here about them a couple of months ago.

They don't fly well. They won't hold for dogs. They occur in thick thorn scrub with bare ground underneath and evade predators by running through brush then flying from tree to tree. Chances are if you down one without a dog you will have to crawl through scrub to retrieve it. Although parks and wildlife considers them a game bird no one else does and they aren't hunted. Most of the birds shot are picked off with pellet guns while raiding kitchen gardens. Wild chickens would be a better game bird.

We used to see them running around in our backyard when I lived down in the valley. I never did try to hunt them and never really heard of anyone who did. I'm sure the public lands hunts down there, which are pretty limited, would be pretty hit or miss.

If you go just get in an area where they should be before daylight and listen. They make a heck of a racket just before dawn and stay in the tree until light. You can find them easy that way.
I have shot a lot of them about 25 years ago around McAllen. I wouldn't take a dog where they live though.
They are not very good to eat. Not much meat and tough.
They do hate to fly.

Why are they classified as game bird...And why would someone
Hunt them?????????

Do they taste like chicken?

SnakeErangler! if this is true then some body start outfitting for
Released Chicken Hunt..Lot of people get interested

They were once market hunted for the meat so they're eadible.

Do any of you have a recommendation on shot size for chachalaca? My buddy is suggesting 7.5...

Your mostly likely going to be shooting them on the ground, on a limb in the brush, or flying through the scrub. I would take #6 if it were me, but 7.5 should be fine. Anyone I have ever talked to that hunted the public land down there saw zero birds, so I never went.

Hey guys! I finally got my Chachalacha a week ago today. Thanks for all of those that provided insight and advice.

Let us know how it tastes/ed.

Tell us about your hunt. Where, when, how. Details, man, detail.!

Sorry but I will never be able to tell you how it tastes because this one is on it's way to the taxidermist. I'm a hunter obviously but also a collector. My first encounter with the Chachalacha was down in Mexico on a duck hunt about 20 years ago. We could hear it and the guide told us to get our guns but never did see it. I wasn't motivated enough to go back to Mexico for one but have been doing lots of work trying to find a guided hunt for them in one of the four counties in Texas where they can legally be hunted. A few leads but nothing ever panned out. Finally earlier this year, I made contact with a guy in Brownsville that told me that his Grandfather had some on his ranch and that I could come down there and hunt. On the first morning, we heard nor saw anything. He had other properties to hunt but once again, we saw no birds. The afternoon hunt turned out great as we came across about six birds in the mesquite feeding on berries. A friend of mine who is a taxidermist told me to use nothing larger than 7 1/2 shot with a .410 but someone on this site told me that you might want to think about 6 shot if you're shooting a bird in the thick mesquite. My gun was a single shot and the rancher told me to make it count because they would not come back after the first shot. I had one shot size in the right pocket and the other in the left. I was loaded with the 7 1/2 shot when one bird dropped down from the tree to feed on the ground. I put the bead on him at about 30 yards and he didn't go anywhere. It was a fun and exciting hunt!

X2....

That's pretty cool right there.

Congrats on a neat hunt/experience....

that's the kinda deal I'm looking for!