Chuck there used to be wild chukars in the Mercy Hot Springs area just south of Los Banos. It has been years since I hunted there, it is is kind of rough area, but there were lots of birds in a state controlled area. You might check with the Fish and Game to see if it is still open for hunting. There are lots of wild California quail around the river bottoms on the east side of the valley but it is all private land, also wild birds in the national forests in the sierras. There is a BLM area south of the Merced River in Hunters Valley, used to be a lot of quail there. There is also some state controlled hunting ares on the east side of the coast range. The problem hunting them is the wet winter surely has scattered the coveys.
Jim A.
