Peter Burnham

Writer · California Upland · Based in the Bay Area

I grew up in Nevada, hunting chukar in the Sierras and dove in the valleys with my dad. The chukar country was the country that taught me — the steepness, the wind, the way water dictates everything in late summer — and it's still where I'd rather be when the season is on. I came to California uplands by extension: the western face of the same Sierras, the Owens Valley canyons that everyone knows about, the Modoc Plateau farther north, and eventually the wider state. I lived in Southern California for a stretch, which is why I know the Los Padres and the southern foothills better than most NorCal hunters do.

Matt and I both cover the full state — that's the publication's premise. My edge is the eastern Sierra and SoCal background. I write the chukar coverage from Owens Valley north to Modoc, the Central Coast and Los Padres pieces, the Imperial Valley dove planning, and the conservation reporting where statewide habitat policy meets the southern half of the state.

I hunt behind Alan, a three-year-old English cocker spaniel. He's all youthful exuberance, fast and tireless in the chamise, and we're learning each other's tells. English cockers are a quietly perfect fit for California upland country — close-working, brushy-cover-rated, durable, biddable when they want to be. If you've raised one in this state, I'd like to hear how you handled the foxtail problem.

I shoot a Beretta 686 in 20-gauge. Two-and-three-quarter-inch shells, a Briley screw-in choke set, bismuth 7½ for most of the year. The Beretta has earned every scratch on the receiver.

Reach out

Email me at peter@californiaupland.com. If you hunt the Imperial Valley, the Central Coast, or the eastern Sierra chukar canyons and want to talk about a piece I should be writing, I'd love to hear from you.

— Peter Subscribe to the weekly digest →