South American Duck/Dove Hunt ?

[corps2010]

For those who have been, who do you recommend for a trip like this? When is the best time to go? BIL and I are looking to go somewhere

[CTR0022]

Give ramsey Russell a call with get ducks.com

He will be able to go over all the options and outfitters.

[ThisLadyHunts]

This is who we use: www.flyways.com. They have two (very nicely appointed) lodges, both in the Cordoba province. I don’t hesitate to recommend them.

[Low Fence]

Leaving in October hunting with Pointer Outfitters. Will report when we get back. Just dove for us

[ThisLadyHunts]

Leaving in October hunting with Pointer Outfitters. Will report when we get back. Just dove for us

Where in Argentina will you be hunting?

[Low Fence]

Where in Argentina will you be hunting?

C?rdoba

[El General]

David Denies

[Deerguy]

Depends on which species is more important. Best time for ducks is late winter, which means July down there. Plenty of ducks all season, but better plumage and greater diversity of ducks late winter. But, although always 'good', dove hunting is not the best in winter. Don't get me wrong, still PLENTY of dove, but you'll just have better shooting for dove during their late summer/fall (January-ish for us), especially if you want to run up the score. Also, don't just immediately settle on Cordoba, we had MANY more dove in Santiago del Estero than Cordoba (Cordoba was actually a little disappointing compared to SDE), plus many more pigeons in SDE as well as perdiz.(once you book a hunt, most outfitters don't really care what you shoot at; if ducks fly by on a dove hunt, shoot them, same with chachalaca and perdiz). SDE can be tricky for ducks though. If they get rain, flooded ag fields are the way to go. With no rain, you'll probably have to go to a different province that has permanent water. For me personally, I enjoy the quaintness of the smaller outfitters much more than the pampering of the big-name outfitters. Food, hunting, and service has always been great. Be sure to spend a day in Buenos Aires before and after the hunt, make the travel easier and less hectic (Aerolinas Argentina is horrible about changing flight times and flight numbers after booking and sometimes not letting you know, which make same-day connecting flights tricky). and BA is neat town to just walk around. Lots of good parrillas (steakhouses) that are pretty dang good. All of the markets are good for gifts and souvenirs. Be sure to make friends and have fun with your bird boy, not just the hired help that hands you shells. You'll have much more fun in the field if you can develop a relationship with the birdboy, even if he doesn't speak English and you don't speak Spanish.

[DanGilbertTX]

I posted this on Shotgunworld forums. I won't repost the pictures here, just the text:

I just back 10 days ago. I did mixed bag with 4 Seasons Argentina (4 Seasons Adventures Argentina). The lodge is about 15km North of Darregueira which is itself about 180km North-Northwest of Bahia Blanca. It's still in the Buenos Aires province. I spent 5 days hunting. Mostly ducks, but did hunt perdiz 1 day (those buggers are HARD to hunt) and dove/pigeon twice. I don't have a full write-up done, but will answer your questions here:

• There is a huge drought in Argentina right now. So, "normal" hunting spots are not necessarily being used. My outfitter couldn't do ducks in their normal spot as all the ponds were dry.
• If you are a duck hunter, there is NOTHING like hunting ducks in Argentina. 3-5 ducks in the U.S. is something I will never do again. Not when I got 30 every single morning. The first afternoon I got 30 ducks in around 45 minutes. It's unreal.
• According to the Argentinians, Cordoba is no longer the place for Dove. Entre Rios is. Most places are a 2 hour drive from Buenos Aires. Also, your golden dorado fishing is in Entre Rios.
• The outfitter I used has their dove lodge in Entre Rios now instead of Cordoba. They apparently moved all their operations there. For whatever reason, there are more dove in Entre Rios than Cordoba now.
• The best dove hunting is their Spring (September - December)
• The best duck hunting is June - July. Temps will likely be below freezing in the morning, but rain is highly unlikely.
• Red Stag is during the rut in March.
• No clue on perdiz and I am not sure pigeon have a "good" season.
• Pigeon is the most fun to hunt. Hunt them on roosts coming off of grain fields.
• Those eared doves are FAST buggers. They are like Mourning dove. Pigeons are more like White-winged dove. No limits on either.
• Shells are running $13-$15/box and 20 gauge is harder to come by. Gun rental is ~$50 from most outfitters. Taking a gun to Argentina is a pain. Just rent them. Take shoulder pads and slip-on recoil pads to get length if you need it.
• Most outfitters are going to be close to $1000/day. That should include transportation to/from EZE and any regional airports, food, lodging, and hunting. Gun rental, shells, and tips are extra. You can negotiate some of it with them though.
• For tips, $50 - $100/day for the bird boy/guide. More for ducks because they do a TON of work. $50 - $100/day for your host/outfitter. My outfitter/owner wouldn't accept tips for himself. Figure $25 - $50/day for "la casa". That gets split between the cooks, housekeepers, and servers.
• The American flight from MIA to EZE (Buenos Aires) is around 10 hours and is a decent flight. I would suggest spending a day & night in BA before/after your hunt to catch up after/before travel.
• They are on a European schedule. Dinner isn't until 8pm or so. Most restaurants don't open until 7pm or later and the lodge won't have dinner until then. Plan accordingly.

When I go back to bird hunt next time, I would either hunt solely ducks (maybe an afternoon on pigeon/dove) for 3 - 4 days or hunt pigeon/dove on a day hunt out of Buenos Aires. My plan, right now, is to hunt red stag in Patagonia in March 2025. I may, or may not, do a day hunt out of BA for pigeon/dove then. If I was taking my wife/family to BA for a vacation, I would do a single day hunt while they did their own thing. It's a 2 hour car ride each way. 6am leave and return by 8pm just in time for dinner.


Link to full discussion: https://www.shotgunworld.com/threads...3/post-4876918

[7sdad]

Leaving in October hunting with Pointer Outfitters. Will report when we get back. Just dove for us

Let me know how it goes, we are going with Pointer Outfitters in March.

[AggieSportsman]

Let me know how it goes, we are going with Pointer Outfitters in March.

We went with Pointer Outfitters about 4 weeks ago. First day of hunting was sub-par, but each day after that was lights-out. Food, hosts and lodge (we stayed at the La Loma lodge) were all top notch too.