Argentina: A Wingshooter's Dream Trip Part One  by Pat Lieske "Let your imagination run free as I detail a recent trip to Gualeguay, Argentina, for a six-day hunt for ducks, doves, and perdiz." Shooting doves in Argentina's farm fields. Have you ever dreamt of a place where ducks fly all day, doves are everywhere you look, and your hunting dog is always on point. There is such a place and it is Argentina. Let your imagination run free as I detail a recent trip to Gualeguay, Argentina, for a six-day hunt for ducks, doves, and perdiz. We arrived in Miami on April 13 for an afternoon of clay target shooting at Tropical Sporting Clays (described in the April issue of this column). After seven flats of shells between the five of us, we felt confident that a good night's sleep was eminent on the eight-hour flight from Miami to Buenos Aires. We arrived in Buenos Aires at 7:00 a.m. on April 14. Upon arrival, a representative of River Plate Wingshooting was waiting patiently for us. He assisted us through customs and readied all of the firearm permits. We were then shuttled off toward Qualeguay. Everywhere you looked there were some sort of agricultural operation going on, reminding many of us how much this part of Argentina resembles the midwestern section of the United States. A sign eventually announced that we were entering the small town of Gualeguay. Our driver pulled into a small cafe where sausage and Argentinean beef were sizzling on an indoor grill. Luis Brown, our host for the week, introduced himself and sat down for lunch with us. He gave a brief overview of what we could expect over the next five days. After lunch, sated with the meal and equally full of anticipation, we headed off to the first hunt of the trip. Doves Doves were first on the agenda. After a short ride from the cafe, we arrived in the dove field we would hunt every afternoon. The doves had just started to fly at about half past one in the afternoon, flying from one field to the next as they fed on the farmers' crops. Crop damage from doves is a major problem in Argentina. The bird populations are so large, and for the most part unchecked by hunting or predators, that they put a significant dent in agricultural production. So much so, in fact, that many farmers poison the birds to help slow their infestation. Our driver dropped us off individually with two flats of shells for the afternoon shoot. The shooting started off at a modest pace; three or four birds at a time would zigzag past each shooter. The variety of shots was almost unlimited. As the afternoon progressed the birds began their evening ritual of returning to the roost, and the number of doves became almost staggering. Everywhere you looked the sky was full of doves. The shooting turned from casual to almost panicked as we tried unsuccessfully to load our guns as fast as the birds appeared. We quickly realized, however, that the birds would fly like this until dusk every night and it wasn't possible to attempt them all. One shooter in the party did manage to shoot 60 boxes of shells on that first afternoon. It went on like this every afternoon of our stay. By the way, the afternoon temperature averaged a comfortable 75 degrees F. The ride to the estancia was full of chatter with each hunter sharing his best shot story with the rest of the group. When I was arranging this trip I had numerous times tried to explain to prospective shooters what the shooting would be like, but I knew from experience that my description would not do it justice. On my first trip to Argentina I was in their place. I came to the realization that the only believable description was the one that you obtained with your own eyes. Smiles all around after a successful dove shoot. After a 45-minute trip through the country the van started to slow down and make a turn into a drive. The sign above the drive read "Patria Chica." Patria Chica is a hunting lodge (estancia) set up to accommodate up to 10 guests at a time. It is surrounded by a moat. The staff loaded all of our gear onto the raft and pulled us over to the island we were to call home for the week. We were pleasantly surprised when we walked inside and were greeted by a warm glowing fire in the huge fireplace and dinner on the table. Our first meal proved that the hunting was not the only part of our trip that would be first class. Luis went over the following morning's duck hunt with us as we enjoyed perdiz crepes. Next month in this column I'll share with you the hunting we had for ducks and perdiz. But if I've already whetted your appetite enough to find out more about shooting in South America, contact Pat Lieske at 810-664-4307 or e-mail PLieske@aol.com. Copyright © 1999 Pat Lieske. All rights reserved.

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