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This post will take me few days as lots of things were killed and many days were spent doing it. Each day I will try to add a new hunt or day of hunting from my journal that I wrote while I was at the lodge. Using spears, arrows, bullets and shot shell we took on Argentina big and small game. A trip I'll not soon forget as I had a few near death experiences and lived to tell the tale. Here it is from my journal the first day at the lodge.....
Guns, Arrows and Spears – Hunting Argentina - 2011
BiG Boars journal – Day one at hunting camp
Wow, so much to tell you about. I’m sitting here with a giant grin on my face. This place is absolutely fantastic! I could go on and on, but where to start?
Our hunt was scheduled for April 20-30 for 4 hunters. It was an SCI auction that I bought on eBay actually, where the original buyer just couldn’t make it for available dates in 2011. It was such a good deal; I just had to experience South America. I searched high and low for the right hunter to make up our forth. The hunters are, Cory (my wife), Stewart (a friend of mine which I met while sheep hunting), and myself. We had a 4th lined up, but in the end he canceled, so we went just with the 3 of us.
Cory and I started the trip with 15 days roaming Argentina. When we originally thought of Argentina we thought we could cover the whole of it, or at least the major areas before the hunt began. We made it to 3 places. Our hub, and the hub of the country is Buenos Aires, or as the short of breath say, BA. We made the 4.5 hour flight to Toronto from Vancouver, and then on to Santiago Chile as a quick stop over before our final destination, BA (10.5 hours with a 1 hour stop in Chile). The flight was good; with enough sleeping agents we made short work of it. We met up with a business partner of my family’s in BA, and he was kind enough to take us out for the first night we got in. He explained it was a good city for the most part, just to be careful with your belongings. Basically, just do as you would back home.
One of the first things that grips you as you step into the streets of the city is the aroma of hardwood fires used for cooking. It reminded me of summer nights back home in the old days when people used to use briquettes to cook a good steak. That night we went out to one of the fine steak houses in BA and since then have consumed copious amounts of Argentinian beef. Wine goes with every meal, and for about half of the total price of back home. The food here has been great; mainly beef with every meal, but it is a good lean, tender, young, grass fed beef. Everything is cooked on a hardwood fire, and you really can taste the difference.
We traveled to the beach town Mar del Plata first where we had 2 cooler days and 2 hot days, around 28 at the beach. We relaxed at a nice beach front hotel for 4 days. It was built about 50 years ago, but has been redone after it was left vacant for about 20 years.
From there it was back to BA for a one night stop over on our way to Mendoza. It’s about an hour flight from Santiago Chile, right on the edge of the Andes. Mendoza is wine country, similar to California as the grapes are on the flats and foot hills, right on the edge of the mountains. We had an absolute blast in there, taking in 3 days of wine tours. Far too much red wine was enjoyed by us. It was nice with the temperature around 25 most days. Our two memories would be riding a wine barrel in the pool and Cory scraping her knee and elbow while falling off her bicycle on our second wine tour. We met many good friends at the hostel we stayed at, probably ones that we will even run into some time in our future travels.
Then it was on to BA for 3 more days where we would meet up with Stewart and enjoy some wine, steaks, and even a bizarre old Tango bar. We even hit down town where there are 7 million people. It was absolute madness, even on a Tuesday at 2 in the afternoon. I’ve never been in a place so busy.
However, the best part of the trip was still coming. The hunt! We flew from BA after a small delay to a small town of 25,000 people called Santiago del Estero. It would seem from the air to be in the middle of nowhere. We landed and we were greeted in a small terminal by Tony. He was to pick us up and drive us to the ranch. With very broken English like most locals, we jumped into his Toyota Hilux and hit the road. For three hours. Three hours of straight road. A few pigs and goats and cows were seen on the way, but mostly a lot of thorny bush. We even got to see a couple of Gauchos herding along their cows. As we turned onto the dirt road we started seeing owls, lots of owls. In 15 kms, I’d say probably 15 owls. I came to the understanding that they were road hunting or something.
Then we saw a fox, or zorro as it is called. Why not get started early? We tried for the next one we saw, but in my first of the season excitement, I forgot to cock the 22 rifle, and he got away.
As soon as we arrived we were warmly greeted by Paco, the ranch owner and his helpers. It was an enjoyable first night seeing the lodge and the many, many trophies and pictures littering the walls, even some of the past presidents of the US. On the walls are some of many of the different animals here in Argentina. Water buffalo, cougars, marsh deer, ocelots, black buck, wild goats, pythons, fallow deer, dorset rams and lots of red stags. After a half an hour of drooling and dreaming we sat down to beers, wine and mixed drinks, with Fernet, an unusually woody tasting black liquor, mixed well with coke. As the fire burned we sat and talked and headed towards our first taste of the local cuisine. Salad, mashed potatoes and pounded and Milanese (breaded) Red Stag. It was a very delicious meal. After a few more drinks we headed to bed dreaming of what would happen on the first day of the hunt.
This morning, after a good night’s sleep, listening to the crickets and what I imagined were pigs, but later turned out to be water buffalo; we woke to a foggy morning. Fog meant a sleep in and a late breakfast waiting for it to clear. We had our coffee and breakfast which was eggs and incredibly crispy and very salty bacon. One part they definitely do right is a fresh cup of percolated coffee, absolutely smooth and a great way to start every morning.
After breakfast it was time to check our sights. On every long distance from home hunt, the first thing to do is to check your weapons and make sure they are still on target and nothing is broken in the journey or out of whack. We chose not to bring guns as they cost $150 to bring into Argentina and we could borrow Paco's for free, if we chose to hunt with rifles. The only guns that had a cost to rent were the berretta shotguns, which take an absolute pounding doing their job. Those cost $50 a day to rent, a very minimal fee, and well worth it for a quality gun. We sighted in the guns and I checked the PSE Axe 6, 70lb bow I had brought and all was good. We were then showed how to toss the boleros, which is something like three rocks each on their own 3 foot string which is tied in the middle and thrown over the head, something like a lasso. The cowboys used to use these, but now they are just a toy. We toured the outside of the lodge and got to learn how to properly thrust a spear. Why learn to thrust a spear? Keep reading and you’ll find out. Basically it takes more brawn than brains. Try to slip it into the ribs with all your weight and lean into it holding the animal away from attacking you. A miss or a pull out is a big problem. It may seem brutal, but is a very very effective way of killing, probably better than an arrow, with most animals expiring in only 10 seconds or so. Depending on how good you do your job that is.
After a lunch of Stag tenderloin medallions, marinated in a red sauce over top spaghetti, we headed out to see what we could find. Our method for today was spot and stalk. The bush is thick and tangled with thorns on every tree and bush. Above you and in every tree, you see the sandy colored doves and hear the squawks of the noisy parakeets. About half an hour into the trip we saw our first animals, 1 lone broken horn ram and 2 smaller rams of some kind. As we came to a small clearing, we saw our first animal worthy of taking home, and with 1 shot from Stewarts 270 Winchester, it promptly fell over.
From there we found a 4 horn ram and I decided as it had massive top horns to give it a try. We raced with the truck 2 clicks around to the back side and would try to have the other hunters push the ram past me and my arrows. I got in place, nestled tightly in some thorn bushes and waited for the ram. At 30 yards I saw him and readied. He had stopped and I hoped he would walk into the clearing in front of me and would stop again. As most animals do, he did the opposite; he trotted quickly up and past me. I held the 395 grain arrow tipped with a carbon steel G5 fixed broad head. He didn’t stop though and I held right on his front shoulder. At the last second I decided to pull the trigger. The arrow missed its mark thoroughly and with a solid hit in the back quarter, he trotted off. I stepped out of the bush and watched with a sick feeling in my stomach. What was I thinking shooting a moving target? I nocked another arrow but at about 50 yards away he tipped over! I definitely got lucky severing the femoral artery.
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As I walked up to him I was excited, I could see the mass and length of the horns on this strange animal. Four horns protruding from his skull, most people wouldn’t even believe this is a real animal. I chose to do a euro mount with this one because it was just so unreal. It almost looks painful for him! I also learned a valuable lesson being a newer bow hunter, don’t take shots you haven’t practiced for, especially on moving targets.
The animal was left for the trackers to take care of; we were on to looking for the next animal. As we rounded a bend a nice Texas Dall was spotted and Stewart quickly dispatched it as it headed towards us on a truly suicidal mission. The 270 cracked and the ram dropped in its tracks. After some good photos we headed towards the open fields.
One word, mo-key-toe. We were absolutely swarmed so badly that in the 28 degree sun I was forced to dawn my thermal jacket! It was insane! In a moving truck/jeep style hunting rig, these mosquitoes could keep up! Even when my arms and body was covered they actually landed on my finger tips and sucked blood! I’m still itching as I write this! At the beginning of this day it was mud wasps, which are massive, chasing us out of the ranch, but they had nothing on the mosquitoes! Plus the mud wasps leave you alone if you leave them alone. Every day since then, we have used plenty of mosquito repellent before leaving the ranch.
As we checked the next area we caught a glimpse of a big hairy body. Mostly white. It was a massive Dorset ram. At first I wasn’t keen on taking one of these, but the pure mass of the horns twisted my arm; thick and heavy the whole way over. The curls seemed to never end. I jumped at the opportunity and grabbed my bow, literally pushing my wife out of the way in my excitement, which she later reminded me of. After a 100 yard stalk and a long wait for a shot with my bow drawn for seemingly two minutes and a cut from my own broad head on my left index finger I seized my opportunity. With the bow mounted Leupold laser rangefinder clicked a 4th time checking the distance, I chose the 20 yard pin and let fly, threading a few branches that were in front of the ram with my arrow. The arrow connected and the ram made it 10 yards before tipping over. I felt good about the shot and patience was key waiting for a good broadside shot. We took some good pictures and we headed for home.
We returned home for a coffee, and as the night drew closer we chose out our shotguns. Using semi auto Berrettas, we were fitted to them and felt comfortable with our choices. When choosing a shotgun for dove hunting, you need to pick out two things. Reliability and reliability. We headed out not even 1 km from the ranch and dropped Stewart off for the evening shoot. As Cory hadn’t shot anything, I would wait for her to take the first dove. As we started loading the guns, they were already coming. They fly every morning to the soy fields and every evening to roost. They roost in the trees and it’s our job to intercept them. They are an absolute pestilence. I had heard the dove hunting was incredible, but I could never have dreamed of what this was like. Cory was loaded, ear plugs were in and a dove flew across in front of us. Boom and Yee Haw!!!! It was on, I grabbed my shotgun and the blasting began. As fast as my bird guy could shove 12 gauge shells into the gun while I held it, it was shot. That night, after several double doves with one shot, we put the doves to bed as the sun set. 172 doves fell from my blasting, with 270 shots fired. It was probably the most exciting type of hunting I have ever done just pure excitement and laughing and smiles while our bird guys were cheering us on. It was absolutely incredible!
Dinner that night was wild boar ribs. Really terrific! I would never have thought they would be that great. For 20 years on this ranch they never ate the ribs, but 2 years ago after trying some that were done right Paco decided they would be cooked. For 3 days in a row the gauchos refused to eat them. Then, when they were told no more meat until they at least tried them, they tasted, and enjoyed them. They have been savoring them since. Tender, boiled, barbecued on an open fire with home-made barbecue sauce, nothing beats em.
Ever meal here is followed by the ding ding of the desert bell. Severed by the ladies of the house was yet another amazing dessert. With every desert comes something that I have only tasted in Argentina, dolce de leche. Sugar and milk boiled for 8 hours. It’s basically honey consistency and is caramel. It goes with toast for breakfast, and just about on anything else. Very rich and very creamy. Good on just about everything, except your waist line.
After dinner we moved into the living room by the always burning wood fire to discuss the next day’s plans. We raised our glasses to shouts of Salut! to the days events, and after some BS with the guys at the lodge, and spinning tales of the Canadian north, we hit the sack for an early rise to shoot doves, hopefully tomorrow wouldn’t be foggy. To be continued……
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ok your having wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much fun .awsome bio though .keep em comming
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Some people on this site have too much fun!!!!:mrgreen::mrgreen:
Wow you sure do get around the world! Thanks for what is going to be an amaizing thread.:-DLove the pictures looks like you guys had an AWESOME adventure!
WOW!:-D
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I've been wondering when the next chapter in the Big Bore hunting adventures was coming. Damn Dave those sheep have the strangest head gear, I wonder how the last one can even see shit!!!
Keep it coming, the rest of us are waiting with baited breath!!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
BiG Boar
Sweet parakeet, are you doing a lifesize:)
BHB
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Wholly crap man!
That pic of ya with the spear is freeking awesome! And that pic of the guy cooking thoes steaks in the fire,,,,,,, mmmmmmm
If you ever need a new partner just shoot me a Pm :)
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A pleasure to read such a well written account. Have found Argentina wine as good as you all did! Ha! Ha! (But we didn't take pics of it). I assume the spears get sharpened somehow do they? Love the meat on a sabre you have there---a country of meataholics for sure. What did you do with those weird rams? I'm thinking the meat is not so good. Am I wrong? It seems there is a great variety of critters to shoot. Are there some tags or whatever for any of the game?
Keep up the "excellent adventure" stories. It's actually about hunting. Who knew?
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BHB - not getting one mounted as I can't get it home at the moment.
308 Lover - We ate the sheep ribs. They were great.
All meat not consumed gets given away to local orphanages in town.
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Excellent Story and Pics BB. Thank you for taking the time to put this together. Wow You and the wife shared a trip of a lifetime a total experience of culture, food and hunting can't get much better than that! Good for you guys. Can't wait for the spear hunting stories.
W.
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Looks like a really good experience !
I would love to hunt a hog with a spear !
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WOW !!!! thanks for letting us live vicariously through you and your partners
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YOU GUYS WENT !!!..thats super good on ya!! I've been 'talking' about hunting there for a while , wich doesnt get a guy far.Cant wait for more pics!
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WOW DAVE, man i shoulda taken that inviation lol. looks like a friggen blast. hunting looked pretty good to haha. gonna have to get together over a pint and here some of these storys in person. more storys and pictures needed!!! the anticipation sucks.
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who did you go with to go shoot doves?
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The dove and big game hunting was all done at Anuritay Ranch. Paco Pizzaro is the founder and owner of the lodge. It is one of the biggest in Argentina. His name is in the record books many many times.
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Thanks for bringing life back to this site!
There is always a lull between hunting seasons and although we have been entertained with politics and such,this is the kind of threads we all hope for.
Great story so far and I will tune in for more!
and if they dont come soon,I will grab a sack of beer and head over for a first hand story of your experience.
Glad to hear you had such a good time!
now on with the show!
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looks like a ton of fun.
Not sure it was fair chase shooting a ram that had soooo much of it's vision blocked by horn though:wink:
Good on ya. hope to see more pics.
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Good write up there, Dave.. I can't wait for more.. :-)
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Been waiting impatiently for this for a while,, looks like you guys had a absolute blast!!!!!!!
Look forward to the rest
BH
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Continued....
6:30 came early, and in the breaking dawn we lit up the sky with plenty of shots! The sky was gray and the masses of doves weren’t flying as they were supposed to because of this. But it was still a good shoot and many a dove fell from the sky. Back to the ranch house for a breakfast of eggs and very salty bacon. As interesting as the bacon was the first day, I found the end of my like for it and its saltiness and put an end to this breakfast order from now on.
After breakfast we were out looking for wild boar. A few different varieties of pigs roam freely on this property. Wild boar, Russian boar, white lipped and collared peccary. The peccary at the moment are kind of on hold. Another province has decided to not cooperate and allow them to be brought into that province of Argentina. That province is Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, even though legal to hunt and export from the country, I can’t ship them from Argentina as they have to go through the capital city. There are 5 big game animals, all native to Argentina, and unfortunately Cougar falls on this list. Even though they haven’t been able to export cougars for 18 months, I have chosen to put out the bait for one, just for the experience and hopefully there won’t be too much longer of a wait before they are cleared to leave. In December they talked with BA and were told it would be changed shortly. So if I do get a cougar, it will be a while possibly before I see it at home. Even though we have cougar back home and a good friend of mine has hounds, I have chosen to take one here as they are cheap and I get to hunt them with a spear. This brings me to the next part of my tale. Spears.
The entrails of the rams on the previous day were hung about 4 feet up in the trees and the bait was set. The piglets and the foxes wouldn’t get to taste these, only the big boar hogs. They stand on their back legs and reach high to taste the fresh fly ridden sheep guts. The strategy is to attract the hogs and then let the dogs do the work. Cougars only take live bait so that is an entirely different hunt. For hogs, the gauchos race out with the dogs in tow and check the baits. Sure enough, the radio on the jeep crackled as the gauchos screamed ahead of us. They had a pig surrounded with the dogs barking on each side. Unlike some pig hunts, the dogs here only surround and stop the pig. They don’t latch on and hold the hog or animal. They don’t wear protection and learn quickly to stay out of reach of the massive head swinging razor sharp tusks. The gauchos circled to stop the pig and the boar attacked them! The pig charged and the horse wasn’t quick enough. The blood flowed from a deep gash in the rear flank of the horse. Down the white leg the blood ran red and the pig had a fire and a fresh taste of blood in its mouth. As we arrived to the crazed boar we parked the jeep and it was decided Stewart would take this first one. With a 44 magnum lever action rifle.
As Stewart jumped from the truck following Paco things got very interesting. Three seconds into this hunt Stewart pointed the mares leg 44 magnum rifle and there was a boom! then and as fast as it could have happened the mad pig dropped not more than 2 feet from Stewarts feet. He jumped back and the smoke cleared as the blood flowed freely from the skull of the Pig. After the ringing in my ears stopped (still standing on the truck looking over Stewarts shoulder) I started to soak in what had happened. The literally wild boar charged straight for Stewart as he left the truck and before he could pull the hammer back on the Winchester Paco whipped out his revolver and saved Stewarts bacon! It took a while to soak in, but my hands started trembling and I literally tasted fear in my mouth. That was way closer than even I had realized. In the three seconds, faster than I could have imagined, Stewart was nearly wounded, possibly mortally. This is why we have PH’s. Professional hunters, it all seems so easy, but when things get crazy, problems are solved. This time the problem solver was a 357 magnum handgun. The solid entered the brain and exited next to the giant cohunes of this massive 300 pound swine. I caught my breath and basked in frightening thoughts of using a spear on a boar like this.
However Cory was up next. Her hands shook as she thought of the possible consequences. I was definitely concerned, but somehow felt confident after standing next to a man like Paco. He would be able to stop most any problems, even if it was close. Then….the radio crackled…..
Paco, Paco, hurry! Hurry! A boar! We raced toward the gauchos and there was fear in Cory’s widened eyes. After 3 seconds of pushing her off the truck she grabbed the 44 magnum Winchester and headed towards the popping jaws of her hog. I followed her, somehow trusting she would protect me with nothing but a video camera in my hand. With cordura chaps to stop the tearing thorns on every tree and bush she headed into the thick bush after Paco, following the bark of the three dogs. Unsure of what might happen my video camera shook in my hand. I have been scared plenty of times in my life, heck I live for the next adrenaline rush, but I had just witnessed a man being charged and stopped at less than 2 feet by a handgun; I was heading into an unknown place.
Luckily the ginger boar was staying still. Unlike other hunts with dogs for pigs these dogs are just ordinary dogs. Just strays in the city, taken in by Paco to see if they can hunt. And these mutts hunt well. Staying just outside of the razor sharp teeth they bark and chase the tail of the pigs.
Cory lined up her open sight magnum and with one shot the pig fell. Shortly followed by the sound of Paco’s insurance policy. As they hugged, the boar took off! It ran 50 yards before sitting again, and 1 minute later, chasing it through the thorns, Cory lined up on it again. This time it fell for good. Thump! It was all over. A perfect spine shot in the neck. Pulling the great beast from the bush we admired the size and sharpness of the mandibles of this animal. And with that, it was my turn.
One of the reasons I was so eager to head south was spear hunting; legal in Canada, yet not often, if ever done at home. The spears made by the Cold Steel Company were re touched that morning and glistened in the 28 degree heat. The blade, 4 inches wide, double edged, and 15 inches long, were followed by a 6 foot wooden 1 ½ inch thick handle.
The strategy is to surround the pig with the dogs and finding an open side. Then one on one I attack the pig holding tight on the shaft, always pointing at the pigs head. Should and when it charges, you don’t stab but hold your ground and keep the pigs razor sharp tusks away from your person using the tip of the spear as a branding iron for its face. When you find your choice armpit on the pig you don’t just stab away, you charge the pig with your entire weight and holding the spear run the pig through to the stopper, imbedding the massive blade into the heart/lungs and push the pig off its feet, hopefully immobilizing it. Of course this is a best case scenario. Usually the pig moves before you get your perfect placement, and as it feels and see’s the charge of the spear, the pig doesn’t hold still for too long, slashing and swinging its Crest white smiley teeth towards its attacker….Me.
The adrenaline began to surge as the engine roared on the 1970s jeep/dodge truck. The smell of diesel plumes in the air as we charged forward in the open topped truck. From up top we saw the gauchos circling and saw the grey tan wiry hair of the boar surrounded by the dogs. It was go time! I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. All I knew about this spear hunting was that it was possible and that it was incredibly dangerous. Cougars often run when attempted spearing, pigs almost always fight. As we dismounted the truck I was handed my weapon. Man vs. boar with nothing but a sharp stick. Two of them actually. Paco was backing me up with only a spear. No guns were drawn. We headed into the thick thorny cover following the sound of the clacking jaws of a 350 pound brute.
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I lined it up and readied, as we closed the distance I stayed in front hoping everything would go to plan. Ten feet down to two feet, no problems. Pig was seated and snapping its jaws, hearing the clack of it sharpening its bottom 4 inch tusk against its top teeth. I closed the distance and at one foot away Paco’s words were “Stick it!” But the pig was too fast and a squeal came as it ran, chasing a dog! We backed out of the thorn bush the easy way and went around the backside of this clump of bush to get a better angle and closer to the pig.
Using the traditional bush cutting machete we cut our way into the rather upset boar. At a few feet away this time I wove my spear between the inch thick trees. Finding my spot perfectly in the pit of the arm I thrust with all my 230lb force forward deep into the heart and lungs of the pig, pushing and pushing the pig pawed the ground trying to mortally wound me as I was him, he wanted to kill me just as much as I did him. Five seconds which felt like five minutes later he tipped over and we ran through an opening in the brush to put one more insurance policy into his heart. As he lie on his side squealing I gave it one deep push into the heart and then when I thought I couldn’t go any deeper I put both hands on the blunt end of the spear and sunk the tip deeper, up and into the spine of the boar. The dogs jumped in and bit at the boar hog claiming the true victory as much theirs as it was mine.
The whole thing was over in ten seconds or less. A new feeling came over me and I wondered no more what it would be like. It was done. It was as effective as any bullet, and faster than an arrow death. It was an absolutely incredible experience. With the right tools, this is madness, yet somehow controlled, all at the same time. I felt a calm sense of primal relief. It is just so hands on and so intense, yet somehow I felt I was on a more even playing field with the animal.
As I jumped back onto our transport my 58 year old friends face lit up as we had one pig left in our package. He hadn’t really killed a boar yet as his was shot in self defense by the guide, so he decided all in that moment to take the last pig. He saw the excitement in my eyes and wanted it all for his own. We pressed on following slowly behind the horses in our chariot waiting and hoping for one more shout from the gauchos.
As we passed by a creek we heard their cries and saw the pig. I wished him luck as Stewart grabbed his spear and headed towards the action. Following with the video camera I watched as three of them with spears made their way like line backers, shoulders down heading towards the last and final pig for the day. At three feet from the pig I heard the call for charge! And I watched as Stewart’s spear sunk deep into the shoulder of the pig, followed quickly by the thrust of two more spears. The pig twisted and ran ten feet only to be stuck again and held as the spears sunk deeper into the chest of the adrenaline filled dying boar. As it was held fighting, the 357 stopper was handed to Stewart’s left hand. With one arm wrapped around the spear and the other clenching a magnum the shot was placed between the eyes and the boar suddenly stopped. Wow. It was as incredible as mine. I will relive it in my thoughts for some time. We were wide open in the middle of a field, it was man versus beast. It just doesn’t get any more primal than this.
After we got back to the ranch, sleep came over me in a wave and Cory and I crashed out for 2 hours. Only to be woken by the tapping of a shotgun on the door of our bedroom. Wake uuuuuu-uup! I rolled out of bed readying for another amazing evening of dove hunting. And amazing hardly describes it! The doves are an absolute plague to the farmers, just as rats are to them back home. Except they are not in the hundreds, they are in the billions. In one night you should have at least 3000 doves easily within shooting distance and probably five times that amount seen. You are placed on a 20 yard wide path somewhere deep in the thorny dove country. The doves appear in groups of two to fifteen for about four seconds total as they fly over your improvised yet brutal landing strip.
Then the doves begin to fall. It’s so insane as the doves return to their roost that you really don’t have time to reload even. Many hunters here who are here just for the wing hunting take two guns. They empty one berretta; swap it with the guide for a freshly filled gun, and as fast as you can pull the trigger the bird’s fall, if….you do your job. My work tonight consisted of helping farmers in a poor country, rid their fields of pestilence. As the tap of birds shut off my guide asked us all to come around and check the thumb clicker in his left hand which he hadn’t had time to look at for all the constant reloading he was doing. 491 birds went down tonight. Eight hundred and some shots were fired. An incredible evening and all I have to show for it is a really burned thumb as I grabbed the gun like some kind of hero attempting to prove my excellence shooting left handed I really scorched my thumb on the nearly red and unbelievably hot barrel. These guns are incredible and really go the distance. I honestly don’t think many others would stand the test of constant fire breathing down the barrel for 2 plus hours straight.
As I write this both of my shoulders can barely lift a cold beer to my lips. Not from the pounding of the gun on my shoulder as one might think, as I am wearing magnum level shoulder recoil strap on pad on my right shoulder, but from lifting the gun up and up again and again for so many shots. Tomorrow morning comes early so I will bid you adieu for now and hit the sack. If you ever get a chance to go on a dove hunt, take it. I will be back for sure, its indescribable on paper just how big a smile is on your face for so long. Probably the most fun a hunter could ever have in one day.
To be continued....
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Re: HUNTING ARGENTINA - Spears, Arrows and Bullets -
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Re: HUNTING ARGENTINA - Spears, Arrows and Bullets -
