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> THE LADY GUNS OF CORDOBA - TONY TOWNSEND - SHOOTING GAZETTE - FEBRUARY 2006 |
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THE LADY GUNS OF CORDOBA - TONY
TOWNSEND - SHOOTING GAZETTE - FEBRUARY 2006 |
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Dove shooting in Argentina was a special experience for
TONY TOWNSEND. Not least because half of the group was female.
Sending out the pre-trip information to my team of guns to shoot doves
at the Estancia Los Chanares in Argentina last autumn it suddenly dawned
on me there were five female shooters in a total party of 11, and it
would have been six but for a last minute cancellation by one couple,
which made me realise how much has changed in the shooting world in
recent years.
Back in the 70s the Chelsea nightclub Wedgies supported a clay pigeon
day for its members at the then newly opened Apsley Shooting Grounds.
The competition was split into two groups, the male shooting members
totalled about 100 and the females barely accumulated enough entries to
play a rubber of bridge. I can still recall when Lady Charlotte Curzon,
the subsequent winner of the ladies cup, powdered a right and left at
the partridge stand to rapturous applause from a large gathering of male
onlookers. Today that competition would have received at least 50 female
shooters, and many of the ladies would likely be the combined overall
winner
Undoubtedly in recent years, Holland & Holland's Green Feathers Club
has done much to raise the profile of lady guns. But before they picked
up the baton, an attractive American, Parker Gentry was popping up on
shoots everywhere. Other front runners who make the headlines in the
sporting press included shooting columnist Piffa Schroder and Pru
Horsell who was featured in last year's November issue. It was only
four years ago in Argentina I had the pleasure of standing next to Kate
Morrison during a spectacular purple patch she had on doves, and the
year before last, tall leggy blonde Melinda Bullough shot absolutely
brilliantly. Now even Purdey's have started a lades' course at the
west London Shooting School; how times have changed!
Today it is not uncommon to turn up on a shoot and find that one or even
two of the guns are ladies. In the past that could have meant, if drawn
beside one of these female shooters, you might personally expect to
shoot at half again more birds because she had either missed or was too
slow loading but now that is a long forgotten memory. Eyesight problems
apart, modern cartridges for 20bore guns have put up the ladies on a
near level playing field with men. The ladies I meet in the field these
days can shoot and they are getting better all the time. Recently I met
Ondine Carington, another tall leggy blonde that shoots when I lunched
in Vauxhall with Paul Roberts, Nicky Kerman, and her other half Alan
Matson. Though saying she shoots is a bit like saying Tiger Woods plays
golf, because Ondine is a regular member of a roving syndicate of lady
guns shooting from the Dales to Devon.
This of course brings me back to where I started because my team of lady
shooters for Argentina began to be referred to by my Spanish speaking
friend Bill from San Antonio, Texas as 'Las Dianas de Cordoba' later
anglicized by his chum Juan from Mexico as 'The Lady Guns of Cordoba'
and I guess that prompted this piece.
Apart from the obvious advantages of having female company at
dinnertime, it also adds a lot more fun to the whole party, and the men
with ballistical thrombosis are always quickly shut up by the ladies.
Frankly, Argentina should be a holiday as well as a shooting trip. You
have traveled half way around the world, so it's nice to have wives and
girlfriends along to share the experience, especially if they are keen
to shoot or learn to shoot. It is a fact, the head field guides at most
lodges are only too pleased to give some coaching. Serge at Los Chanares,
as well as being one of the finest shots I have ever seen, is also an
excellent coach and is very keen to help the girls improve their
shooting.
But you would be missing a trick if you thought Argentina was just dove
shooting because before you fly to Cordoba it is always nice to spend a
day or two in Buenos Aires, it's a wonderful city with fantastic
shopping and great restaurants so it is really mean to leave the girls
behind. But before you whine about what to do with the children;
when I met my wife 20 odd years ago I gave her the choice of having kids
or flying first class, so you'll get no sympathy from me in that
department.
Dove shooting has always been a no pressure shooting experience; that
fearful and nerve racking moment when the first pheasant heads for you
just below cloud level on a UK shoot is never an option dove shooting
because doves will be flying over your peg when
you arrive and will still be flying over when you re-sleeve your gun to
leave, so from the moment you start shooting you feel relaxed. And that
is the ideal environment for new to shooting lady guns or anyone else
for that matter.
This year our trip to Argentina was going to he special because as well
as my regular visit to Estancia Los Chanares in the Cordoba region, my
wife Yvonne and I had another 10 lodges to visit for a dove shooting
guide I am currently writing. Our first afternoon following our morning
flight from Buenos Aires is always an interesting session because Serge
likes to assess the standard of shooting especially if there are lady
shooters in the group. That means you will have doves coming at you at
every possible height and angle, so it's a great start to the trip even
for the old hands. Londoner Patty Push and Laura Armstrong, originally
from here but now living with her English husband in New York were
placed on adjacent pegs with Serge nipping from one to the other giving
coaching. My wife Yvonne and Juanita Dompierre were close by me, and
finally, Cecilia Barrionuevo was further along the line from my chum
Paul Roberts. Leora got into the action firing 13 boxes of shells on
this session, and Patty 14 boxes which was a good start for both of
them. Patty has always been a pretty good shot and has been game
shooting for many years before she moved to America, so Serge just
needed to get her footwork sorted and help her to adjust to the height
and flight of the doves, and she was soon performing like an old hand.
Yvonne tends to only shoot at the highest birds, or that is what she
tells me, so her cartridge count was always low compared to the rest of
us, however, as we were visiting many other lodges on this trip I think
she was pacing herself more than usual. So on paper her 11 boxes with
her little 28bore Rizzini looked like she had been a bit of a wimp or
she had been out of the shooting, but of course some of the time she is
taking pictures for my articles. Anyway by the end of our Argentina
adventure she had shot close to 8,000 shells so her first session could
be misleading.
Although Juanita has been shooting doves for a long time, there is
always a sense of sheer enjoyment coming from her peg. When I went over
with my camera to take some pictures she was into a very hot groove
bringing down birds that were so far out they looked like tiny specks on
the photos. I didn't get to see Cecilia shoot but I understand she
didn't make too much of a dent in her first case of shells. But having
my chum
Paul Roberts lurking on the next peg is enough to concern any pretty
girl, having said that he had shot 31 boxes that session so he wouldn't
have had time to distract Cecilia much anyway.
Patty got into some very serious cartridge abuse on the second day by
shooting the second highest number of boxes, although she did sustain
some tough bruising, and Leora shot only one box less on the following
day, so the girls really got into the swing of things. Juanita took
centre stage at one session with an audience of rubberneckers watching
her stylish shooting. My old friend Shaun Redmayne summed up her smooth
shooting style succinctly with the comment 'watching Melinda shoot is
like watching Michael Schumacher drive'. What more can be said.
The trip to Los Chanares was a complete success with all the girls
having a great time. This year I would be delighted to have the same
team of guns, perhaps with the addition of Kate Morrison and maybe
Melinda Bullough and Ondine Carrington. As far as I am concerned the
only thing better than dove shooting in Argentina is shooting in
Argentina with some attractive girls. |
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ALTERNATIVE VIEW |
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Once back in England I asked all the girls to email me with their thoughts on how they enjoyed the trip. The one received from Leora Armstrong completely expressed the thoughts of all the other girls that I decided to just include her response.
Leora Armstrong's view: As a single girl traveling to shoot in a foreign country there are plenty of things to make you apprehensive especially when travelling with guns and not speaking Spanish. However being met by Alex and Leticia (our ground agents) certainly put me at ease from the outset.
Although shooting can he a very male oriented sport I feel that it is one that both men and women can do equally but I would certainly recommend that you know at least a few members of the group you are joining; boys can be quite intimidating to us girls shooting and sadly there are some out there who think that women shouldn't shoot at all, so you need some boys in the group that love having girls on side if you are really to enjoy yourself.
Buenos Aires is not an intimidating city to be alone in but it's more fun in a crowd. Like any large city one needs to be wise about one's personal possessions. But the people are delightful and always willing, both in restaurants and shops, to help in every way.
I think it is important when travelling alone to make sure you have all the correct kit. Getting all the info ahead of travel is important because when you're on a shoot it is usually too late. Although everyone at Los Chanares was extremely helpful and with great cheer! Serge (the owner) mentioned that only 10 percent of his clients are women; with this in mind always make sure you have all the female items you need like a hairdryer.
Be in charge of your own kit. There is lots of help with carrying and of course if you forget something there is always someone who will nip back to the lodge for you but if one is on the estate that could be a problem, so have a good field bag with everything you are likely to need.
A good tip is to take a Spanish speaking guide book which you can always give to your bird boys when you leave - they love it. Also One cannot always tip directly so it is a good idea to also give them a small gift even a good hat is appreciated.
There wasn't really any shopping at Los Chanares other than hats and cartridge pouches so do your retail therapy in BA. Timberland was full of bargains and there are designer and great leather shops everywhere.
A 28 bore is fab for Argentina and a perfect gun for the doves, but a 20 bore is also great as long as it fits well and is light. If possib1e take a gun with multiple chokes but make sure that they are regularly removed cleaned. Have your own cleaning kit and be prepared to tighten the screws in your gun that get loosened by heavy use and generally be aware of what can go wrong with your gun.
If possible always travel with your gunmaker! I also recommend you have a recoil reducer in the stock and a pad under your shooting jacket especially if like me you are shooting a 20 bore. All the boys on this trip were shooting 28s.
It is a great trip and certainly fun for the girls as well as the boys. It is a fantastic opportunity to improve your shooting in everyway whether you are a beginner or an advanced shot. The birds are sporting and will certainly give you a challenging time, especially when you pick your birds with care and push your own limits each drive. Taking breaks on the drives is a must. It's not just about shooting lots of shells, ignoring the fact that you will be exhausted if you attempt to shoot for four hours straight each session. Drink lots of water and bring a good camera. Chatting to your neighbor not only allows you time to recuperate but it can be fun and you can watch how they shoot certain birds; it's a learning curve. HAVE FUN!
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