Dove Hunting Tips

Safety

Be sure that all your guns are unloaded before leaving your home, the hotel and the lodge. Recheck your guns before entering any truck or van, while on the field, and again prior to leaving the field back to the lodge.

All autoloaders must have open magazines when carried outside of the shooting station. Uncased double guns must always be broken when walking or anytime you are not in shooting position.

Do not hand loaded shotguns to the bird boys. Do not let bird boys shoot – as many of them do know how to shoot. Allowing them to practice shooting with your gun is an unnecessary risk to take.

The most important safety rule: Do not shoot low-flying birds!
There is never a reason to take a low-angle shot. Shooting low birds (or angles less than 45 degrees) puts bird boys, other hunters and farm animals at risk.

There are thousands of birds to shoot. Please exercise discipline and good judgment on each shot.

Travel

We highly recommend that you consider purchasing a trip cancellation insurance.

Pack a change of clothes (including underwear) in a carry-on bag as the airlines may delay your checked bags for 24 hours after you arrive.

The expiration date on your passport should not expire within six months of your trip’s departure date. No visa is required for U.S. citizens to travel to Argentina or Chile, only a Reciprocity Fee of $160 needs to be prepaid before arriving in Argentina (this fee is valid for 10 years).

Make a photocopy of your passport and carry it with you at all times. Keep the original in your packed luggage or safe deposit box inside your room. The only time you may need your original passport is while shopping with a credit card, changing money or at check-in before boarding a flight.

Print a copy of the contact page in case you need to communicate with us while in transit.

Biology of the bird

The primary species of dove that is shot in Cordoba is the Zenaida Auriculata (the golden eared dove). In Argentina, most people refer to it as the “paloma”.

The doves in Argentina are considered a plague by the Department of Agriculture of Cordoba, costing local farmers many millions in lost revenues each year. Because of this status, Cordoba is a no-limit, high-volume shot setting.

In 1987 there was an official study that estimated the dove population in Cordoba at 24 million. Today the population is well above 50 million, with just 20 million estimated on the Los Chanares property. It is estimated that 30 million doves must die per year in order to maintain the balance in nature.

Doves can reproduce up to seven times per year and have up to three eggs per nest. The expected lifespan of a dove is five years. This figure is typically cut short due to a lack of food source.

It typically takes 45 days for young doves (pichones, in Spanish) to start flying. After about 20 weeks the young doves enter the Cordoba “dove factory” and begin reproducing.

More tips for great dove hunting in Argentina

Once you’ve made the decision to explore all that Argentina has to offer, it’s time to think about what can be done to maximize the success of your trip. During the time you will be dove hunting in Argentina, you definitely won’t have a shortage of prey. However, even though Argentina is filled with doves that serve as excellent targets, there are several tips that can help you maximize the success of your dove hunting adventure in Argentina.

Practice

As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” The same can be said of dove hunting. So before you come to Argentina for your dove hunting trip, try and get some practice in. One of the best ways to do this is to practice in dove fields near your home, which offers much less excitement and challenge than dove hunting in Argentina, but still provides you with practice to make your trip even more successful. Another option is to practice by shooting sporting clays. There are stations designed specifically with dove hunters in mind, so take advantage of this tool before leaving on your trip. One of the greatest things about dove hunting in Argentina is the sheer abundance of birds. As a result, don’t be deterred if you haven’t been able to get any practice in before you come. You certainly won’t walk away from your experience empty handed.

Preparation

Often, when you want to go dove hunting near your home, you are required to properly scout and prepare for your trip. One big advantage of dove hunting in Argentina is that most of the “hard part” is done for you. In addition, the volume of birds in Argentina will help any hunter enjoy success. However, before you leave home, it is important to make sure that you’ve packed everything that was recommended to you by your guide, or sponsoring lodge. Remember that they are experts and welcome thousands of dove hunters to Argentina every year. As a result, simply following the instructions that they’ve laid out can make your trip much more enjoyable.

Good Shooting Form

Ultimately, perhaps the most important factor in making your Argentina dove hunting adventure a success is your shooting form. Though it seems self-explanatory, many hunters take for granted how crucial it is to practice and use proper form. As a result, they often miss out on opportunities to snare their prey. Relatively simple factors, such as keeping your cheek down on the stock or maintaining solid footing, can make a big difference in the success of your hunt. Other techniques, such as proper follow through, can also influence your effectiveness. Follow through essentially means that you continue to swing on the dove after you fire the shot. This basically means that you are stringing out the shot in the same general flight pattern as the dove. Simply employing proper form and techniques is yet another way to ensure that you have an enjoyable and successful dove hunting expedition during your time in Argentina.