Word from the Owner David Perez

Our fourth season ended on March 28 and we had our best year ever. We hosted over 800 clients and had excellent shooting for everybody. The staff enjoyed a fun, season-ending party with various games and prizes. During our January – March sunflower season, we hosted many old-school groups some of whom have been to the lodge 10 years in a row. We even broke the new Los Chanares one-day record – Eric Hellbach from Bisso Marine in Houston shot 7,069 birds on 9,000 rounds. Absolutely amazing! .

Of course, the slow worldwide economy is going to cause bookings to be down for the next 12 months. But the bookings are not down for all months. For example, next year’s February and March sunflower season is almost sold out. We have a very nice start to the season in June, but July looks very weak (help please!). We also hope to book several big groups over the next couple of weeks and really appreciate our clients that keep coming every year. We continually strive to improve and make your trip better. By sticking with us and telling your friends about our place, we are sure to make your trip better than ever!

Shooting Update from Alex Mitri

The June – March season was by far the best shooting seen at Los Chanares. The volume of birds was incredible and we were extremely lucky (Martin our gamekeeper will say good) with our sunflower planting. Argentina experienced the worst drought in 50 years and the local press predicts that grain production will be down 20-25%. We were blessed to have excellent rains in September and October when it mattered most. And thankfully there were no rains in February and March, which helped keep the birds on the property.

The bird situation for next year looks very promising. As many of you know, we own another lodge called Sierra Brava that does open in the April and May harvest season. They have seen an unprecedented number of birds in the fields this year and there have been many multiple thousand shooters (lots of hats and polos). We believe that because the drought did affect the grain production in the region, the birds will spend less time in the fields and should come back early. By mid May we will have a very good idea of the bird situation for next year.

Featured Employee – Andres Levezzari

After going through four different transfer employees, I think we have a keeper in Andres Levezzari. Andres started with us in January 2008 and is the first transfer person to last the entire year. Despite seeming like an easy job, Andres has many tasks other than meeting and greeting clients at the airport. Andres procures the permits, delivers shells, buys the market and is our go-to-guy in Cordoba.

Andres is married and has a beautiful baby boy and girl. He lives in Cordoba capital.

The Latest and Greatest Improvement

The clients ask and we deliver. The latest improvement is new, larger beds in rooms 1-4. As many tall people know, we have several rooms with beautifully decorated footboards that look great, but are terribly annoying for our larger guests. So we have hired a carpenter to extend the beds and purchased new mattresses. Now you don’t need to run over your friends to get the room with the larger beds. All rooms will be comfortable for the bigger guys.

Frequently Asked Question

Probably the most frequently asked question at the lodge is when is the best time to shoot the property? One of our competitors says it best: “the best time is now”. Of course, there is a difference throughout the year in your experience at Los Chanares. Below I have split the June – March season (close in April and May) conveniently into 3 periods:

January – March sunflower season. Our first and largest hatch of the year occurs in these months. The records are broken during these months because of the long days and high concentration of birds due to the sunflower. You can relax at the pool during the siesta time and the temperatures in the evenings drop to 60-70 degrees. This is the most popular time of our dove season and generally fills up 9 months in advance.

June – August winter months. During these months you will find the most challenging shooting because the birds coming back from the harvest season are more mature. This is also the most fun time to shoot the mountain roost area. These months are very busy because it is an excellent time to bring your son/daughter after he graduates high school or college and also to get away from the unbearable heat in the Northern Hemisphere summer. The weather is absolutely fantastic with very dry, crisp days with many evenings freezing overnight.

September – December promotional months. This my personal favorite time to shoot the property as all the flyways in the area work well. The weather is the beginning of spring with temperatures in the 60-80s during the day and 40-60s overnight (not December which is the start of summer). We discount the trip fee by 25% since people can not usually travel due to hunting, football or holiday reasons.

Marcos Furer Photography

Many clients rave about the pictures taken at the lodge by Marcos Furer. Marcos usually comes to the lodge the first or second day and develops the pictures by your last day. The quality is unbelievable. If you want Marcos to come to the lodge to take pictures of your group, just let us know. His website iswww.marcosfurer.com.ar

I certainly hope you have enjoyed our newsletter updating you on Los Chanares experience.

Thank you very much for your time and have a Happy Holiday Season!

David Perez

Owner