doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com If money were no object, where would you hunt?

Like you we have shot Doves in SA. Started in Cali, Columbia in the late 70's then added Agentina for all sorts of flying critters. Our last year in Coumbia was 93 and Argentina 95. I would really like to do Spain for Red Leg Partridge and I'm try to figure that one out. Though I hate to use the phrase; but on my " bucket list" is driven grouse in the UK.

If I were to ever go back to Cordoba for doves, and take my own guns, I will take my FAIR Verona LX 692 Gold Combo with 30" barrels. I will only take the .410 set and use it for one full day's shooting. I probably couldn't afford .410 shells there for more than a day . Last time I was there, 13 years ago, 20 ga. loads were $12/bx. No telling what .410s are there today. Sure would be fun to see what I could do with it for a day, though.

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...-sxs-410-28ga-combo.cfm?gun_id=103624123

In the 70's in Columbia the shells, 20 and 12 were extremely dirty. Those with break open guns found themselves cleaning the gunk from behind the ejectors just to keep shooting. I took a pair of Winchester model 59's one year; as they are recoil operated there was no problem and the fiber wrapped barrels did just fine.

The shells in Argentina were of fine quality. I went through 5250 rounds in 2013 without one misfire. They were Argentinian brands, all of them.

They burned clean and I had zero issues with gunk. My only issue with my 687 SP II Sporting was when I'd go through several hundred in a short time I would have to scrub plastic buildup out of the chambers, but a few strokes with a stainless tornado brush took care of that and restored perfect ejection in a minute or so. This was simply caused by shooting so fast that the barrels/breeches heated to the point that the plastic buildup occurred much quicker than normal.

Lloyd, can you describe what you imagine a perfect away from home bird hunting trip to be?

It may be a surprise, but not everyone likes super high levels of service. For instance, some lodges expect you to only use their flies and leader setups.
Some rods expect the guide to tie on all their flies, and net every fish for them.

Or, perhaps the expectation is that the guide clean everything, package it, and freeze it for taking with you. Some people don’t care.

Midday meals? Some places it’s a sack lunch with an herb cheese sandwich, some places you return to a bothy for a 3 course midday meal.

Do you want your guns cleaned or boots washed and dried?
Need an airport porter? Driver? Attendant? Valet? Niece?
Do you want to party well into the night? Drink? Don’t drink?
Gamble? Sunbath? Sauna? Nudity?
Massage? Grooming? Shopping? Sight seeing?
You can literally delineate every move from the moment your flight lands, until landing back at home.

A couple weeks back I was in Estonia, and I never would’ve expected it to be so much fun singing karaoke with a bunch of Russians while crossing the Baltic.

Great adventures can pop up where you least expect them.

And at some point, a person has to manage their expectations. The birds might not cooperate, or the fish won’t bite. Maybe you see no game and eat the tag. That’s a possibility with wild things.
Some people get pretty wound up when it’s just not happening.
That’s when you gotta look inside yourself and remind yourself why you’re there and look to find the joy.

FYI-- I wasn't able to make the trip this year due to some personal matters, but my friends that did shoot doves in Argentina this past April ended up paying $26.50 a box for 12 & 20-gauge ammo. The last time I went in '23 the same ammo was 12 to 15 a box & there were 2000 rounds included in the package price, this year's outing was void of any inclusive ammo. On a high-volume shoot like doves in Argentina a buck per pull of the trigger adds up really fast.

I haven't looked into it, but I think there are outfitters still charging more reasonable rates for ammo, but you might have to search them out, plus you need to make sure they have a good dove population. The drought in the Cordoba region over the past few years has affected the population in some areas & you need to do your homework before picking an outfitter.

Ouch!

Red grouse are around 300bps/ brace. So, $210+ costs each, 100 brace day would run you $4200.00 + fees.and 20% VAT
You might shoot 12 brace as an individual within the line. So, 24 birds on a day. Perhaps less.
4200= about $175.00/bird. + fees.
But you don’t buy the bird, you buy the day.
They may fly your way, or may not.
It’s above $30,000.00 per day now.

I would say,(excluding bag size) those two wing shooting excursions (SA doves or driven Red grouse) represent the extremes within traveling wing shooting.
Either cartridges fired, or cost per unit killed.

I guess if you were duck hunting in Nicaragua or Mexico, you could get kidnapped and the cost/bird would go way up, but within reason, I think those two represent the most extreme ends of the spectrum

$30k per day....gulp.

Entry-level.

Could easily be three times that much. That’s why you make your deal before you go. And if the line decides to keep going, you politely let the keeper know you are bowing out.

Some of the videos peoples see on YouTube are $50,000 plus days. Divided by, eight or nine. +20% VAT, and tip gratuity fees, and non-toxic cartridges.

Shooting with Russian’s that ride around in SUV’s with a trunk full of cash (in stacks) is …interesting.

I’m thinking one of the Orvis lodges in Idaho or Itah might be right up your alley.
A couple days floating, a couple/three days on some wild birds. Manageable ground efforts. Great scenery.