“Yeah yeah, so we do then; I’ll meet you at the entrance of the field so I do not get in there with my car.- Great J, I’ll call you once the clients arrive in Cordoba’s airport.- Ok, Thanks David.”
That morning I had planned to be at the office in the morning and then meet David at the field entrance, before climbing to the hills, because my car is a little lower than the Van we use to transport groups of more than 3 people.
It was 1.25 pm when I reached the entrance to the field, just a few meters from the main route.
And while waiting I thought, why not? It doesn’t seem to be in bad conditions; I'll climb. So, the first thing I did was to call David to let him know, otherwise, he would be waiting for me without knowing that I’m already at the field.
So it was then when I went up and left the car just 500 yds from where the camp was. About 15 minutes later David came, went up to the van and introduced me with the group. This time we had visitors from North Carolina: Jeffery, Mike, Patrick, and Jason.
Once in the camp, Filo, our chef, was waiting for us with a delicious lunch with roast, chorizo (Argentinean Sausage), chicken and pork. I remember standing Jason finished eating and I was tired of sitting after 2 flights (although I also was anxious to meet the famous pigeons of Cordoba). AC-DC still sounded when after a quick lunch our friends started changing, leaving traveling clothes inside the van, in their respective bags. The real purpose of his trip will now begin: Hunting, drinking and having a great time.
That afternoon Jeffrey Canarian was on one side of the mountain, while the rest would be more ventured into the mountains, being Mike the one at the highest position.
Jason was the first to finish his 20 boxes and Santiago, his field assistant, offered to open another case but, since it was Jason’s first time dove shooting, he had had enough by that afternoon (other than the second day that he would shoot more than 45 boxes).
Then I went to Emmanuel and said to him “Ema, this is Patt, and it is his first time dove shooting… Can you guide him a little please?” and so he said “yes, of course, do not worry J, I will help him” (Ema was going to be Patt’s assistant).
So it was; he took 7 or 10 boxes for Patt to start shooting as if he had already done it several times. That afternoon Patt throw 20 boxes killing a total of 201 pigeons !! Let me tell you something because watching how happy he was is the most rewarding thing about this job: to see our guests being really happy having a great time with his friends. Patt surprised us all, specially the rest of the group, because of the skills he had and how fast he was learning and shooting as he was doing (the second day, he achieved a total of 434 pigeons between morning and afternoon).
The first day in the van, when I met Patt and Jason, they told me it was their first time dove shooting so I said to them that they are in the best place to learn and practice: you would see (just for the record, if we only take what Patt killed on the second day, it will take you 29 full days on the hunting season in the US to achieve what he did in just one day in Cordoba!) That evening Jason, Mike and Patt returned in the Van with David, while Jeffrey wanted to go with me since that day I had gone with my car.
We chatted for a long time but when Jeff heard on the background the first chords of Daze and Confused, he turned up the volume to the maximum and neither of us could resist it; we started screaming trying to follow the lyrics.
I still remember the face of Jeff surprised when we entered the car to the lodge. We joined the rest of the group and they were all saying thanks appreciating the excellent afternoon they had, because they had found everything above expectations. I remember the words of Jeff in the car: What is this man?, and I replied “This is your lodge, we are gonna stay here, this is gonna be your home for the next few days! And he could not believe his eyes! Too much !
The girls at the lodge were waiting for us with some juice and wet towels and after a bite, drinks and a great dinner with more and more drinks in the living room, we went to get some rest.
On the next day, we had breakfast at 8 am, leaving to the field at 9 (although we expected to do it at 8:30, it was not easy to get them ready for that time). We all went up to the same mountain, but it was a different field. This time Chanqui, the photographer, came with us to document the day with photos and video. In the morning, we hunt near the camp, next to a small lake, where pigeons often go to drink water.
Even though we know that the mornings are way different than the afternoons, they shot a total of about 65 boxes, being Jason the one that did the most with a total of 20.
The dove was flying until late lunch. In fact, when the chef called us to eat, we were still hunting in place. They were shooting two guys together, but we were all there, putting together skills and waiting for lunch since we were just about 30 yds to the camp.
Meat, meat ,and more meat with pears in red wine as dessert. Oh no, that's fruit, no thanks. Just try it. Pears in wine with cream, ate everything, left nothing.
Jason opted for a nap in the hammock while the rest decided to lay on the grass; Jeffrey was in charge of the music. I could see that the boys had already climbed to prepare the hunting positions, so I calculated that we would climb in about 5 or 10 minutes.
Once in the hunting positions, I was surprised of how the wind stopped blowing because that morning had been very windy. Sunny but windy. Actually, the afternoon was very pleasant; a little breeze, not even wind.
Patt and Jeffrey were the last to finish that afternoon and I could still see the dove flying on posts while we were in the Van toward the Lodge. Patrick was impressed with the dish that night: a tasty lasagna with bolognese sauce.
The next afternoon, Jason and Patt finished the day with the same number! yes, 366 doves each! Jason finished first while Patt was about 6 pigeons to reach him and he still had 10 or 11 cartridges. Unhurriedly, waiting for that best doves, he saw the ones that fit to reach Jason, and knowing that he had 2 chances to catch them, he saw a dove coming in front of him on the distance he liked and missed the first, but then, as soon as he saw the shotgun giving a little more swing and achieving impact with his last round, he reached Jason with 366 pigeons in the same amount of boxes: 30!
That evening all the boys returned to the lodge in order to share the last great night together.
Good music, drinks, chess, backgammon and more drinks.
I'm gonna miss this guys, we had a hell of a time those days!
Juan Aguiló
Host & Media
Pointer Outfitters
