During the beginning of June, we received Ladd and his family: his two sons, Sean and Austin; Jared and his wife, Maria; Ed and his daughter, Julia; and James, a family friend.

Early in the morning of their first day, we headed to a nearby corn field in Arias. We arrived at the field just in time to catch the first dove flight. After having shot for an hour or so, doves were getting dispersed, so we decided to change our location and go to a different field instead. Ladd wanted to stay on the same shooting post as his two kids, Sean and Austin, while the other guests were shooting individually. It was a beautiful day, but then in began to get a bit windy. We had lunch at the field, and since they were tired from the night before, all of them took a nap on the hammocks we hung from the trees.

The afternoon hunt was great, but there was too much North wind and, as a consequence, doves stop flying around. Sometimes you can get a great day for wingshooting, but the weather and dust get unpredictable. We decided to stop for the day and return to the lodge, hoping we would be lucky the next day. 

On the following morning, we went to Estacia San Javier. We had several field options; we decided to head to this field because it was a great one to take Ladd and the rest of his team. We got there early, but we realized one of our pickup truck got trapped in the middle of the river because of the sand, so we decided to walk to the shooting posts. It was a bit of a burden, especially for our guests to cross the river and get wet, but we decided to take it as the adventure of the day and make fun of the situation, so I gave Austin a piggyback ride!

We started the morning hunt in a fantastic way! Doves were flying high, everybody was having a good time, but all of a sudden, doves were gone. I suggested Ladd that I would go scouting other fields to go during the afternoon while they had lunch. He agreed.  After lunch, I decided to go to another field and I must say, it was an excellent decision! We arrived at a different field and luckily there was a tremendous amount of doves! It was a bit windy, but they did an amazing hunt! Ladd was quite happy, but he did ask me to try other field on the following day.

I sent Emmanuel to scout some new fields, and we found a good one! On their last day of hunting, we surprised Sean with a cake and some presents since it was his 14th birthday! That last day was great; there were lots and lots of doves! The food during lunch was delicious and everyone was happy and tired at the same time! 

As I mentioned before, weather can be unpredictable and, sometimes, it can be difficult to meet expectations, but this group was an excellent one. Everyone from the field guides to Gaby, our cook, was really happy with Ladd’s family. Three of the guests spoke perfect Spanish, so getting to know each other and exchanging ideas in the same language was a rewarding experience.

And you… Would you like to be the next one?

Mariana Taboada

Field Guide

Pointer Outfitters Argentina

Edited by Agustina Ortubia