Ejectors kicked two empties into the air and smoke levitated from the chambers. I dropped two shells into the chambers, closed the gun, raised it, and snatched down two more birds. I missed the next bird and drew tail feathers out of the following bird, but redeemed myself with the next shot by pulling down a bird from a good 45 yards up.
 
 

The doves came on without letup. There was seldom time enough to reload before having to address another wave of birds. The gunfire from other shooters rattled up and down the line, little puffs of feathers ballooned out from stricken birds up against a background of big marshmallow clouds, birds fell and birdboys scrambled in their eagerness to fetch fallen birds, and the air was full of an electric excitement. 
As the tempo of the shooting picked up, a squadron of raptor birds-hawks and eagles and falcons-began to assemble in the tops of the tall poplar and eucalyptus and willow trees. They were totally oblivious to all that gunfire, as if they were deaf. All that noise drew them like a dinner bell, because it signaled that a free lunch would soon be served. It was certainly one of the strangest things I had ever seen. 

Gauchos do their thing, (above)
Flower markets beautify the streets of Buenos Aires, 
and the master of the hunt, Serge Dompierre, is ready for another incomer with one of his two favorite shotguns-a sleek, Browning Superposed in 20 gauge and a Winchester 101 in .410.

Gradually empties and discarded shell boxes accumulated around the shooters. As we packed up to leave, the congregation of hawks and eagles descended from the treetops to scavenge up any birds left left behind. We headed back to Estancia Los Chanares, our headquarters for the shoot. Estancia Los Chanares is a new place that offers the last luxury in a rustic setting, Owner, operator, grand hunt master Senor M. Serge Dompierre, a successful Canadian businessman, has spared no expense to make Los Chanares the finest dove-shooting lodge in a very crowded competitive field in Cordoba Province of Argentina. It is a small, intimate place that accommodates eight shooters in 4 large bedrooms. Each i its own rustic fiery large shower and sunken tub bath, oriental carpets and signed and numbered prints from the most to noteworthy outdoor artists Lassell Ripley, Robert Abbett, Eldrige Hardie, David Hagerbaumer, and many others. The salon area is furnished with leather-upholstered, oversize chairs and sofas arranged around a large fireplace that-in the cooler months-always has a welcoming fire burning. For nonshooting wives there are daily sightseeing and shopping tours and horseback riding. Last but certainly not least, an outcall masseuse is available to work on sore muscles.

   The lodge is situated on 10,000 acres of land that is totally devoted to dove shooting. About 2000 acres constitute the largest dove roost in the province of Cordoba, which is essentially the world's largest dove factory. These 2000 acres are grown up with trees called Chanares, which have many limbs with a dense interlocking network of leaves and branches that provide perfect shelter for doves from their only enemies, namely, the raptor birds I mentioned earlier. The birds roost in these trees at night and nest there, giving birth to 4 or 5 hatches of young birds every year. The other 8000 acres are planted in seeds and grains-corn, sorghum, soybeans, and sunflowers-that support huge numbers of doves. Three years ago, game biologists did a survey of the roost and estimated that it held about 20 million birds! Serge estimates that the number might be close to double that by now. In spite of very heavy shooting the birds have multiplied because no shooting is allowed within the roost or near waterholes. At any rate, there are so many birds that Serge's shooters really have to put a lot of shooting pressure on them to keep them from outgrowing the roost and moving on elsewhere.

   Outside of Serge DompIerre's property, vast acreages of sunflowers and soybeans and sorghum and peanuts sustain pestilential numbers of doves. The weather  is so mild that it permits five hatches a year. There is absolutely no local hunting pressure, and very few predators. By some estimates the doves destroy at least 20 percent of the crops every year. No wonder that farmers and ranchers look to foreign shooters as their deliverers from this scourge.

   As I have written before, Argentina wings hooting is the sum of all superlatives. Argentina has the best duck shooting in the world, the best goose shooting in the world, and the best dove shooting in the world. And Estancia Los Chanares has some of the best of that dove shooting.

   The lodge is just a ten minute drive from the shooting field. In fact, drives between the lodge and the shooting fields seldom exceed fifteen minutes. One afternoon I walked just 400 yards from the lodge and fired two cases of shells in two hours. At other, competing lodges it is sometimes necessary to drive over an hour in each direction on rough roads.

   When we returned to the lodge, Serge Dompierre presided over a sumptuous luncheon. For an aperitivo we enjoyed warm prosciutto and mushrooms on toast, then proceeded to the piece de resistance, namely, grilled filet mignon of veal with a creamy horseradish sauce and mashed potatoes, all enhanced with a very fine Canciller cabernet from the high snowmelt-irrigated hills of Mendoza Province. To top it off Chef Federico served up a delectable cream of mint custard with a chocolate, dulce de leche, champagne sauce. This was certainly one of the most exquisite desserts that any of us had ever eaten. We demanded that Chef Federico come forth from the kitchen and take a bow, which he did to a most boisterous ovation.

   I, however, retired from shooting to take photographs. The other shooters fired five cases each. Then the pickup boys sacked up all the birds to distribute among the poor, an orphanage, and an army barracks. They left adequate numbers for the raptors-the other charity which we were supporting-which once again descended from the treetops to freeload. It was just another day at Estancia Los Chanares.

   At dinner Chef Federico went above and beyond his heroic performance of lunchtime. The gourmets and gourmands-including Warren Matthews and Skip Hoagland and their wives from Hilton Head Island, South Carolinafeasted by candlelight on fantastic vizcacha (a kind of large rodent like a nutria with delectable white meat similar to chicken) in a rich tomato, garlic, olive oil, oregano sauce; then an excellent bife de lomo (tenderloin)- thick, succulent, and tender-with a tomato-cinzanocream sauce, finishing up with a wonderful banana pudding with chocolate sauce. Once again Chef Federico came out of the kitchen to take a deep bow to loud applause and hurrahs. Then we moved to fireside for creamy Gorgonzola and Port Salut cheeses, candied figs that had been grown right in the backyard, 20-year-old port-the smoothest I ever tasted-and Cuban cigars. It had been a day full of delights, one that we would not soon forget.

  And so came to pass the pleasures of a typical day at Estancia Los Chanares in Cordoba Province of Argentina. At Estancia Los Chanares there are no closed seasons and no bag limits. Such concepts are totally unimaginable in Argentina; in fact, you are encouraged to shoot as many birds as possible. Imagine a place where even on a mediocre day you can fire two cases of shells, where the weather is uniformly beautiful, and where you can walk only 400 yards from the lodge and fire enough shells to make most shooters deliriously happy. Imagine a place where you can eat the best steak in the world and some of the best pasta and drink some of the best red wines, while living in luxury and being treated as if you were a king. Imagine, finally, a country that has no bias whatsoever against hunters and hunting, and where it is surprisingly affordable. 

   It is a very simple matter to take guns into Argentina. No advance paperwork is required. One simply declares his guns upon entry, whereupon a simple form is filled out. The shooter signs the form, pays $20 for each gun, and leaves. The whole procedure only takes ten minutes. Upon leaving the country he declares the guns again and pays $10 for each gun.