Hunting Resources | Tips And Tricks For Bird Hunting In Argentina

These articles provide valuable insights into the best places to hunt, the best times of year to go, and what to expect from the Argentina hunting experience.

The short answer is “as many as you want.”

 The long answer is there is no limit on doves in Argentina. The country of Argentina has an agricultural area that spans over 300,000 square miles. For perspective, this area is larger than the country of France and Portugal combined or larger than Texas and Ohio combined.

In this area, there is an estimated 200 million dove that, for the most part, do not migrate and indeed don’t migrate outside of the agricultural region.

 The dove finds home in roosts that cover thousands of acres and do nothing but eat, drink and make babies.



To answer this question, it’s important to uncover the 3 essentials of survival for the Argentina dove. Simply put, these are Food, Water, and Shelter. With the essentials on the table, we will address each individually and then summarize where to hunt doves in Argentina and why there is so many dove in this country.

Food

Argentina is blessed to have some of the richest, most fertile soil on Earth. We often say that if you throw a seed on the ground, it will grow. Along with the dark, rich soil, the northern half of Argentina has a very temperate climate and rarely sees temperatures below 45 degrees F in the winter, and generally does not experience temperatures over 93 degrees in the summer heat. 

 In the northern half of Argentina, it is not uncommon to turn crops three times per year.

 The grains produced in Argentina are the livelihood of the dove. Doves consume as much as 40% of the harvest in some areas.



Many countries, including the United States, provide good waterfowl hunting opportunities.
Seasoned duck hunters often discuss their favorite duck hunting locations. The Chesapeake Bay and southern Louisiana top the list in the US, while to our north Canada most certainly is on the list. We can’t forget Mexico to our south. These locations indeed offer what is considered “Good” duck hunting.

Those who have had the opportunity to travel outside of North America will likely include New Zealand and perhaps even Uruguay.
In friendly discussions and even healthy debates, it would be difficult to argue that any of the locations mentioned are unsuitable for duck hunting.



Argentina offers the best ducking hunting in the world, hands down. Along with a robust population of resident and migratory ducks, Argentina also allows bag limits much higher than most other duck hunting destinations.

There are 4 primary duck hunting provinces in Argentina. Entre Rios, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires and Santiago del Estero.
Each province establishes its provincial bag limits. Traditionally the bag limit is 25 ducks per day; however, we have seen the limits increase to 30 over the years.

There are a few unique situations where the bag limit can be increased. I will not go into detail on this forum so as not to mislead or set false expectations. Contact Southern Outfitting to learn the current duck hunting bag limits and regulations.



This is one of the most asked questions regarding a high-volume dove hunting trip to Argentina.
Before I answer, I must provide the viewers of this forum with some important information.

First because Argentina is south of the equator, the seasons are reversed. Our winter is Argentina’s summer, and our summer is Argentina’s winter. It’s hard to comprehend without spending time in Argentina that Christmas Day in South America is one of the hottest days of the year. Along the east coast of the US, early February traditionally is extremely cold, while in Argentina, it’s not uncommon to have temperatures over 90 degrees F.



Indeed, in most parts of Argentina, there is a “high season” and a “low season.” 

 I caution hunters interested in visiting Argentina for a dove hunt to not confuse dove populations with the high and low seasons.

Depending on the lodge and the area,, the high season is generally between March and September, and the low season is between October and February.

 These seasons do not relate to dove populations but rather the demand on the lodges.

The high season is in higher demand for several reasons. First, the traditional starting date of duck season is May 1st, and the season runs through August in some provinces and through September in other provinces. Additionally, summer is upon us in the US, children, and grandchildren are out of school, and it is quite common for a father or grandfather to take their children hunting in the summer. For these reasons, there are more hunters in Argentina in these months and more demand for spaces at the respective lodges. In effect, a dove hunter competes with a duck hunter for a bed at the lodge and is also competing with many other dove hunters from the US.

The low season in the October-February range traditionally has fewer hunters. Again, we emphasize the reason for fewer hunters has nothing to do with the dove populations but rather the demand for rooms at the lodge.



Argentina is famous for many things; however, viewers of this information on our site are likely to have a primary interest in wing shooting rather than tourism; thereby, we will keep this information focused on things that a hunting group would likely be exposed to or would want to be exposed to.

Hunting – Of course, Argentina is famous for the best wing shooting in the world. Hundreds of millions of doves, huge populations of duck, 2 species of pigeon in large numbers, and upland game bird known as the Perdiz bring approximately 30,000 American hunters to Argentina each year.

Fishing. – Argentina’s prized trophy fish is the Golden Dorado. This trophy fish can be found only in the fresh waters of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. There are many other species which include Piranha, South American catfish, Surubi, and the infamous Machete.



Southern Outfitting and our partners are wing shooting specialists. Many big game species are commonly hunted in Argentina, but because our focus and our purpose are based around wing shooting in Argentina, this information is specific to the 4 main birds that are hunted in Argentina.

Dove (in Spanish Paloma) 

The Golden Eared dove is the most commonly hunted bird in Argentina.

 There is a 300,000 square mile area in the northern 1/3 of Argentina that boasts dove populations in the tens of millions and arguably hundreds of millions.

 In Argentina, decoys are not necessary. Our scouts know where the roosts are, so generally, 1-2 days before the arrival of hunters, the scouts visit the roosts to determine where the dove are flying. They follow the dove to their end location, which is often a freshly planted field, a field under harvest, or even cattle feeding areas. Next, the scouts locate an area in between the roost and the feeding area and set up blinds or locate patches of trees for the hunters to hunt under. The doves will all fly by in the same general direction. After lunch, the doves change course and head to the water holes. Again, the scouts know where the water holes are, so you will often hunt the same field, but the doves will come from the opposite direction of the morning hunt. 



The short answer is YES!

There are many reasons why Argentina is known for the best wing shooting in the world.

The primary reason why hunting is so good in Argentina is because of the abundance of agriculture, primarily grain crops.

 Agriculture is so prolific due to rich, dark soils, excellent climate, adequate rainfall with excellent irrigation methods, and over 300,000 square miles of highly productive farmable land. For a point of reference, the agricultural region of Argentina is larger than the entire country of France and Portugal combined. Another reference point to demonstrate the immense mass of farmable land is that the agricultural region is larger than Texas and Ohio Combined!

Of course, the wildlife, especially the birds, love all the grain. They have a constant food source in the agricultural reason as no matter what time of year, there are fields under harvest and fields being planted. 



Argentina is a large country, roughly 1/3 the size of the continental United States.

There are only 4 cities in the country that have what is considered large populations. Buenos Aires city is the largest, with a population of 15 million. In second place is Cordoba city with roughly 1.5 million. Rosario and Mendoza round out the list at slightly less than 1 million residents. After these 4 cities, there are just a few with populations over 400,000 people.

The large cities in Argentina, particularly Buenos Aires, are similar to large cities in Europe from the standpoint of safety. Specifically means there are homeless and beggars in the populated areas, however, the beggars are not aggressive and pose no threat whatsoever to American travelers.


CHARLOTTE, NC

Headquarters

Argentina Outfitter for Dove, Duck and Pigeons
(803) 818-1110

SouthernOutfitting.com

ARGENTINA

We Are Passionate About Bird Hunting


Southern Outfitting is a leader in the Argentina dove and duck hunting industry, with more than 20 years of experience. We are passionate about bird-hunting! Our commitment to you as our client starts from when you first contact us until your trip ends – so that every step has been thought out carefully beforehand by our professional staff.


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