Word from the Owner David Perez

We closed our fifth season in March. Unbelievable how time flies! It feels like yesterday when Alex, Jessica and I met at the café in Buenos Aires and decided to operate Los Chanares together. We have had plenty of ups and downs, but I would not trade my “job” with anybody in the world.

This sunflower season was off the charts! We hosted 275 clients from January to March. We had our first 2,000 woman bird shooter. Congrats Leslie! We had a client who completed his 10th year in the row at the lodge. You the man Michael! We had some brave clients who were stuck in Santiago, Chile the night of the earthquake. Instead of flying back home, they took a bus from Santiago to Mendoza and chartered a plane to the lodge. They rebooked for next year so that should give you an idea of what an incredible season we had.

On a personal note, I recently got engaged to Claudia Cabello. I will be getting married next May. If anybody wants to get me a wedding present – book a trip :-)!

SHOOTING UPDATE From Alex Mitri

The birds have not left! For the first time in our five years, the birds did not completely leave the property during the April and May harvest season. The Durini group from Ecuador were the primary beneficiaries as they had 5-minute drives in mid April. In the last few weeks, the birds have started leaving the property. There are still good flyways in the very late afternoons, but the rest of the day is a bit slow.

We had enough rains where we planted winter wheat. The last couple of years we did not have a good wheat crop due to the dry conditions. We also rented a new field 5 minutes from the lodge that should have excellent shooting in the beginning part of the season. These two factors should bode well for clients coming early in the season.

FEATURED EMPLOYEE – Tango

Maria Laura Carballo is somebody that no client has met except the Lange group from Houston. She is the behind the scenes financial manager that keeps our books and my life in order! Maria Laura was hired five years ago from an accounting firm and she handles all the accounting for the company. She is also our go-to girl in Buenos Aires for all our purchases such as cigars, gift shop stuff, insurance, brochures, etc. Maria Laura took a gun training program recently as she now handles all of our paperwork with the Renar gun agency. So don’t mess with her!

Maria Laura is married and has one beautiful daughter Mika. They live in Buenos Aires in the Boca neighborhood, which is about 3 blocks from where the greatest club team Boca Juniors plays its matches.

The Latest and Greatest Improvement

We bought 6 new automatic shotguns, which is part of our annual shotgun purchases. We also are working on developing a new large property behind Los Chanares. We will continue trying to make your shooting experience world class!

Now our big project this off-season was to improve the setting around the lodge. We have a comfortable, luxurious lodge and now a beautiful garden. We dug a hole 30 meters deep and found enough water to irrigate the entire garden area in front and behind the lodge. This will keep the garden green year-round and help improve the trees and flowers we plant around the lodge. Jessica Ciappa will lead the efforts since Alex, Martin and I are definitely not garden experts. It will also take some stress off our current well. The well was dug ten years ago and I am sure we did not expect to host 700+ clients per year.

Frequently Asked Question

Is Los Chanares the only roost in Cordoba? I wish! The roost around Los Chanares is referred to as Macha. It is probably over 2,500 acres of pure roost, which makes it the largest in Cordoba. It is known for its consistency, quality and quantity of birds. There are many places with very tall birds for our English clients and areas with enough volume to shoot 10,000+ birds in a day. It is also the roost with the shortest migration time as there are really only two months in the year without birds.

The other two major roosts are Churqui and Arroyito. Churqui is a roost 1:45 north of the Cordoba airport. It is a smaller roost than Macha, but it has been growing and helps solidify the reputation of the North of Cordoba as THE place to shoot. Arroyito is the other large roost east of Cordoba. This roost is smaller than the northern roosts and more susceptible to shooting pressure as they had problems two years ago. As clients describe it, the roost is basically one tall hill with the greatest concentration of birds in the middle. This is where the majority of the “low-cost” outfitters operate.

There are also many other small roosts in Cordoba and during the harvest season the birds roost in trees. But there is basically one thing to keep in mind. If you are going to shoot doves in Argentina, the place is Cordoba. And if you want the best, there is no better place than Macha on Los Chanares property.

For those clients who wish to bring their sons to shoot world class doves in Cordoba, we are running a promotion this year. From June-Sept, sons go for 50% off and from October to December first son goes free and second son goes for half the father rate. We still have openings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas dates.

Thank you very much for your time and have a Happy Holiday Season!

David Perez

Owner