Dove Hunting in Argentina Beretta Style

In the Sierra Brava van, we spent the next 70 minutes or so discussing our families and Argentina’s corrosive inflation. Night fell fast as we drove to Sierra Brava on a two-lane highway through the countryside, the landscape reminiscent of East Texas.Finally, we turned onto a gated dirt road that sliced through brush. The estancia appeared on my right, a single-story stucco building of coral pink with golden-hued lanterns on either side of the modest entrance. Stepping out of the van, a young woman greeted me with a hot towel served on a silver tray. Outside, the fragrances of a Córdoba summer evening were redolent of sweet meadows with a trace of tropical exotica.A few farm animals grazed in the fenced pastures. In the distance, the Sierras de Córdoba Mountains appeared a distant purple beneath a moon-lit sky bejeweled with stars. Eduardo unpacked the van. On the front steps of the estancia, Manager J.J Sala had gathered the staff for a formal introduction that set the tone of the hospitality for my stay there. Apparently, hospitality has been a staple here for nearly 140 years.

Plaques declared members of the high-volume fellowships that acknowledged takes of 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and even 10,000 doves in a single day. The extraordinary numbers posted inspired me to think about the hunter’s adage “When there’s lead in the air, there’s hope.” I wanted to down at least 1,000 doves per day, as both a new personal best and to explore my theory about hunter resilience in high-volume bird scenarios with a big-bore 12-gauge.My room, adjoining the small lobby, was accessible through a pair of stout rustic doors that evoked the original Posta. Two twin beds and a Spanish armoire dominated the ample interior. The wide-plank wood floors, beamed ceiling and wrought-iron chandelier continued the warm décor, accented with indigenous art over the headboard. There was a private bath, small desk and chair, and forged hooks on one wall that easily accommodated my bulky upland outer-wear and camo rain gear.Even though I had arrived past the scheduled dinner serving, Mr. Sala made sure a hearty steak dinner was at the ready, accompanied by a bottle of Argentina’s celebrated Malbec red. The young waitress was gracious and the chef appeared from the kitchen to check on my meal. Seriously, no exaggeration, it was one of the best steaks I had ever eaten – tender, expertly seasoned and charred to my liking.By now my friend Rick Cundiff, whose accommodations fronted the dining room, had joined me at the long table. Rick was absolutely buoyant. As the COO of the investment banking firm Townsend Capital in Hunt Valley, Maryland, he routinely logs 60 to 80 hour weeks putting together deals mostly on clean-energy companies. He had arrived earlier that day, just in time for an afternoon hunt where he bagged more than 400 doves. Away from the office, with a successful shoot already notched, he proved to be in great spirits. J.J had joined us and dinner proceeded with superb companionship. Rick told me that he had spent the afternoon with a bunch of guys from Texas and Arkansas who struck him as some of the funniest people he ever met, and gave me an advance on the anticipated height of hilarity.

Of the two Berettas, I opted to start with the A400 Xplor Unico Light semi-auto that had the Kick-Off recoil-reduction system. I had tried the shotgun for the first time in September 2010 at the Cheyenne Ridge Signature Lodge in Pierre, South Dakota. As a Beretta Trident Affiliate, the Cheyenne Ridge Signature Lodge previewed new Beretta shotguns, and fortunately had just taken delivery of the latest 12-gauge A400 Xplor Unico Light with Kick-Off.On an afternoon pheasant hunt over dogs, the A400 Xplor Unico Light was extremely fast and accurate – perhaps the best semi-auto I had ever shot. It was the hunt at the Cheyenne Ridge Signature Lodge that originally sparked the idea of evaluating the 12 gauge version with Kick-Off for high-volume dove hunts in Argentina.Just to recap, the A400 Light is the wingshooting version of the original clays model. Both feature an aluminum receiver. The 12-gauge A400 Light is about 6.8 pounds with a 28-inch barrel and Kick-Off – or approximately a half-pound less than an equivalent Beretta A400 Xcel Sporting with 29-inch barrels. The reduced weight comes mostly from a shorter receiver – tradeoff impacting shell sizes and capacity. The A400 Light uses Beretta’s Blink operating system, which can cycle shells ranging from 2¾ to 3½ inches. Factory capacity is 2+1.The sleek design of the A400 was complemented with a Muller Featherlight choke. Muller’s gloss-black extended chokes are made of aerospace-grade aluminum infused with ceramic Teflon. Jim Muller claims his chokes are half the weight of titanium and one-third the weight of steel. Instead of using conventional constrictions, Muller’s chokes are designated Ü1- Ü4. I used a Ü2 opened to .012 inch. The Ü in white against the black finish of the choke accentuated the state-of-the-art veneer of the A400.At first, I simply stood there under the tree, A400 in hand. It took a moment to recognize the magnitude of the doves. The birds flew solo and erratic, contributing to the initial impression of a patchy quarry. But it was like looking at stars on a clear night. The brightest both catch your attention and overpower the more distant, and then the longer you focus the explosion of light gradually manifests. Soon, I realized that the doves were swarming all around us. I started shooting.

The brush blinds of Argentina provide a quick study in developing your own high-volume, dove-hunting strategy. The birds ensured their survival via erratic flight patterns. A raised shotgun barrel would prompt a flare-out, giving pause for a reset. It didn’t take long to realize that spot-shooting delivered the best results with the least effort.Becoming overwhelmed by the fantastic number of swarming birds is akin to rapture of the deep: an intoxication takes grip and you lose the ability for decisive action. Instead, a cool head must prevail by quickly deciding which bird to shoot next. See it, shoot it, almost straight at it. Long crossers could involve tracking but otherwise if you insist on following the method of butt, belly, beak, bang the additional exertion of keeping the gun up that much longer will contribute to accelerated exhaustion. I found it much easier to hold the gun at the ready and spot shoot.

Just as a footnote, the A400 Xplor Unico Light hardly jammed. There were about four instances of where a shell wouldn’t cycle during my hunt at the Sierra Brava Lodge using local CAZA ammunition.For lunch, we were driven to a grove were the meal was served under a tent. A long table was set quite lavishly. After the assorted grilled meats and sides, time was allocated for a siesta in one of the cots under a tree or a hammock. At one point, the conversation turned to the A400 Xplor Unico Light. The guys from Texas and Arkansas really like it and I invited them to give it a try. The Sierra Brava Lodge likes to move hunters to another location for the second hunt of the day. Rick and I were assigned a blind across a stretch of scrub and mesquite from the Texas contingent. We could hear them shooting and occasionally one of them would amble over to our blind for a few rounds with the A400 Xplor Unico Light. The gun was a big hit with them as, by that point, they appreciated a lighter, softer shooting shotgun than the ones they had been firing for the past day and a half. Day one of hunting ended with a tally of 1,019 doves using 60 boxes of shells for an accuracy rate of 68%.

I started with the Beretta SV10 Prevail over/under. The shotgun, equipped with Beretta factory chokes and 32-inch barrels, shouldered smoothly – a more sumptuous shooting experience than the A400 Xplor Unico Light. Once again, as the morning hunt approached the lunch break, the cheek abrasion returned from the Kick-Off system, although my shoulder felt fine.The friendly contest between Rick and I heated up as the bird boys instigated the competition for “numero uno.” From the four of us rose cries of “uno, doble” resounded with each bird taken. And after the over/unders were reloaded it would continue to “triple, cuatro” as we laughed and ribbed each other, our gringo Spanish running out at five or more consecutive kills. The birds tumbled or nose-dived to the ground all morning, some of the fast incomers landing in the blind with a meaty plop – the hot barrels capable of blistering your fingers if you accidentally touched them. Nothing stopped us. We shot unremitting like fiends until lunch.