Los Ombues Lodge - Argentina Duck Hunting

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Los Ombues

Among bird hunters, Argentina 's reputation for unparalleled wing shooting rests as much on the variety of hunts as it does on the sheer numbers of game birds hunted. But as all hunters appreciate, the details matter and it's all about location.

After years of hosting bird shooters at estancias (Argentinean estates) scattered throughout Argentina, Carlos Sanchez felt confident when he chose the site to build his lodge. Los Ombues is built on a hilltop overlooking the vast floodplain and delta of the Parana river , and its location provides hunting opportunities that we believe are unrivaled within a country already considered a wing shooter's paradise. Within minutes of leaving the lodge by car or boat, our guests are situated with their guide and ready to hunt ducks, dove, or partridge. To avoid the superlatives that come naturally with enthusiasm, we prefer that others suggest adjectives fitting for Los Ombues. Renowned outdoor sports writer Charles Gaines penned an elegancy simple description of Los Ombues for Forbes FYI magazine. Los Ombues, he stated, is "The world's finest shooting lodge, period".

Estancia Los Ombues is located 250 miles Northwest of Buenos Aires, in Entre Rios Province . The lodge owns or controls shooting rights to over 40,000 acres of prime marsh habitat teeming with waterfowl. From May through late August, wing shooters enjoy the rare pleasure of hunting ducks in a vast wetland managed and reserved solely for guests of the lodge. The partridge (perdiz) hunting offers an opportunity to enjoy a walk in the country among the rolling hills, pastures, and fields of sunflowers that eventually merge into the pristine marshes. However, as the moments between shots are brief, guests intending to mix hunting with bird watching and a natural history tour should leave their guns at home. The hot-barreled, high volume, dove shooting is year round. Eared doves roost in the natural expanses of woods near the lodge and feed in the fields of soy, corn, and sunflowers. The resident roosts support a population exceeding twenty million birds.

Duck Hunting

In Argentina , the duck hunting, like the countryside and season, is tantalizingly familiar, yet so different from anything experience north of the equator. The first thing duck hunters notice is that the ducks are different; white-cheeked and brown pintails, silver, speckled, and ringed teals, red shovelers, southern widgeons, brazilian ducks, and white faced and fulvous tree-ducks abound. But these ducks become just part of the scenery once the first flock of rosy-billed pochards wing over your decoys. Rosies are the "canvasbacks" of the Southern Hemisphere, with a difference.

Our most seasoned hunting clients say the duck hunting at Los Ombues is nothing special, it's just like the duck hunting found to be found on the wild-celery flats of the Chesapeake and Currituk. The only difference between Los Ombues and these sites is a hundred years! The unique rough purr that rosies call as they sweep over your decoys in flocks that can exceed 50 birds, is a sound no duck hunter will forget. Although our bag limits are a generous 20 ducks per day, when the rosies flock at Los Ombues there will be plenty of hours left in the day for Perdiz (partridge) and dove hunting after you limit out.

A Typical Argentina Duck Hunting Day

The typical day begins with a light "pre-breakfast" of fruit and coffee that will be followed by the full breakfast of eggs and bacon after the morning duck hunt. As the trip to most duck blinds and dove fields takes no longer than 20 minutes in one of our four-wheel drive vehicles and 8 johnboats equipped with Go-devil or out-board engines, there is no need to sacrifice sleep for hunting. Dress appropriate for late fall in New England is appropriate for our winter where the temperature at dawn is usually between 35 and 50 degrees F and warms to 55 to 70 degrees by late afternoon. Fruit from our citrus and avocado trees are a daily reminder of our mild weather.