New Readers & Writers Adventures

Fourteen years ago an idea was born to bring together a few Shooting Sportsman writers with a few more Shooting Sportsman readers for a few days of bird hunting. Since then, through our Readers & Writers Adventures program, we’ve hosted hundreds of readers on dozens of exciting trips. We started these junkets with a pair of hunts at Paul Nelson Farm, in South Dakota, and since have been to destinations throughout the US and abroad.
    For 2009 we’re offering three trips hitting classic wingshooting hotspots: Argentina for high-volume doves; South Dakota for pheasants, sharptails and Huns; and Georgia for bobwhite quail. Gun Review Editor Bruce Buck (aka “Lucky Dog”) will host all three outings because, as we wrote last year, he is a “writer, gentleman, fine shot, freelance bon vivant and an old hand at these things.” In short, Bruce is the perfect host.
    The adventures begin when we in the States are about the farthest removed from wingshooting as we are at any time of year: during the dog days of summer. From August 19 to 23 we’ll host four days of dove shooting at SYC Sporting Adventures’ Estancia El Cortijo. On day one guests will be met in the morning at the Cordoba airport and then driven to the estancia, where they will settle in before heading to the field for an afternoon shoot. Following that come three full days of shooting, mornings and afternoons, and then a final morning session on the day before the return to the airport.
    The cost of $2,658 per Gun includes ground transportation, all-inclusive lodging in double-occupancy rooms, hunting licenses, professional guides, all field and lodge gratuities, the import fee for one shotgun, and the first 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Not included are airfare, import fees for additional guns ($100 per) or gun-rental fees ($25 per day). Additional shells will cost $12 per box.
    The game is the challenging eared dove, and Cordoba’s population is said to number more than 50 million. In August the shooting is for birds traveling to and from roosts.
    El Cortijo is a five-star resort replete with a Jacuzzi, heated pool, satellite television, and a computer room with Internet access. All of the bedrooms have private baths. The food is excellent and includes a wide range of Argentinean dishes accompanied by a selection of fine wines.
    From October 25 to 29 we’ll return to Firesteel Creek Lodge for three days of some of the best wild-bird hunting at one of the nicest lodges in the country. We know this from our experience with the Lindskov family this past year, when we found a great mix of sharptails, Hungarian partridge and pheasants. The guides were so accommodating in bringing together hunters, dogs and birds that we have to rate the hunt among the best anywhere. That quality fits with the family’s other endeavors, as the Lindskovs have amassed one of South Dakota’s largest family-owned ranches across three counties (and three generations), which they manage extensively for wildlife. The property comprises an amazing variety of terrain, including cropland, grassland and the brushy breaks of the Grand River country.
    The main lodge is an extensively renovated 5,000- square-foot ranch house that once served as a stagecoach stop on the Bismarck-Deadwood stage line. Many of the guest rooms are in a contemporary addition located steps away, but the main lodge is the focus, with fine food and dining with the family each night.
    The cost of $2,625 includes three days of hunting (four nights’ accommodations), meals, licenses, ammunition and transportation from and to the airport in Bismarck, North Dakota. The only additional expenses are taxes, gratuities and the cost of shipping birds home.
    And rounding out our Adventures will be a three-day hunt, from January 6 to 10, 2010, at Quail Country Plantation. This is another return trip, as we’ve been so impressed with the job done by Manager Bill Bowles, who grew up among the classic quail plantations of the Albany area and who has helped make the Quail Country operation one of the best in the region. Although the Newberry and Brooks families have been hosting quail hunters since 1960 and have managed their 3,500 acres extensively for wildlife habitat, many updates and improvements have been made to the property, not the least of which has been assembling one of the finest kennels in the Southeastern US.
    The cost of $3,075 includes three days of hunting (four nights’ accommodations), meals, transportation from and to the Albany airport, licenses and ammunition. Again, the only additional expenses are taxes, gratuities and the cost of shipping birds.
    For more information on our Readers & Writers Adventures, visit www.shootingsportsman.com or contact Terry Bombeke, 207-594-9544; tbombeke@shootingsportsman.com.  —Ed Carroll