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Outdoor Life Magazine December/January 2006
by Todd W. Smith, editor-in-chief, Outdoor Life
A Duck Hunting Paradise
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| There’s a place where you can experience duck hunting the way it used to be, a place where the dawning skies stream with flights of ducks, the bag limits are liberal, the people are friendly and there is virtually no hunting pressure. That place is Uruguay. |
| Argentina and Chile are well-known waterfowling destinations, but Uruguay is an undiscovered gem that no one is hunting. I recently returned from an outing with Benelli where we tested a host of new shotguns. Uruguay was our destination, because no matter what the weather, you’re going to get birds, and lots of them. |
| We hunted with George Criddle, an experienced American outfitter who operates Los Gauchos Outfitters. Criddle has hunting operations in several South American countries but swears the duck hunting in Uruguay is second to none. He isn’t kidding. |
| Hunters are lodged in a comfortable estancia (ranch house) about a three-hour drive from the capital city of Montevideo. Accommodations are very comfortable and meals and service are absolutely five-star. |
| The guides are knowledgeable and experienced, and the dogs are well trained. Better still, you hardly have to travel more than a few minutes from the lodge to be shooting over the area’s many potholes. And the quality of the duck hunting is simply incredible. |
| While ducks are the main quarry at Los Gauchos, hunts booked earlier in the season allow for opportunities to combine ducks hunts with perdiz and pigeon hunting. |
