Just a half hour after our flight from Buenos Aires landed at Argentina’s Cordoba International Airport, my attitude changed about a once-in-a-lifetime, weeklong dove hunt.

Our host, MGW Outfitters, dispatched a gentleman named Pedro to pick us up for the drive to La Volanta Lodge. Pedro had us wait until another crew of shooters arrived before leaving. Our gang talked about how fun and relaxing the shoot would be, in awe of the heartland on steroids we’d just flown over.