I know this is for big game but Mickey 49009 say this report should be aired here on South American Big Game Hunting because of the outfitter. Our hunt took place .
August 16th thru 20th inclusive 2010
Ducks, Doves, Pigeons and Driven Game

Outfitted by Sportingd.com [John Airala]

This report is not so much about the hunt as the credibility of Mr. Airala or the lack thereof. We [four of us] purchased the hunt [5 days mixed bag] more than a year ago after it was advertised here on AR which included 100 boxes of shells each. His emails said that he had 12 gauge guns for hire and all shells were $13.00 dollars a box except 410 which were $1.50 more. Two of us bought 20 gauge guns and 2 were going to rent his guns. In an email 3 days before departure an email says his guns are in poor condition and 12 gauge shells will be $1.50 more. So we buy more 20 gauge guns and head merrily to Argentina. We were picked up promptly, fed well and housed adequately. We never saw Mr. Airala but his guys could contact him on a cell phone. His Argentine guys on the ground were pleasant and helpful but could not speak any english. My son has a few words of Spanish so we muddled through. We went to shoot pigeons first, there were very few but a lot o f parakeets so we had fun. Ducks were next, plenty of them but a big swamp to cross, not for old guys. After the duck hunt we were heading to the doves [3 days of doves] there was much discussion, writing on paper, drawing numbers in the dust etc. that we need about another 100 boxes of shells each. The drive from one area to the other was 4 hours+. Five of us in a compact pickup, cozy to say the least. After one day of shooting doves Mr. Airala is contacted about more shells. He says shells in this area will be $15.00 a box. Shells from the area we vacated were $13.00 but freight would be $450.00. After some discussion we told him to get the $13.00 shells and we would pay the freight. To this he replied that it would take 2 days and they would arrive on the afternoon of our last day of dove shooting.
My son tells him John you are fu--ing us on the shells. Crude but accurate. He is irate and they hang up on one another. After an hour or so his guys got Mr. Airala on the phone for me to talk to. After some discussion he tells me he will think about it and call his guys back. He also tell me how insignificant this hunting is to him and that he has a 3000 acre agricultural operation. Some of his client are constantly on the cell phone to the supreme court and he hopes that he never sees us again. I feel sure that we can make that happen. He also says that he is surely not going to sell shells to us at a loss. How much do shells cost in Argentina anyway? Anyway the next day shells are procured, some as close as 10 miles. But we paid the $15.00. The dove shooting was as good as it gets, plenty of birds. We did the driven shoot with dogs the last day, didn't do any shooting but it was interesting anyway. The 6 nights we were there we stayed in 3 different hotels, 2 of them in the same town. Our unhappiness with him is not about his hunting or the extra amount of money he extracted from us but about the way he did it and stories he told to accomplish it, all from 500 or so miles away. His web site says that he moved to Argentina a long time ago from Michigaan. If he treated people there like he did us it would be interesting to know the circumstances of his departure.

The info is appreciated by all of us who frequent Argentina. Shame you had such a bad time.....

Bill: Maybe You can recomend some good outfitter for a "Full speed buffalo hunt", or a "Tailored Gusanos Hunt" ja,ja. G1 (The very bad man)

El Furtivo can recommend a man who is an expert on the Uruguayan buffet.....a pelado who is a one shot killer on the great buffalo of Corrientes....
and who is a guide to the beautiful women of the Cordoba coffee shops....and a man who has a great expertise on the quality tacos de pescado and cornalitos of the central market.....

Sorry to hear this ,i feel a little embarased ,i can offer you to came and hunt 3 days free and just pay the shells and license .....any thing i can do for you just send me a PM .Juan

I can attest to what a shyster John Airala of Sporting Destinations is....

Here's a link you might want to read...

http://forums.accuratereloadin...8321043/m/5841015931

¡Good from you Juan!. It´s a most generous offer to provide someone with three free days of guiding and hunting just for compensating others´misdeeds...

I believe Airala is a good guy that trusted this operation to another guides and everyhting failed ....i spoke with him and seems to be a good guy ,fan hunter and expert on weapons ....everything i can do to help you ill do ,sometimes things doesnt work as we want....sorry is the only thing we ca say.

Juan, you did not tell this man that if he comes to be with you, I will be his guide to the parilla.......

This report was not posted to look for sympathy or something free. It is hoped that other people will not be put in the same situation that we were.

Cowpuncher:

If my memory serves me correctly, Mr Airala posted here fairly often under the name of JohnAir. He was peddling hunts. Again, if I recall correctly, he posted something that some of his former clients called him out about. There were multiple people corroborating the clients story. It was pretty bad. Shortly thereafter, JohnAir posted little if any.

All hunts don't go well. Sometimes it isn't anyone's fault. For example, weather. I appreciate you taking the time to tell us about Mr Airala's activities. This type of report is a valuable thing to use as a reference given the large number of companies offering hunts in Argentina.

Finally, if I recall correctly, Mr Airala's US number had a 305 area code. That is Florida. I am not sure the relevance of this. However it did catch my eye.

It is so disappointing to have a hunt go bad. Unfortunately it can and does happen.

Cowpuncher...

Thanks for your report. It is helpful to know. On the other hand, I went to Cordoba with Paco Riestra (pacoriestra.com.ar). Nothing but great things to say about him.

His sister lives in Florida & handles his U.S.bank acc.