Baja Mexico - Black Brant

[Scott Chapman]

Hunt was booked through Ramsey Russell's Get Ducks outfitting business.

Pacific Black Brant spend the Summer on their breeding grounds in Alaska and migrate pretty much en mass to Baja California and other areas Mexico in and around the Gulf of California. Hunting is fairly tightly controlled and total hunting days and bag limits vary depending upon the annual census of total birds. Total population is thought to be 120,000.

They only hunt on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Quit at noon. Limit this year was 5 birds per day.

Logistics: Fly into San Diego on Wednesday evening, overnight in hotel. Get picked up by outfitter on Thursday am in big van.

Cross border in Tijuana (gun permits included in cost: can bring 2 shotguns and 100 rounds per guns/gun rentals are included if you don't want to bring yours) and get visa and gun permits signed off. Took 1.5 hours for this to get done for 16 hunters Wasn't big deal.

Rode 5.5 hours south through Ensenada and through the mountains to little Pacific coast town of San Quintin. Stayed at a little hotel on the water 3 miles down a dirt road.

We ate meals of fresh seafood right out of the bay at one or two of the very nice restaurants right there at the hotel. Never had to drive anywhere. Guides picked us up each morning and had coffee and breakfast tacos on the boat on the way to the blind.

We took limits of birds daily. Our local guides took most of the birds home to feed their families, but on Saturday, they hosted a big outdoor brant and seafood feast at a house that was within walking distance from the hotel.

The outfitter provided all of the needed information for us to tag and preserve our trophies to bring back across the US border. There is a bit of paperwork but not much worse than bringing birds back from Canada.

I will have to say that I had some reservation initially about traveling to Mexico (especially travelling through Tijuana) but I can truthfully say that there was not a time when I felt unsafe or even worried. I was amazed at the friendliness of the people we met and the whole trip went off without a hitch.

The trip cost $2600 if I remember right, plus RT airfare to San Diego and shells ($20 per box) and tips for guides and bird boys. Alcoholic beverages were not included but you could bring your own (the van stopped at a store in Ensenada) or they had bars at the restaurants.

We met some very neat people from all over the US who were hunting including a Ducks Unlimited Biologist.