Martin Carranza, Co-Owner.
You’ve waited all year for this hunt. Martin’s job is to make sure it delivers. He’s an owner of Estancia Las Palomas, and when you’re ready to book, he’s the one you’ll talk to.
A life outdoors
Martin grew up in Córdoba, splitting his time between the city and his family’s ranch in the countryside. Nobody taught him to hunt. It started with fishing as a kid, long days by the water learning patience and how nature moves. When he owned his first guns, hunting followed naturally. He describes the passion as something he was born with.
24 years in Córdoba dove hunting
Martin started in 2002 as an agronomist, planting crops designed to attract and hold doves. That work taught him what most outfitters never learn: feeding patterns, field rotation, and how to keep high-volume shooting strong season after season without burning out the resource.
From there, he ran operations at some of Córdoba’s best-known lodges:
- Hunting Director
- General Manager of all lodges
- Hunting Operations Manager
Estancia Las Palomas is where he brought it all together, with partners who share his standards.
Why we hunt eastern Córdoba
Northern Córdoba is crowded with outfitters. That means heavy hunting pressure and little interest in managing birds for the long term.
Doves have also changed. They no longer stay in the same roosts for years. They move. Martin chose eastern Córdoba because it’s where the birds are moving: a larger region, fewer outfitters, shorter drives to the fields, and more consistent shooting.
Trained to teach shooting
Martin is a Lieutenant in the Argentine Army Reserve. From 2012 to 2017, he served actively with the 14th Airborne Regiment, part of Argentina’s Rapid Deployment Force, specializing in combat engineering and jungle operations. He served as a rifle shooting instructor for the regiment’s career soldiers and as an instructor in basic combat training for reserve officers. He still serves when called.
Rooted in Argentina
Martin’s family has been part of Argentina’s story since before independence. His ancestor Ángel Julián Martín de Carranza arrived in the Río de la Plata around 1760 as a Spanish officer and later settled in Santiago del Estero. The Carranza family moved to Córdoba in the 1800s. Together with the Achával family, they produced a bishop, two governors of Córdoba, and several national legislators.
Beyond doves
Martin will hunt anything nature offers: Russian boar, red stag, axis deer, ducks, and pigeons. On the water, his favorites are trout and golden dorado, on a fly rod, baitcaster, spinning rod, or live bait. As he puts it, if it swims, he’s interested.
Family
Martin’s wife is an agronomist and general manager of a YPF-branded company. Their son is studying business administration, and their daughter, Josefina, is a lawyer and notary.