30 April 2013, 00:20
Aaron NeilsonArgentina - April 2013
Outfitter: Catena Safaris (Nico Catena) Location: LaPampa, Argentina
Dates: April 14 - 20, 2013
Species: Red Stag, Asiatic Water Buffalo, Black Buck, Fallow Deer
Weapons: Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .300 Win Mag / topped with a Trijicon 2.5 - 10 x 56mm scope
Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .416 Ruger / topped with a Trijicon 2.5 - 10 x 56mm scope
Ammo: Hornady Superformance GMX in .300 Win Mag (150 gr)
Hornday Dangerous Game Series DGX / DGS in .416 Ruger (400 gr)
Optics: Leica Geovid 10x42
I'll probably keep this one short and sweet, but certainly there's an interesting experience to be had in Argentina for its big game hunting opportunities. Starting with the very unique way we actually made our way from Buenos Aires to the town of Sant Rosa. With poor commercial flight options available our outfitter Nico Catena recommended we take the bus from B.A. Now, my thought of riding Greyhound for 7 hrs was not a pleasant one, but we agreed. Holy cow was I ever wrong! This was 1st class seats all the way, but only on a bus rather than a plane. Complete with dinner/breakfast service, complimentary booze, and a seat/bed that layed down flat for a great night's sleep!
Comfortable bus ride!
2013-04-14 10.40.01 by globalhunts, on Flickr
photo (2) by globalhunts, on Flickr
Arriving at the "lodge" of Catena Safaris was also a pleasant surprise! Excellent accommodations, excellent food, good company and of course, great red wine. Nico's family also own's a vineyard, so excellent red wine was never far from reach.
Catena Safaris Lodge!
2013-04-20 09.59.25 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-20 09.58.37 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-20 09.57.38 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-14 10.40.32 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-14 10.40.15 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-14 10.39.33 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-14 10.40.01 by globalhunts, on Flickr
I originally planned this hunt with Nico for just a couple of species, mainly the Asiatic Water Buffalo, and the Red Stag. However, when we arrived he offered to allow us to hunt Black Buck and Fallow Deer too, so who's gonna refuse that?? Nico was certainly a hunter after my own heart! We arrived at the lodge at 8am on the 14th, and by 9am we were hunting!! I told Nico I should probably at least fire my gun once to make sure everything's alright. His response, classic. "No problem, if you miss the blackbuck, we'll likely know everything's not alright." So hunting we went.
He said we still had a good 2 hrs until it got fairly warm - so while we can, let's try for Blackbuck and the Fallow Deer. As the buffalo and stag may not be as easy as you think. Literally an hour into our walk, we located a group of blackbuck, snuck within 80-90 yards, picked out the best of the 2 males in the group, and let him have it. So, just like that and our hunt was underway!
Blackbuck
2013-04-14 07.55.25 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-14 07.58.00 by globalhunts, on Flickr
As we prepared the BlackBuck for pics and finished some of our filming duties, one of the resident Fallow bucks was going grazy with rut activity, not far away. Fact is, we couldn't see him at all, but man could we hear him carrying on. So, once finished - we moved slowly through the bush hoping to get a glimpse at the Fallow Deer making all the racket. Obviously there was a hot female or two, as once we found em, we found numerous bucks, but one in particular was garnering all the attention from the girls.
The "bush" in the LaPampa region of Argentina, reminded me greatly of south Texas. Mostly 10 - 12 feet tall, but very thick! Frankly, it wasn't as easy as it would first appeared, simply because finding, seeing and shooting anything in that thick bush was not gonna be easy. Anyway, we did unfortunately spook the group once, but on the second attempt, we were finally able to wait out the big buck until he gave us the best shot possible. Again the Hornady Superformance ammo worked flawlessly and he was down in seconds.
Fallow Buck
2013-04-14 09.24.43 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-14 09.06.34 by globalhunts, on Flickr
Hunting the buffalo and the stag was definitely different than what I thought it was gonna be. First off, they both often preferred to stay in the thick/nasty bush!! Problem was, you could literally be 20 yards or less, and simply not see a darn thing - other than the bushes rustling as they tore off for safer pastures. The only advantage with the stag was they were in full roar so locating them was not generally a problem, but seeing anything other than an antler or an ear, was not easy. Then remember, we have to film it too - so nothing about this was easy. Frankly, I was a little frustrated after a couple of days of trying, and simply coming up empty handed. We did however get some good exercise, maybe walking 4-5 miles each day (total for morning/evening hunts).
Buffalo Hunting Essentials!
2013-04-18 08.53.38 by globalhunts, on Flickr
Several days into the hunt, our luck on the buffalo finally changed - as early in the morning we were able to catch them in the open. It was like a totally different creature all together. Now that they were in the open, and could see us plainly, they were much more tolerant of our presence?? It was the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Anyway, it worked in our favor - we got to within 90 yards and I took the bull low in the chest as he faced us head-on. He turned to run, took a few steps as I hit him again in the rear left hip and down he went. This was my very first experience with the Ruger .416 and the Hornady DG series ammo, and I was quite impressed with both. I've not seen anything that consistently puts buffalo sized game down as quickly as my old .375 RUM, but this combo did.
Asiatic Water Buffalo (Originally from India)
2013-04-16 07.25.19 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-16 07.23.01 by globalhunts, on Flickr
Jeremiah Bennett and I
2013-04-16 07.28.56 by globalhunts, on Flickr
As I said before, the rut was on for the stag - thankfully! Finally after 4 days of banging around in the thick bush, we finally told Daniel (our good who spoke little english) that this plan was not working - and we needed a new one. By know, we knew in the evening that a group of stags would work out of the thick bush, towards a waterhole in the semi-open valley, but often times too late for shooting/hunting. Jeremiah and I convinced Daniel (with some fancy hand signals) that a good ole-fashioned deer drive was in order. Daniel agreed, and we pick our ambush spot accordingly.
Now frankly we've all done this before, but rarely does it work as planned. Especially when you have only 1 driver, and 1 shooter. Hoping the critters come/go exactly where you want them to is all well and good, but almost never happens! Well, apparently good fortune was on our side this time - cause every single thing that Jeremiah and I planned, worked to a "T". The biggest stag in the group was even gracious enough to slow down to a walk as he entered our shooting window at 120 yards away. I was standing, set-up on sticks - and as the stag slowed, I hit him through the shoulder with the .300 Win Mag. He dropped to the shot, and our task was complete. We had a beautiful stag, and the end to a great week of hunting in Argentina.
2013-04-17 16.35.18 by globalhunts, on Flickr
2013-04-17 16.28.07 by globalhunts, on Flickr
The roar of the Red Stag was great fun! As a elk hunter from way back, I was thrilled to experience this rutting/bugling activity in another locale. A beautiful animal, and an interesting hunting experience that I am glad I was able to participate in.
From beginning to end, Nico and his family made this a wonderful experience for us - and I look forward to returning soon.
The scene from hotel window in B.A., as we waited to leave for the airport, and the trip home.
photo (2)4 by globalhunts, on Flickr
Now its a 5 Day wait for our departure to Mozambique, and another 18-Day Lion/Buffalo hunt.
Thank you!!!
,great photos thanks for sharing Aaron ,great trophies too .