Well my friend Bill and I have been off traveling in search of things to kill again. This time we went with Dr.Juan Pozzi in Argentina. Our wives have been fooled into letting us go spend the family funds once more. We are beginning to wonder how much more we are going to get away with this – but “so far – so good”.



We flew Delta from the U.S. to Buenos Aires. Due to the air schedule we stayed there the first night before going to Santa Fe the next day. There is a lot to explore in Buenos Aires and I assume it would take at least a week to even hit the highlights. From the airplane window BA reminded me a little of Paris – low rolling hills covered by dense white buildings.



This is the first lodge we stayed in. It is in San Francisco. This impressive wood table is all one piece sawn from a tree trunk.



The first day we hunted with Juan’s retriever Rhodesia. The second day we hunted with Malu both of which were very excited to see birds fall.



I used Juan's Remington over/under and found it just right for the doves - very light and quick. That gun also is a bit of a tatoo artist having left a multi-colored bruise on my shoulder. We used Juan's guns through-out the trip and it made travel to and from Argentina a lot easier.



Juleo is one of Juan's guides and doubles as chief gate opener and cook. Here he made some type of buffalo rounds for lunch that were about the size of a hamburger and were very tasty.



Bill Yung is an excellent writer. On this safari he was working on his third book. The first one is available on Amazon. It is called "The half-fast hunter" and is a collection of humorous short stories about his hunts. I highly recommend it. In his books Bill often skewers the PH he hunts with and he seemed excited about the material Juan gave him on this hunt. I can’t wait to read about it.



The first day we ran across this old scrub bull near one of the farms we hunted but did not have time to process him so left him lying peacefully. In hindsight we should have taken him and sacrificed some bird shooting since in the end we had all the bird shooting we needed before the safari was over. Neither Bill nor I are "died-in-the-wool" bird shooters but for anyone that is this is an excellent place for it.



To Bill's (and my shoulder’s) relief we headed out to hunt buffalo and wild boar the next day. It was interesting to see the contrast between farmland and the towns and cities we passed through. Argentines must have a great fondness for dogs. You see them everywhere.



Upon arrival at what Juan called the “middle of nowhere”, he consulted Quindola the spokesman for the Gaucho's who said there were five buffalo near a pond. One was said to have big horns. It turned out that our buffalo hunt did not last very long. I was carrying Juan's CZ .375 and Bill had the .308 for smaller stuff. I shot one buffalo under the chin and it dropped straight down then Bill and I quickly switched rifles and he made an excellent spine shot and the second buffalo went down right by the side of the first. I couldn’t ask for a better backup man. Neither bull was especially large in the horn department but they made it exciting for a minute or two. The only problem was that now our buffalo hunt was over and it was only the second day.



It was nearing dark as we finished taking pictures. Juan directed the Gaucho's to cut out the back-strap for Juleo to begin cooking. The night was cool and they agreed that rest of the meat would keep well until the next morning when the Gaucho's would festoon the tree limbs with it. If I understand it right, the land owner gets the lions share to sell and the Gaucho's get the left-overs.

We cooked the back-strap in the Gaucho's fire pit and invited the Gaucho's to eat with us. They evidently have stronger teeth than Bill or I. We struggled to just cut the back-strap with a knife while they contentedly chewed away. Now I know why the Gauchos carry a meat cleaver instead of a pocket knife. I think their rate of devouring meat was even keeping up with Juan but it was nearly dark and I could not tell for sure. Frankly, I doubt anyone could eat meat like Juan can.

I got the idea to abandon the knife which was now bent at an angle and try to chew a piece off but unfortunately even that did not work. I just mangled it a little bit and finally gave my chunk to the Gaucho sitting across the table who had already devoured two pieces and seemed to be licking his lips for more. I suspect Bill must have sneaked his chunk off to the Gaucho dogs under the table.



There is sort of a Gaucho headquarters building here (someone called it a mud hut ???). It was actually stucco and Bill said the inside was quite nice with a TV, beds, etc.



In the center of this picture you can see the Western star that Juan said the Gauchos use for a guide star. We decided to walk out in the dark coincidentally straight toward the guide star and look for a Capybera. I was fourth in line when we passed under some low hanging tree branches. The others were paying more attention than I was and I now know what the old saying “better than being poked in the eye with a sharp stick” is all about. I rubbed my eye where it struck the tree branch and confirmed the eye ball was bleeding badly. Immediately the eye was useless. I could not see. Dr. Pozzi and Juelo bandaged my bloody shooting eye and we headed back to Esquina minus a Capybera. That ruined the plan to hunt all night. From now on I say to hell with following Western stars.

The post script was that the next day I was able to see out of the center of the eye and it got a little better each day. When I got back home I went immediately to my eye doctor and he said it was healing.



This area of Esquina had a very nice lodge and restaurant that we enjoyed. It is on the waterfront of a tributary of the Parana River which was rising quite quickly due to a flood north of our location.



The town of Esquina is full of interesting buildings and shops. We spent hours one rainy day walking the streets and felt quite safe.





The lodge was owned by a successful family who invited us to tea at their 100 plus year old ranch house which had some very interesting architectural details and a substantial collection of old rifles and shotguns. The ranch house even had a small but tasteful chapel built beside it.



On the way back to the lodge we surprised a Capybera beside a wetland area. We had been intending to shoot one each but learned they are subject to cities paperwork and decided to forget it. That may have been a mistake.

The next day it had rained during the night and was still raining. Juan said the area we were going to hunt for wild boar would be very muddy and impossible to walk in. We had a little taste of this when Bill shot an Ostrich and had to wade out to get it. So there were options to consider. One option was to wade in the mud for wild boar. One suggestion was that we return to San Francisco and shoot birds but he quickly re-wrote that script when he saw Bill light up like a stop light. Bill had his fill of killing “tweety” birds with a shotgun.

The third option was to fish in the flooded river while carrying the .308 just in case we found something – for example, a wild boar on an island. That got the green light from both of us. Juan explained that the flood would make fishing difficult and he opted to bring Bill’s first book to read thinking the action would be slow or non-existent.

Bill is a fly fisherman and he wasn't one hundred percent excited about dragging a lure the size of a piece of firewood behind the boat but anything appealed to him when the option was shooting more doves. Juan called a guide who showed up quickly, removed the battery from his car and put it in the boat, started it up and we were soon fishing. The flooded river was fascinating.



At one point we saw a dark spot on a distant island and thought it was a wild boar but as we got closer we realized it was a sow with a bunch of piglets stranded on a half acre of land that was slowly but surely disappearing beneath the rising flood water. We fed it our leftover lunch parts and abandoned them to their fate.



The river was full of weeds and brush torn loose from land and it was hard to keep it off the lures. We were constantly pulling in lines to clear the hooks. Then something struck my lure and it was obviously not a floating bush because it pulled strongly away and to the side. Then a spectacular golden fish jumped completely clear of the water - not just once but several times. Eventually after some strong runs it swam toward the boat so fast that I thought it had gotten off. However another run to the side and another jump confirmed that he was still hooked. Then he neared the side of the boat and to my surprise the guide grabbed the line.

In my experience with northern pike grabbing the line often results in a lost fish. But quickly looking around in the boat, I realized the only dip net in the boat was half as big as the fish. We were lucky and the guide got one hand in the gills - the other around the tail and we had our fish aboard. Juan broke out the beer and we all celebrated. I fish a good bit but have never had an inland fish fight that hard. I can understand why fisherman fly in from all over the world to fish the Esquina area for Dorado. Later Bill caught another one which we released – we had enough for dinner.



With all the success, Juan decided he would fish too. About two casts later he decided fishing was not his sport and went back to reading. It was nearing dark when we took the fish back to the lodge where it was expertly prepared for dinner. This was a good day and we were all happy and the fish was a delicious change of pace from beef.

The next morning Bill and I were looking to see how much the water had risen in front of the lodge when we spotted this bird trying to swallow a snake. It would hold the snake in its beak and chomp down on it several times then drop it into the water and pick it up again from a different spot and chomp again trying to kill it. Meanwhile the snake was desperately striking the bird about the head and wings but soon the bird won and completely swallowed the snake which could be seen wiggling inside the bird’s neck even as it flew off to perch in a tree. Eating tough buffalo meat had to be simple by comparison.

After the truck was reloaded we were off to San Francisco again which Bill knew was going to result in more bird assassinations. Early the next morning the weather (which had been perfect all week) turned cold and windy. We drove out to another farm and succeeded once again in slightly reducing the bird population of the province.



However, I doubt our effort is going to have any long lasting effect. The clouds of doves were still arriving when we left to go see Jaun's son Iky play in a rugby match. He is the one boosted aloft on the left of this photo. His team won 20 to nothing.



Dr. Pozzi assisted with on-field repairs to a few participants on both sides.



Later that day I went with Juan and Juleo to shoot some more doves and found this delightful old historic farm house the inside of which was still authentic. Bill went touring downtown San Francisco intending to shop but found the stores closed.



Juan is blessed with a very nice family - no doubt significantly because of his wife Flavia's influence as she is a delightful, intelligent person. Seen here in his reloading room are his two daughters Pilar and Lugan. After another typical Argentine dinner we packed our bags for the return trip home and checked Argentina off our bucket list of places we have been. Juan, Juleo and Iky drove us to the airport and we were off. "Many Many" thanks Juan, family and Juelo for your efforts in hosting our visit. We will always remember it and the new friends we have made.



There were 7 posts in a line and each one had one of these birds sitting on it. About every minute they would all start squaking and fly up and change posts...usually fussing about which bird got a certain post. This went on for several minutes.



Gaucho's workshop and office



Esquina waterfront detail



Ranch house detail



Bird nest (Weaver bird?)



Old ranch building



Some kind of ducks (White faced whistling ducks??)



Hot lunch by Juleo!!!!

Thank you my friend its a nice report and i liked your photos a lot ,you have many more than i have.
Great time with you both ,its easier to guide jaegers like you ,by the way BILL and YOU killed millions of doves or just thousands .

Very nice photos ,beautifull buffalos and OUSTANDING DORADO .

Juan does it again! Great report, thanks for sharing.
Sounds like a great time.

Your trip was just about like mine, I can't wait to go again and see my friends in Argentina

Palmer you are right. I have never seen anyone eat like Juan.

Sounds like you guys had some fun down South. Man that is a BIG Dorado.

It is definantly Ms. Flavias influence!!!!!!!!!!


.

Wonderful and a great report. Thank you....
You did well and it looks like it was most enjoyable.
Wish I could have been with you. I stayed in the same house you
did on my first trip down (2006) and well remember that beautiful dining
room table.

You may cross Argentina off your bucket list but you will be
back as I have been year after year. Next time a few suggestions.
Before or after hunting, The southern lake country, San Carlos de Bariloche
at the foothills of the Andes, and at the southern end of the very large
lake, Nahuel Huapi, and the national park surrounding it for one. Iguazu Falls in
the north of the country for another (spectacular), and Mendoza and the wine country
for a third.

I was down in May and would have liked to have seen Iki playing Rugby.
He is one tough lad.

JTEX, you mentioned Juan's appetite....next time you write him ask him about
La Maquina de Comer!

Allen and Bill will be friends of my family for ever ,THANKS FOR YOUR FRIENSHIP AND ILL VISIT YOU THERE .

SCRIPTUS
The Half Fast Hunter, bloody brilliant. There were times that I could not read, damn near wheezing from laughter

SHAKARI
Here's another vote for The Half Fast Hunter. This book had me rolling on the floor with laughter & I'd bet he's a hoot to share a campfire & a drink or two with!

FINISHING BILL YOUNGS BOOK WITH A BOWMOORE SCOCTH....AFTER 3 DAYS HUNTING PARTRIGES WITH CLIENTS .

Hellow im Julio ,Juan chieff guide ,Palmer you killed millions or thousands of doves ........
The last buffalo lions in the aluminiun papaer was very tender you quit very fast the first we are almost alive ...i didnt put enough fire
I have to run away because i didnt take my cz375hyh so i was unarmed and with two bulls charging .... soldier who escapes serve in another war .GREAT TIME THANK YOU GENTLEMEN .NEXT TIME MY 458 OR MY 375 WILL BE WITH ME .

Juan,

Your girls have grown so much since Angie and I hunted with you. They are very pretty and that should keep you awake at night in a couple more years.

Perry

Dear friend ,im waiting for your daugther ,tell her she can came to hunt partriges and doves .
I first introduce her boyfriends to my dogos if they approve them then its ok

Gentlemen; Congratulations, nice report, great pictures also trophies.
Mr.Palmer PM sent.
Cheers:
Guillermo

this is on my bucket list.... now if I convince another couple of friends to tag along.....

Really interesting report and photographs. Quite refreshing.

We miss this too gentlemen ,great hunters and great friends .

FANTASTIC PHOTOS!
Since I am soon going there I devour every photo with great interest! I am counting the days left to go there=13..ARGENTINA, Nos vemos dentro de poco!

This is in the bucket list