"I recently spoke with two hunters who told me about a stag hunting opportunity that is certainly noteworthy. These hunters took excellent trophies and were quite upbeat about this place. The hunt is based out a 37,500-acre estancia called Los Molles, located in the province of La Pampa, which is smack dab in the middle of Argentina. This is not beautiful country like the Andean region where most of the stag hunts I've discussed in these pages over the years take place. In fact, it is very flat, prosaic country, consisting of large fields broken by dense copses of forest where the stags like to lie up during the day.
"The estancia offers hunting for red stag, wild boar, blackbuck antelope and water buffalo. It has been organizing commercial stag hunts for about 30 years, so the people there really know what they are doing. There are approximately 3,500 red deer on the estancia, with an estimated 1:1 sex ratio. The owner shoots off at least 500 hinds every year to keep the sex ratio low, as it should be for optimum trophy quality. All hunting is strictly fair chase -- there are no fences. Stags are quite abundant, and hunter success is very high. An SCI silver medal stag would be a realistic expectation, but there is a definite possibility of a gold medal animal.
"Stag hunting is done by spotting and stalking, or waiting in elevated blinds in feeding areas. After the hunter has taken his stag he may take either a wild boar or a blackbuck antelope, either of which is included in the package price of $3,750. Again, hunter success on both species is high. Wild boars are hunted primarily at night out of baited blinds with the aid of spotlights, which is perfectly legal in Argentina. For hunters who want to take two stags, estancia Los Molles offers........(continued)
