I just returned having completed a hunt originally scheduled for 18 days in only 10 days. I took 12 different species and while readily available, I did not hunt the puma or the capybara because recent prohibitions by the Argentine government will not allow their export.

Except for the axis deer and capybara the hunt is conducted north of Buenos Aires near the village of Santiago del Estero. The accommodations are in an old but modernized hacienda and each bedroom includes a private bath and air conditioner. A recent addition, the hospitality room, included a comfortable sitting area, fireplace and bar and also serves as the dining area. The cuisine was good and plentiful and there were snacks available between meals in addition to hors d'oeuvres and cocktails of choice before the evening meal.

The hunting area surrounds the lodge and except for the areas where one will find the red deer, buffalo and blackbuck the terrain is covered with impenetrable brush, grass, weeds and thorny trees. Most of the hunting is accomplished by driving and walking the roads in an attempt to spot a trophy in an opening in the brush. The white-lipped peccary and the collared peccary can be hunted from a high seat or with dogs. Despite the lack of limited visibility, I was able to take 11 trophies in just 8 days. My hunt was in the middle of March which of course is summer in the southern hemisphere and the reason there was so much thick foliage. My guide told me they will burn some areas once the grass dies which will occur sometime in June or July.

My Professional Hunter, Leonardo Destefani was outstanding. One of the most capable guides I have had the pleasure of hunting with on 50 or more safaris around the world.

The hunt for the axis deer is a one day affair south of Buenos Aires. The owner of Caza Y Safaris, Jorge Noya was my guide for this outing. The one night accommodations was in a beautiful bed and breakfast and our congenial hosts, the owners, prepared a sumptuous dinner and breakfast. Hunting with Jorge was a real pleasure.

Caza Y Safaris has been conducting hunting activities in Argentina for more than 25 years and will go the extra mile to be sure you have a successful safari. They will meet you on arrival at the airport, make your hotel reservations before the start and at the end of your safari, provide all necessary ground transportation and if so desired, arrange for sightseeing excursions in Buenos Aires. This is all included in the hunting package at no additional cost. The only items that are not included is a charge of $395 for a one hour and twenty minute round trip flight required to reach the hunting camp, $250 for a hunting license and tips at the clients discretion to the staff and professional hunter.

Marisa, Jorge's wife, handles the myriad of details required to be certain the client's entire Argentina experience is a success. Once the contract is signed and any special requirements or requests are communicated to her, the client need only arrange his flights to and from Buenos Aires. Everything will be arranged with utmost precision to ensure a successful hunt.

I highly recommend this hunt. It is a terrific value when compared to other Argentina hunting alternative. The all inclusive package is 18 days of hunting and includes the opportunity to take 15 medal class trophies. The price, excluding the round trip to the hunting camp, the hunting license, tips and international airfare is $24,800.

At the 2003 SCI convention in Reno, I was the high bidder on a water buffalo hunt in Argentina. The hunt could be taken either in 2003 or 2004. I chose to wait until 2004 to allow me more time to decide on what other big game I might like to pursue and to give me more time to save up the additional funds that would be required for trophy fees for the other animals. I met with Jorge Noya, the outfitter, at the convention and we set a tentative date in March 2004. Caza Y Safaris was an annual donor to the SCI convention so I was able to get a quick check on his past performances. All were very satisfactory. Jorge Noya is one of the most successful outfitters in La Pampa, the province I would be hunting the buffalo. The other game available were, red stag, wild boar, and puma. Since I already have a stag from Argentina I decided on wild boar and puma. I stayed in touch with the outfitter via email. Since I would not be hunting the red stag I waited until the rut was over in May to hunt. As the hunt date neared, Jorge suggested I bring only one firearm to save on gun permit fees as well as weight. He offered to loan me his Mauser 375 H&H mag to take the buffalo and I would bring along my favorite seven MM Remington mag to hunt boar and puma. I would supply the ammo for the 375, which I packed along with my seven MM. The flight schedule was set and I departed Buffalo on May 6th to JFK in New York, then on to the international flight via American Airlines to Buenos Aires. The flight took approximately ten hours. Clearing customs and police at the airport in Buenos Aires went very smoothly. I had all the necessary paperwork prepared beforehand. The necessary forms had been emailed to me to complete prior to departing. Gulliermo was waiting for me at the security station where the weapon had to be cleared and in a few minutes we were off to Jorge Noya's house in Buenos Aires. We were to have lunch there and then leave for a local airport for the hunt area in Santa Rosa in the province of La Pampa. The flight was about one hour and 15 minutes. The lunch we had at Jorge's house was out of this world. It consisted of fresh caught baked Atlantic salmon, mashed potatoes, vegetables, green salad and truly fresh fruit. It was as good as it gets. When we arrived in Santa Rosa, my guide and PH, Eugenio Lutz was waiting for us, without delay we were off to the ranch where we would be hunting, about a two-hour drive from the airport. Upon arriving at the ranch Eugenio suggested I prepare for an evening hunt for the wild boar. The boar hunting there is done from high stands located near small lakes or large ponds. The boar is mostly inactive during the daylight hours and feeds and waters after dark. There was plenty of evidence of digging and rooting as we approached the stand area. At about 5:00pm we were settled in the high house waiting for sunset. I wondered why the PH brought the blankets along but soon found out why. After sundown the temps drop into the low 40's or high 30's in May; this being the southern hemisphere and the beginning of winter. At about 10:00pm we heard the grunting and squealing of fighting boars. With the keen vision of my PH, he motioned me to prepare putting a round in the chamber. When I was ready he turned on the floodlight and evaluated the boars. Within seconds he pointed to one and concentrated the light on the target. He indicated about 175 yards, so I held dead on and the seven MM, 160 grain Swift A frame found its mark. The boar stood out clearly in my wide angle Redfield scope set at five power. What a beginning to a hunt; arriving at 5:00pm and harvesting a boar that same evening! We loaded the boar, estimated weight about 350 pounds, onto the back of the pickup and headed back to the ranch to dress out the boar before retiring. At 7:30am the next morning at breakfast we discussed the plan for the buffalo hunt, Eugenio had already checked with the cowboys who are out all day checking on the cattle at the ranch. This was an active cattle ranch of 170,000 acres. Buffalo are frequently seen near the grazing cattle so this gives the ranch hands the location of the several buffalo herds. Eugenio decided to head for the closets herd that had been spotted. At about 9:30am we located the buffalo herd grazing in the middle of a very large open area of rolling plateau. They spotted us as soon as we arrived so we continued driving for another mile until we were out of their sight. We then cautiously walked back to a point where we would be able to glass the herd. Eugenio suggested a long stalk on foot to circle the herd paying close attention to wind direction and hopefully using the rolling terrain to keep out of sight. Once the buffalo start moving they can travel miles before stopping. Therefore, it took us about two hours to reach the opposite side for the wind direction to be in our favor. The PH instructed us to wait there while he carefully went on ahead to a vantage point where he could observe the group. Returning shortly thereafter he laid out the stalk. We would have to do some crawling but it would get us to within 125 yards. Everything was go. When we reached the top of the hill, the PH crawled on ahead and glassed the herd. They had not moved much and were grazing. Upon his return he indicated the best one in the group was on the far right and to chamber a round when I neared the summit. Crawling together we spotted the group and concentrated on the one on the far right. I chambered a 300 grain solid, which I had decided to use as a first shot and would follow up with a 300 grain soft, if necessary. Rising to one knee the PH positioned a shooting stick in front of me and I held just behind the shoulder and fired. The herd bolted as I chambered another round but it wasn't necessary as the buffalo only went about three jumps and was down. After waiting until the group was some distance away we approached the downed buffalo. It was a clean kill. The bullet passed clean through exiting through the far shoulder. The exit hole being about the size of a quarter. It was amazing the bullet passed clean through an animal of this size and muscle. After taking some photos we caped and quartered the buffalo where it laid. It took two of us to carry a hind quarter and lift it into the back of the pickup. We were back at the ranch at 1:00pm just in time for lunch. I hadn't been in camp a full 24 hours and already had two of the three animals I came for. After lunch and a siesta we set out at 3:30pm to look for puma tracks. Returning at dusk after having no luck at picking up any tracks. Every ranch generated it's own electricity and has radio communication. As we were eating supper, the radio picked up a call from the foreman of the adjoining ranch inquiring about a hunter in camp who might be interested in hunting a puma who was responsible for the loss of three head of cattle in the last three weeks. Naturally we agreed to be there the following morning. At about 8:00am we loaded the dogs and were on our way. It was only about an hour away. Upon arriving the foreman was waiting to take us to the area where the cat had last killed. After loading the dogs we were off for a 30 minute drive after which the trucks were parked and leashing two of the dogs we set the third dog free. Walking through dense cover we criss-crossed back and forth looking for fresh tracks. About noon the hound began baying and was off. The other two dogs were unleashed and followed in hot pursuit. After ten minutes the baying ceased. The PH said to wait and he went on ahead to where the dogs were last heard. He said that occasionally the hounds will jump a fox and in short order give up on it, but in five minutes he returned to inform me my cat was treed and to come forward to harvest it. One shot from the seven MM had the cat on the ground with a clean kill. We had to pull the dogs off because as expected they kept biting the cat. Photos were in order, then back to the ranch for lunch. Not two days had passed and the hunt was over, so I thought. The PH asked if I would like to try for a larger trophy in wild boar, so that evening we returned to a high blind, hoping to spot a monster boar. We observed several but none were an improvement over what had already been harvested. What a hunt this turned out to be. In less than two days I was able to accomplish what I had hoped to do in five. Early the next morning we were on the radio to Buenos Aires to have the outfitter attempt to move up my flight schedule which we were able to accomplish without penalty and I was on my way home - one happy hunter indeed. I must also mention that I saw a good number of red stags while moving about the ranch. I did not see any trophy bulls, but this is as expected. The large or herd bulls are resting in remote locations, hardly moving, to recover from the strenuous pursuit of females during the rut. They hardly eat or sleep during this rutting period. Actually, some of them never recover. In their exhausted state they are either taken down by a puma or die of sheer exhaustion or malnutrition takes them down.