Day 4 of 5

We carried on with our original plan of visiting the other ranch today. It rained the entire way there. We had decided that we would hunt, but it would all be on foot.

When we arrived, the rain was steady. We made a very short drive down one of the valleys. Too wet. We do not want to get stuck again. Return to the lodge, it is lunchtime anyway.

As we eat lunch, at rains harder. Have a cup of tea. It rains even harder.

Screw it, lets all take naps. It rained hard through siesta time.

Even if the rain quits, if we shoot a Stag today there would be no way to retrieve it. No horse or truck could access the area. Drive back to Algar.

Day 5 of 5

Yes, I am kicking myself for not shooting that 6x7, but the rain had stopped sometime during the night. Still, I figure it will be too wet. Tommy says that we will hunt, but it will be sloppy.

He is right. It is sloppy. Stuck again, but I am still hunting, glassing the distant hillside where we had just spotted 2 young Stags. Emilio works for about an hour on this one with shovel and rocks and finally gets us out. 

The valley we have just come down. This is similar country to the other valleys where we glassed Stags.

We spend the entire morning going from valley to valley glassing. The ground is wet, but the sun is out and the wind is light. We dodge mud-holes successfully for the rest of the morning. There were times I thought we would never get out. 

This morning, we see 25 Stags. Emilio says he saw the ancient 5x5 again, but we are after the 6x7 ... you know, the one I had at 100 yards but passed. Right ... that one. I didn't know that Emilio had seen the 5x5 or I would have said, "Let's go!" He really is a toad of a deer. An old ancient warrior. I would be proud to have him.

We go back to the lodge for lunch and make a quick plan. We are going back to the area where the 5x5 was last seen and then, well, if that doesn't work we are just going to find a good one somewhere .... good plan, let's go.

First thing out ... we get stuck. I am convinced that this one is for good. I don't bother with pictures of another stuck truck, I just grab my binoculars and rifle and head off to the edge. I glass some Hinds in the distance, but no Stags.

Emilio is a genius with a shovel and rocks when it comes to mud. He has us out in 15 minutes. I really can't believe it.

The wind starts to pick up, it is blowing now. We are seeing nothing. Everything is bedded in heavy cover or in draws that you have to look up at the right angle to see if anything is there. Well, everything but the Guanaco. We see them occasionally on the pampas, usually far away, but this one we saw close up. I hear they are yummy.

Well, the sun is speeding toward the horizon and I am really kicking myself for passing the Stag two days ago. I broke a rule. Not sure which rule it was, but something similar to the "shoot it when you get the chance" rule.

We stop to glass a draw. I glass one side, he, the other. Emilio makes a light whistle and motions me to come to him. I sneak up to him and see a Stag bedded below him.

I am on it, sticks out, ready to shoot.

"Si, or no?" I ask him.

"No, delgado."

I don't know, he doesn't look thin to me. But he is the guide, so we will let him go. He spots us and jumps up and runs off. He was a 5x6.

The wind, at this point, is blowing 35 mph or more. It is windy today. We drive and glass, and there is nothing. I have seen this one Stag this evening and that is it.

The sun has not gone behind the hill yet, but it is dang near over. We have seen one Stag this afternoon. I hope that they will all come out now, but hold little hope of success on this trip. We leave at 5:00 am for the airport tomorrow. No chance to hunt tomorrow morning even. I really only had a day and a half to hunt free range Stag and I should have taken the one I saw on the first day.

Well, I wish the story had a exciting ending, with a long stalk and a running shot at 250 yards, but the truth is that sometimes it just doesn't end that way. So, when we rounded the bend and I saw him on the edge of the river bottom, It was time. No chance for a long stalk like I had imagined, after all, sometimes you take what life gives you.

I ranged him at 208 yards running up the side of the hill.

Fold the sticks out, sit down on the rocks of the riverbed and chamber a round. By now he has to be at least 250, I guess.

He pauses, looks back for a second, I put the crosshairs in the middle of his ribs, as he is quartering away from me and squeeze the trigger.

I thought I heard the bullet hit, I am not 100% sure though. He just turned and walked away.

He is walking slowly up the hill. I aimed higher this time and shot. Nothing, definitely no hit on this one.

As he crested the hill and was about to walk over, I put the crosshairs back on him, after all, I am shooting uphill, sighted at 200 yards. He is probably 250-275 now, it has to be a dead on aim.

I squeeze the trigger and he falls. I see his left antler sticking up on the skyline on the crest of the hill.

When we reach him I see that the first shot was true. It went where it was supposed to. The last shot hit as well. He is a 7x7. Not as big as the 5x5 or the 6x7, but he is a very good free range Stag.

Emilio, Manch me.

Accommodations, Food and Other Photos

The accommodations were top notch. The rooms were all very well appointed and comfortable. The dining area, bar, sitting area, were all very nice.

Sitting area where we had pre-dinner drinks.

The Bar.

One of the bedrooms from the other ranch. This room was actually quite large with a separate area with gun closet and cabinets.

Sitting area and dining area at the other ranch. (Note the two Pere David Deer antler chandeliers, more on these later.)

The food was excellent, with Patagonian wine, beef, game meat and a desert menu that consisted of 3-5 items each night. It is customary to have an Argentine BBQ on the last night.

They cook a pig or sheep. I don't like sheep. Of course, they cooked a sheep. It was awesome. I would have it again in a heartbeat.  

Emilio's brother is the cook. This slow cooked for 3 hours. This fireplace/BBQ is in the main dining room at the end of the dining table. 

Dogs and Other Interesting Animals

These guys love their dogs. My wife loves dogs and requested that one ride with us while we hunted. This is "Manch" Emilio's dog. A beautiful and very well behaved pointer. He would sit in the truck while we hunted, or he would come along and walk beside us. He never caused any problems. A great dog.

Javier's Dogs, they rode with us for the brief 1 mile run in the rain at the other ranch. The Pointer is the father of Manch. The big brindle is a 7 month old puppy! Half Mastiff and half Hound dog. She will be a blood tracking monster dog! 

We saw Tahr (not a huntable population and no photo opportunities), Fallow, Mouflon, Ibex, Stag, Boar, Guanaco, Ostrich, geese, quail, lots of female Jackalope, but I did not see one male Jackalope (They are quite rare I understand).  

They have a herd of Pere David Deer on the ranch. Here is one nice male. Very interesting antler configuration. There are only about 1500 Pere David Deer left in the entire world. Their numbers were as low as 12 deer at one time (that is 12 deer in the entire world) breeding programs have brought them back to the numbers they are today. These are very big deer. They are the size of an Elk.   

Pere David Females.

Pere David Deer Antler chandelier in the lodge. Not too many of these in the world! 

Despite the frustrations with the weather, it was an incredible experience. One I would repeat again.

A huge "thank you" goes out to Tommy, Silvia, Emilio, Javier, and all the staff at Algar who made the hunt a success. 

Back to Part One