:: Big games ::

Blackbuck and axis deer

Argentina, mostly known for its small game success, is an equally excellent destination for big game. Whether practised through stalking, lying in wait or on horseback, the big game in Argentina usually takes place in fabulous surroundings and immense places. Some species are endemic while others were imported many centuries ago.
The calibers frequently used are 7 RM, 300 WM, 300 or 30-378 Weatherby and 8x68 S.

The hunt for blackbucks or axis deer is organized in different pieces of land that we identify every year to obtain trophies; those areas comprise from northern Buenos Aires to the north of Argentina, where some of these beautiful species live. The excursions are organized at your request, leaving from La Huerta (our property) or Buenos Aires, and you may register in an additional small game program. Animals are hunted through stalking and with a guide. For this type of hunting, we suggest using the early and late hours of the day. This wild animal is frequently shot from long distances (from 150 to 200 m or even more).

The axis deer is also hunted at dawn and at dusk. Its spotted fur allows it to be camouflaged quite well with nature. The animal (100 kg) is not as heavy as our European deer. The best period is from March through late April. Their horns begin to fall off in June.

Model program

Cougar and marsh deer

The cougar, belonging to the same family as the North American cougar, usually attacks the flocks of rams and goats of stockbreeders in southern Argentine pampas and in the wide forests in the north of the province of Formosa. This type of hunting requires preparation and an accurate location. The cougar is an extremely intelligent and distrustful animal and generally moves around at night covering long distances. That is why we hunt once the animal was identified. The walk begins in the same manner as the hunt for deer or wild boars, then the staff organizes an “attack” with dogs and beaters to locate the animal. Once the dogs are released, the cougar inevitably takes refuge at the top of a tree, as a big cat, to escape from dogs’ fangs. Usually dogs are unable to harm it because they are small and weak and the cougar is naturally stronger. That is nature... Then you will have to continue most of this hunting on horseback in the diversified biotopes in small forests with bushes and humid palm groves with large clearings where goats, cows and marsh deer (local roe deer) take shelter. This represents an ideal biotope and food for the cougar.
The final approach is quickly made on foot upon hearing dogs bark or guided by one of our employees, who may eventually go for prevention purposes. It must be shot as an African leopard, i.e. over the tree from a distance of about four hundred meters or less if the jungle is thick. In the northern regions of the province of Formosa, there are two cougar sizes: one may reach 55 kg (the largest ones) and the other one may exceed 90 kg.

Marsh deer
Weighing about twenty kilos and being a little smaller than our European roe deer, the marsh deer is mainly hunted at dawn or at dusk. It inhabits the same biotope as the cougar in bushy areas containing grassland clearings. The hunting areas are located in the province of Formosa, but they may also be found in the province of Santa Fe, where our farm is located.

Model program

Wild boars

White-lipped peccary
Collared peccary

They are both hunted through stalking or lying in wait, in the morning or the evening, on the banks of ponds. We have a unique territory for this purpose: a jungle of over one hundred kilometers that goes along a marsh that is 350 km long and 10 km wide. This is, in fact, a huge and permanent «wallow» where numerous suid species arrive in groups of fifty looking for company. We also organize this particular type of hunting in the province of Formosa. The capybara is a large rodent that may weigh 70 kg and eats exclusively big herbs and reed at night. It is hunted in flooded marshes by canoe and with a 7 x 64 caliber or equivalent caliber, or with rifle bullets. Its shooting is only authorized in the province of Formosa, where we organize the hunting.

Model program

Red deer

The red deer is equivalent to our European élaphe deer. Argentina is particularly favorable for the development of great trophies that may range from 6 to 10 kg. They are hunted on foot in the steppes or on horseback when hunting through stalking in the huge forests that surround the Andes, which constitute a great scenery. This is where we propose hunting this “red-haired” deer during its rutting season in March.
The steppe hunting is made until late May. It is easier to identify this biotope when the rutting season is over. Don’t get the wrong idea: there is a very significant presence of deer since they do not need only forests as one may imagine. They find food and shelter in a seeming desert but very rich steppe with small hollows. The hollows have high herbs that are suitable for deer.
Undoubtedly, one of the best hunting areas is San Carlos de Bariloche in the province of Neuquén. There is a well-known freshwater reserve near Villa Angostura, located at a three-hour distance by plane, in southern Buenos Aires. Hunting requires minimum physical conditions as any mountain hunting, such as in Scotland and the Carpathians.

Model program

Shooting rates*

> Blackbuck 1300 Euros
> Axis deer 1500 Euros
> Cougar** 3500 Euros
> Marsh deer 1000 Euros
> Capybara 600 Euros
> Red deer 2500 Euros
> Wild boar 800 Euros
> Animal injured or not found = dead animal
* Rates to be confirmed before the beginning of each trip
** Animal subject to shooting and CITES authorizations.