-- Jr --
AH senior member
Hello people! I am going to tell you about my first trip to the Andes mountains. Sorry if any expression is not well understood. There are terms in English that I do not know. For those who know me, they know that for many years I tried to organize something to be able to hunt in the Andes, but always for personal or work reasons I could not organize nothing. Well, in this pandemic year, I was finally able to do it, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
All started a month ago. A guide and friend told me about the opportunity to go to a field that he already knew, where he told me that there was a good population of red stags, but he could not promise me any spectacular trophy. The conditions and the price worked for me, so I gave him the ok to save the date for me.
Because of the price of fuel and the distance, I decided to make the trip by plane. The day before we left for there, my partner was in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID, so I was left alone. And as if that weren't enough, in Nethis part of Argentina, the circulation was very complicated, with routes cut off and general strikes, the owner of the field asked me not to carry a rifle. I always hunted with my rifle. I knew that, it was very possibl,e that it was necessary shoot at great distances (which happened), and I already knew my rifle and had all the faith in it (a 25-06). It never crossed my mind to suspend it, so I agreed to use his rifle. From how he described it to me, I thought he was going to give me a Sauer with a tactical S&B scope .....
DAY 1: The flight was excellent. Few people at the airport. They took my temperature when I dropped and they were already waiting for me to go to the field. The house I stayed it was very comfortable, but dont have 220V. But with a fireplace and hot water I was already happy. We arrived around 4:00 p.m., so that day I dedicated myself to organizing my things and resting after the trip. They bring me the rifle that I was going to use. It was a Howa in 308. So far so good. I had heard good comments about the rifle and the caliber, it would not have been my first choice, I knew that it would fulfill the function without problems. But mounted on the rifle, he had a Chinese sight. Well ..... Practice the shooting positions and the necessary pressure for the trigger.
DAY 2: After noon, we put everything together, saddled the horses and went out. The place really is a dream. I didn't know if he was going to hunt, but being there was worth it. We stationed ourselves in a ravine, which was in a valley, to see if any deer crossed from mountain to mountain.
Nothing .... It starts to get dark so we hit the back, but by a different path from the one we went. After 15 minutes, when passing between two mountains, we see some deer. As we were on the horses, we had to pass quite quickly, so the only thing I saw were something brown, but the guide told me that there was a good male. We made a detour to the mountain to try to reach the top, but they had already left.
DAY 3: This time, instead of waiting for them on the valley, we stayed in one of the mountains. The arrival was quite complicated, and in more than a moment, when the horse stumbled on a rock and I looked down the mountain, my ass was filled with questions ...
Hours passed and nothing, until I don't know where they came from, we see 3 males and several females in a mountain. Two young men and one who seemed to be good:
It was not quite distinguishable, but it looked like a 12-point. We look at them for a while and see that they were coming to where we were, then we started to go down. We reached the top of the mountain that was between the deer and us. The idea was that they were going to continue on the bottom, so I was going to have a shot of 120 meters less, but downhill. In that, from the valley that was diagonally ours, a wild pig starts to run. We look at each other and think the same, he sniffed us. I kick up some ash and it was in a perfect line from where the wild pig came out. Then the deer somewhere will run away. Aim the rifle where in theory they had to go, but they go in the totally opposite direction to where we were. This was a few seconds. I faim with the rifle and the guide tells me to shoot the last one, which is 300 meters away. For me they are more far. Running, with a chinese sight and with a rifle with which I had not fired a simgle shot (I asked him and they told me it was not necessary because he was hitting in the center) I was not going to risk he was run injured. I put down the rifle and we saw the dust they left behind. We turn around and arrive at the house at night.
DAY 4: Of course I was wondering all day if I made the right decision, and I always came to the same conclusion. If it had been the last day, I was gambling, but with two days to go, I had done well not to shoot. We leave the ranch, and 300 meters from the house we see a deer! He was eating and didn't even realize we were there. It looked like a nice trophy. We approach 60 meters, aim to the shoulder and pull the trigger. It fell on the spot. When we arrived he was already dead. I could not believe it. This is the luck in the hunt! He has 12 point. One of the tips comes out back, so it is not seen in the photo. I have photos of the head that look good, after we process the meat, but I don't like to show these kinds of photos.
All started a month ago. A guide and friend told me about the opportunity to go to a field that he already knew, where he told me that there was a good population of red stags, but he could not promise me any spectacular trophy. The conditions and the price worked for me, so I gave him the ok to save the date for me.
Because of the price of fuel and the distance, I decided to make the trip by plane. The day before we left for there, my partner was in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID, so I was left alone. And as if that weren't enough, in Nethis part of Argentina, the circulation was very complicated, with routes cut off and general strikes, the owner of the field asked me not to carry a rifle. I always hunted with my rifle. I knew that, it was very possibl,e that it was necessary shoot at great distances (which happened), and I already knew my rifle and had all the faith in it (a 25-06). It never crossed my mind to suspend it, so I agreed to use his rifle. From how he described it to me, I thought he was going to give me a Sauer with a tactical S&B scope .....
DAY 1: The flight was excellent. Few people at the airport. They took my temperature when I dropped and they were already waiting for me to go to the field. The house I stayed it was very comfortable, but dont have 220V. But with a fireplace and hot water I was already happy. We arrived around 4:00 p.m., so that day I dedicated myself to organizing my things and resting after the trip. They bring me the rifle that I was going to use. It was a Howa in 308. So far so good. I had heard good comments about the rifle and the caliber, it would not have been my first choice, I knew that it would fulfill the function without problems. But mounted on the rifle, he had a Chinese sight. Well ..... Practice the shooting positions and the necessary pressure for the trigger.
DAY 2: After noon, we put everything together, saddled the horses and went out. The place really is a dream. I didn't know if he was going to hunt, but being there was worth it. We stationed ourselves in a ravine, which was in a valley, to see if any deer crossed from mountain to mountain.
Nothing .... It starts to get dark so we hit the back, but by a different path from the one we went. After 15 minutes, when passing between two mountains, we see some deer. As we were on the horses, we had to pass quite quickly, so the only thing I saw were something brown, but the guide told me that there was a good male. We made a detour to the mountain to try to reach the top, but they had already left.
DAY 3: This time, instead of waiting for them on the valley, we stayed in one of the mountains. The arrival was quite complicated, and in more than a moment, when the horse stumbled on a rock and I looked down the mountain, my ass was filled with questions ...
Hours passed and nothing, until I don't know where they came from, we see 3 males and several females in a mountain. Two young men and one who seemed to be good:
It was not quite distinguishable, but it looked like a 12-point. We look at them for a while and see that they were coming to where we were, then we started to go down. We reached the top of the mountain that was between the deer and us. The idea was that they were going to continue on the bottom, so I was going to have a shot of 120 meters less, but downhill. In that, from the valley that was diagonally ours, a wild pig starts to run. We look at each other and think the same, he sniffed us. I kick up some ash and it was in a perfect line from where the wild pig came out. Then the deer somewhere will run away. Aim the rifle where in theory they had to go, but they go in the totally opposite direction to where we were. This was a few seconds. I faim with the rifle and the guide tells me to shoot the last one, which is 300 meters away. For me they are more far. Running, with a chinese sight and with a rifle with which I had not fired a simgle shot (I asked him and they told me it was not necessary because he was hitting in the center) I was not going to risk he was run injured. I put down the rifle and we saw the dust they left behind. We turn around and arrive at the house at night.
DAY 4: Of course I was wondering all day if I made the right decision, and I always came to the same conclusion. If it had been the last day, I was gambling, but with two days to go, I had done well not to shoot. We leave the ranch, and 300 meters from the house we see a deer! He was eating and didn't even realize we were there. It looked like a nice trophy. We approach 60 meters, aim to the shoulder and pull the trigger. It fell on the spot. When we arrived he was already dead. I could not believe it. This is the luck in the hunt! He has 12 point. One of the tips comes out back, so it is not seen in the photo. I have photos of the head that look good, after we process the meat, but I don't like to show these kinds of photos.
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