BIG GAME HUNTING: Argentina - Esquina

From our hunting ranch in Argentina, we access several large tracks of private property where big game animals come and go unrestrained.   All our free range, big game hunts are either still hunts or spot and stock hunts.   The main big game species we hunt are Water Buffalo, Brocket Deer, Wild Boar and Capybara. 

Asiatic Water Buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis)
The Water Buffalo inhabiting the Paraná River Delta and surrounding region were introduced years ago. However, they are an unfavorable livestock and were either let go or they escaped. Today there are an untold number of these wild animals scattered across the province. Water Buffalo Herds have no boundaries or fences; however, they do tend to remain in specific areas, which is often private property and near water.

These bulls average 2,100lbs, 2.7 meters long, 1.7 meters tall. They are every bit as aggressive and dangerous as their cousin the African Cape Buffalo. Our method for hunting them is spot and stalk. Shots are taken anywhere from 30-100 yards. We recommend nothing smaller then 375 H&H. The Water Buffalo can be hunted all year with very high success rates and a limit of 1 per season per hunter.

Gray Brocket Deer (Mazama gouazoubira)
The Gray Brocket Deer’s native range is southern Central America to northern Argentina. They can be found in dry or swampy areas but are mainly found on the edges of thick scrub forests. They stand about 90 cm long, 70 cm tall and average 30-45 pounds. The males have spike antlers reaching no more than 10 cm and they shed them every one or two years.

What makes Brocket Deer hunting so exciting is the challenge of just getting a shot. These weary animals have keen hearing and smell making them hard to find. Usually they are seen up against a thick forest edge where they will quickly disappear the moment they sense danger. This gives the hunter only seconds to get a shot off. Usually in a full day still hunting with rifles or bows, we’ll see three to four Brocket Deer. Brocket Deer season is from May 1-August 31 and has a limit of 1 per season per hunter. Success rates are moderate to high.

Axis Deer (Cervus axis)
Axis Deer are native to India and Sri Lanka but are also found in other countries. They are widely distributed in various parts of central and northern Argentina. The Axis Deer live in large herds of 10 to 50 individuals where males, females young and old mix. They are able to do this because males and females can go into rut or heat at any time of the year. Frequently the leader of these herds is an older female. Dominant males have hardened antlers which are 3 pronged and can grow to 45 cm. Axis Deer are about 125 cm long, 100 cm tall, and weight about 120 pounds.

Fly Fishing Patagonia only hunts free range animals and Axis Deer are no exception. We hunt them by both still hunting and spot and stalk. Axis Deer can be hunted all year with a moderate to high success rate and a limit of 1 per season per hunter.

Wild Boar and Peccary
All domesticated and wild pigs developed in the eastern hemisphere, while truly wild boars, commonly called javelina, are native to the western hemisphere. Our wild boar come in 2 forms, wild and truly wild. The wild boars are feral pigs that are so far removed from their domesticated ancestors they no longer look like domestic hogs, but they still can grow to a similar size. They come in varying colors but most are black. In Argentina we have two kinds of Javelina, Collared Peccary and White-Lipped Peccary.

The size difference is a quick way to tell the difference between a wild boar and Javelina or Peccary. Wild boars can reach 150 pounds or more and a Peccary reaching barely half that size. Peccary have more color variations and wild boars are mostly black. Also Peccary have four-hoofed front toes and three-hoofed hind toes, plus they don’t have dew claws like pigs. The canine teeth of Javelina grow vertically rather than away from the face like in boars or pigs.

Our boar hunts are usually conducted via still hunting at almost anytime of the day, but we usually see more at dawn, dusk hours or even at night. Wild Boar is more common than Peccary. Both can be hunted year round with high succcess rates for wild boar and moderate success rates for Peccary. They both have a limit of 2 per season per hunter.

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)
Capybara or carpincho, inhabit the warmer, wet regions of South America. Although they sometime occupy dry forest lands, they usually live near semi aquatic environments such as flooded grasslands and marshes.

Capybara are the largest of the rodent family, standing about 60 cm high at the shoulder and about 1 meter in length. Average weight is 80 pounds with females being larger than males. These animals depend on living in groups for survival and will quickly retreat to the water when alarmed. The trick to hunting them is a stead stock, sometimes on your stomach, trying to get within 80 yards. This is no easy feat as a human crawling on his stomach looks a lot like the Caiman, the Capybara’s number on predator. Once these animals retreat to the water, they subface every five minutes or so exposing the eyes and nose which are located on the top of the head, giving the hunter a roughtly 2”x8” target. With only the eyes and nose exposed, the last challenge comes in deciphering which animal was the individual you had picked out from the now submerged herd.

Capybara is probably the best tasting wild game in Argentina. They can be hunted year round with high success rates and a limit of 1 animal per season per hunter.