Hunting Trips in Argentina
Argentina has been a very popular hunting destination for many, many years. This is due to its wide range of huntable species, fairly mild temperatures year-round, and a variety of climates, geographies, and habitats. Argentina's big game hunting has become especially popular. According to many hunters, Argentina offers some of the best free-range red stag hunting in the world. Being the second largest country in South America, there is no shortage of land to explore and wildlife to hunt.
History of Hunting in Argentina
People began to settle in Argentina hundreds of years ago. The original settlers were mostly from Peru, but people from Spain soon followed around the 16th century. Years after that, European settlers arrived and brought their hunting strategies along with them. They also brought more species of animals from their previous homes in the early 1900s, putting native Argentinian species at less risk of overhunting. Several native species are still huntable today including brocket deer, cougar, capybara, white-lipped peccary, and collared peccary. Some of the non-native species that are still hunted in Argentina today are the water buffalo, wild boar, red stag deer, fallow deer, Peré David’s deer, Axis deer, blackbuck antelope, and mouflon. Modern-day destination hunting as we know it in Argentina started with dove hunting and then grew to larger game hunting. Argentina even became more lenient on dove hunting laws, especially with out-of-country hunters in an attempt to keep down the dove population. This was a much more efficient way to do this rather than their previous flawed plan of poisoning the doves, as this method proved to be doing more harm than good since it would consequently end up poisoning other species as well, which was not the intent.
Hunting Supplies Needed
There are some essential items to bring along with you to make for a more efficient and comfortable hunting experience. You want to make sure you do your research on the weather and climate specific to the hunting area you are traveling to. As Argentina is known for its wide range of climates from the Northern to Southern ends of the country, the weather may vary greatly from one part of the country to another. Bringing layers is always a good idea and a way to ensure you are prepared for a range of temperatures, especially since daytime and nighttime temperatures can be quite different. Some recommended clothing items include lightweight waterproof boots, a camo jacket, a lightweight jacket, a wader for duck hunting, light shooting gloves, plenty of extra socks, shooting glasses or sunglasses, and shoulder pads to ease recoil and mounting strains. In addition to the glasses for eye protection, you will need ear protection as well. An earpiece can prevent damage to your hearing from high-volume shooting. Many hunting trip packages offer the option for gun rentals, which is usually a good idea to take advantage of when traveling far distances and on airplanes. Traveling with guns and bringing guns into an airport can be a security headache, so this is a very convenient feature of a package that will also lighten the load you have to travel with.
Species to Hunt in Argentina
Red stag hunting is very popular in Argentina as the red stag is one of the largest deer species in the world and Argentina has the best free-range red stag hunting there is. Argentina Dove hunting is also extremely popular, given the situation with the overpopulation of doves in Argentina and the encouragement the government gave to hunters to hunt the doves. There are a few other kinds of deer frequently hunted in Argentina, including Whitetails, Fallows, Brocket, and Axis deer. Blackbuck hunting is another big category in Argentinian hunting. This is a small kind of antelope, only weighing about 90 pounds, that is native to India. The European wild boar and European Mouflon are also big hunting attractions in Argentina. A few more include the cougar, capybara, peccary, and feral goat and for some additional wing shooting, there are pigeons, perdiz, and ducks.
It is no wonder Argentina is a top hunting destination with its amazing land and wildlife. According to many world-traveling hunters, hunting trips to Argentina is truly an unforgettable experience. No matter what kind of hunting you are into, there is something for you in Argentina. Big game hunting, bird hunting, and fishing are all options that will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.