Red Stags, Social Revolutions and Corona Virus Qurantine in Argentina 11.23

Hunting For Red Stag in Argentina During a Pandemic
Show Notes:
It was about 10 years ago when I first started looking into doing a big hunt, but it took that long
to get everything lined up just right. I knew that I wanted to go to Argentina instead of a place
like New Zealand because I wanted to hunt for red stag. It wasn’t until I connected with my
friend Nico who owns an outfit down in Argentina that I could get everything pulled together, but
I never anticipated how a worldwide pandemic would impact all of my carefully made plans.
One of the reasons I chose Argentina is because red stag have been there longer, since the
1800s and the herds are almost native at this point. I prepared for shooting at deer and not elk,
but the bone structure of red stag is more dense than elk. I talk about how this impacted my
hunt with them and what I’d do differently next time.
It took us a little while to realize that we were caught between the pandemic, possible jail time in
Argentina for breaking the quarantine, and panic because the flights kept getting canceled. We
were a couple of hundred miles from Buenos Aires, and we had spotty wi-fi in the middle of the
day. Probably the most difficult part of this trip was how hard it was to communicate with the
outside world.
Since we were quarantined by the government, we decided to use this opportunity to go after
another stag. I had that stag fever, and you know how hard that is to shake once you’ve got it.
The ranch owner offered to let me shoot anything for $1,500, so we were all trying to make the
best out of the situation. However, nothing, and I mean nothing, worked out the way I planned.
I want to recognize all of the positive parts of this experience because it’s easy to focus on the
negative ones. People I hadn’t talked to in years contacted me to help us get out. I got my stag
that I’d always wanted. And despite everything, I would go back and do it again. It was an
amazing experience.
What’s Inside:
● If you like elk hunting, you’ll love red stag hunting, which was the entire reason I chose
Argentina.
● I share some of the unique challenges with red stag hunting.
● In spite of all of the craziness with the pandemic, we were still out there hunting trying to
take our minds off of things.
● So many people reached out to me to help us try to get out of Argentina when it looked
like all of the flights were canceled.
● Every step of the way, something new and crazy got thrown in our path.

Mentioned in this Episode:
Days in the Wild on itunes
Days in the Wild on Podbean
Phoenix Shooting Bags

Short Description:
With some time now between my big hunting trip to Argentina and my return to the States, I can
look back with some perspective on how everything went down. There were a hundred
unplanned, irritating things that happened, but also some amazing experiences that I will never
forget. I talk about my stag fever, the one that almost got away, and trying to get out of the
country when no airlines were flying. It was an unforgettable trip, in more ways than one.

Tags:
Argentina stag hunting, hunting in a pandemic, red stag hunting, South American hunts, hunting
trip of a lifetime, hunting during quarantine, big game hunting

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