SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURE SAFARIS

We Norteamericanos often aren’t aware of this, but Argentina is the world’s biggest destination for visiting hunters. Depends on the year; like everywhere else, business was down during Covid, up again now. Argentina hosts as many as 20,000 visiting hunters annually. That’s about the same number as total annual African hunting safaris, continent-wide. Second on the worldwide hunting market is South Africa, hosting about 8000 hunters annually.

Unlike Africa, in Argentina wingshooting is the big business. Her high-volume shooting for doves, wild pigeons, perdiz (partridge), and waterfowl is second to none. However, Argentina also hosts South America’s best and most varied big-game hunting. In my experience, Argentina has some of the world’s best (and most affordable) free-range red stag hunting, plus large numbers of free-range blackbuck and water buffalo. Then you have to dig around a bit, but Argentina also offers excellent hunting for axis and fallow deer, and other introduced species, plus native game, including brocket deer, capybara, and both collared and white-lipped peccary.

With such a large industry, Argentina has many great outfitters. And Argentina is a big country; no area offers everything. Many outfitters focus on bird hunting, others on red stag, but few offer the full range of Argentinean hunting. That’s one reason why we’re happy to have Marcelo Sodiro and South American Adventure Safaris as part of our CBEO family. More than 20 years ago I purchased one of his hunts at a Safari Club auction. We combined birds with big game, traveled by road to a couple different provinces. It was one of my best-ever hunts…anywhere. Naturally, I’ve been back several times, and as you’re reading this I’m headed to Argentina once again, hunting with Marcelo and his excellent team in Santa Fe Province, great place to combine birds and big game and, in April, to catch the red stag roar.

Argentina is a beautiful and friendly country, distinctly European in flavor. For we single-language Americans, English is widely spoken as a second language. My Spanish is terrible, but I’ve never had difficulty getting around in Argentina. It’s also a very safe country, and consistently on every list of countries “where the American dollar goes the farthest.” Justly famous for Malbec wine and excellent beef, Argentina is a great place to visit, as well as to hunt.

Great people, beautiful camps, fantastic food…and great game. That’s Marcelo Sodiro’s South American Adventure Safaris. I’m not sure how many times I’ve hunted with this outfit. I just hope this hunt isn’t my last Argentina Safari!