H o w T o M a k e Massey-Styied Broadheads Iraditionat 93709 Feb/Mar2014 $5.99 DISPLAY UNTIL March Oar Fascination witli the Longbow ackpack and Backcountry Bowlianting O n Christmas Eve, my son lifted his wine glass, stated he had resigned his job as a mechanical engineer, and announced that he was riding his dirt bike from Albany, Oregon to Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina. At the time I was only concerned about his safety, but then I thought about meeting him at the end of his quest. He had started a website and blog, and when he had access to Wi-Fi I could contact him. I broached the topic of connecting with him in Buenos Aires and tying in a bit of bowhunting. He said to go for i t , and soon thereafter I was in contact with Neil Summers of Bowhunting Safari Consultants. My son's journey would end the first week of June. Neil advised that the good deer hunting would be over then, but that chasing Asiatic water buffalo had a significant chance of success. He then put me in contact with previous traditional travelers to his concession such as Dale Karch, Denny Sturgis, and our own Don Thomas for their advice. When we think of "Down Under," most of U S imagine New Zealand or Australia. There is a significantly closer área to hunt red and fallow deer, as well as water buffalo, below the equator That place is Argentina. The buffalo were introduced there in 1895, about 70 years after their reléase in Australia. The Australian buffalo carne from Indonesia while the Argentine variety was a subspecies from India, henee the difference in horn configuration. Asiatic buffalo tend to be taller and heavier than Cape buffalo, and although perhaps not quite as aggressive, my guide was packing a .458 caliber rifle for protection, as they can become quite belligerent when wounded. I would go hunting for five days, while my wife would connect with my son and enjoy the wonders of Buenos Aires, where I would join them at the end of my pursuit. We arrived at the airport after traveling all night from Atlanta and met my guide, Juan. Fortunately, he spoke fluent English, as my Spanish is limited to rudimentary medical lingo. We now had a four-hour drive to the 25,000-acre ranch I would be hunting. The countryside was intriguing. Despite the 250 miles we covered, the horizons were completely flat and the land was devot- The Toro Tango By Tom Vanasche ed to agricultural activities. Corn was still standing, and soybeans were being harvested. I could only imagine what i t would look like i f they introduced pheasants and whitetails. This área is called the "Pampas". When the Spaniards arrived, i t was covered i n grass with barely a tree to be seen. I presume i t looked somewhat like our Nebraska and Kansas 300 years ago, minus the bison. Apparently there were some nativo deer present, but the new arrivals brought cattle, crops, and eventually some of their nativo game animáis from Europe. Juan was a true pleasure to be with and was able to edúcate me about the land, history, and culture of his country. Upon arrival, we settled in to a typical Argentine lunch: a thick Angus steak. After putting my recurve together, I shot a bit as we would begin hunting that evening. Looking at the terrain, I was getting excited. The book 1,000 P l a c e s to See Befare You D i e by Patricia Schultz contains a description of the Estancia Acelain, the property we were hunting. There is a magnificent mansión there that is essentially a family-owned museum. Built in the early 1900s, it is filled with centuries-old antiques from the homeland in Spain, and Juan gave me a detailed tour. We would have our own sepárate quarters in an adjoining facility named Cerro Indio. Soon i t was evening, and we were off to hunt the gorgeous surrounding grounds. Originally there had been no trees there, though now the countryside was filled with pines, eucalyptus, and many other species unfamiliar to me. The trees and skies were full of the doves and pigeons that were constantly bursting out of the cover. Open agricultural fields were interspersed with woodlots, brush, and creeks. I t was not unlike terrain I have hunted in Illinois or Kansas. As we walked along, evidence of pig rooting was everywhere, as well as frequent tracks of various deer species. Traditional Bowhunter® Feb/Mar 2014 19 View from Estancia Pampas of A c e l a i n , in the Argentina. Full Retail Afchery Traditional Shop LARGEST SELECTION OF NEW & USED BOWS Over 2 8 Years of Service FREECATALOG Register o n i i n e to r e c e i v e newsletters and promotions 888-288-7581 5510Hw^.63Noiíli Rochester, MN 55906 www.footedshaftllc.com 20 The author crossing a field after arrowing him. That evening, we stumbled upon 20 fallow deer i n five different groups, the majority seeing us first and nothing presenting a shot. The female deer were grouped up, and the males had largely disappeared with the r u t being well over. We saw no buffalo that night. In the morning we explored a different área of the Estancia, covering a few miles on foot and finally discovering a lone bull out i n the open. We circled to get the wind and began a long crawl. What had been a single animal turned into a small herd with many eyes. Though we had the wind, we were eventually spotted at 60 yards, and the game was soon over. However, we had pushed them out of the open, and they headed for a wooded área. An hour later, we were positioned i n an ambush site near a mud hole that the buffalo frequented. I had hidden under a tree with a large rock hiding my right side. It was necessary to break a few small limbs to open a shooting lañe, but I was i n a near perfect spot, darkened i n the shade of the tree. By some great stroke of luck, the herd proceeded past me. When the bull was broadside at 16 yards, I came to draw, fully confident, and released. The k a whack that followed was not the sound of an arrow striking ribs, but of my top limb hitting a one-inch branch above me, which caused the shaft to fly harmWWW.TRADB0W.COM a buffalo in the trees behind lessly over the bull's back. Juan whispered to aim lower, as he did not know what had happened. The bull jumped a few feet and stared under the tree, but could not make me out as Juan fondled the .458. I had quickly reloaded and launched another 700grain arrow with the bull perhaps a yard farther away. I t struck just behind the left shoulder, halfway up the chest. A death shot was my initial thought, but then to my horror the shaft seemed to have achieved only a few inches of penetration. At this point the herd busted out through a brush patch and into an open field. The bull lagged behind 100 yards and then stopped. The arrow was no longer in him, but he had definitely slowed down, and we were hopeful. I h i t an elk like this once and thought I had no significant penetration, when in fact the arrow had hit the far shoulder and bounced back out. Could this have occurred again? Gonzalo Llambi, the owner and outfitter, had been checking on us by horseback from afar and joined up to advise. He thought he had observed significant bleeding from the wound, as he had been watching with his binoculars from a different angle. I n the interim the buffalo had laid down, but after an hour his head remained up and he looked very much alive. After further discussion, the three of us agreed that I should try The author and his water to get another arrow i n him. From our vantage i n the trees, he seemed to be about 30 yards out i n the open field. However, once I had crawled to the end of my cover, i t appeared that he was at least 50 yards farther. I n the interim, Gonzalo had saddled up and moved out of the trees into the open a few hundred yards below me to distract the massive black beast. The bull kept watching the horse, which allowed me to get into position. At this point with nothing to lose and an arrow already i n the bull, I was willing to take the long shot. He was getting nervous about the horse as well, and now had stood up. My arrows were quite heavy for this expedition and I don't practice this shot, but I held about two feet over his back and released. What a beautiful flight, as i t arced up and then down, penetrating 23 inches into his right chest at midpoint. Don't ask me to repeat this shot. I thought for sure this would anchor him, but i t was not to be. He caught up with his herd and ran another 200 yards buffalo. before stopping, as they continued on over the low-lying hills. Once again I thought he was done. As we observed him another 45 minutes, he remained motionless and seemed to stagger a bit. He then walked off stridently i n the direction of his cows, seemingly uninjured after two apparent death blows. We followed several hundred yards behind, able to keep track of him with our binoculars i n the now wide-open countryside that he had chosen. After a bit, he seemed to settle down and no longer moved, though he remained alert. Juan said i t was time for lunch, and we would leave him for a few hours. A gaucho was stationed to watch from afar and notify us i f he started to move again. After an uneasy meal, we returned two hours later. The bull was still standing and had come part way back to where we had last stood observing him. His head was down however, and his prior alert posture was absent. There was just a bit of cover for an Traditional Bowhunter® Feb/Mar 2014 B U F F A L O S P E C S ' ~ "BRACE HEiGHT: 7 - 8 " I w _ í-^ ' . RISÉR LENGTU<-1 9 " BOWLENGTH:60"oRe2" MAabVvEIGHT: 3 . 2 LBS. TRADITION 21 approach, and I took i t . The wind was good, and I came up from straight behind him. As he seemed to be totally unaware, I kept moving forward. When I was at 20 yards, he staggered and went down, although again his head remained up. He did not have much left, and i t ended when I sent a shaft diagonally through him, behind the left ribs, through the liver and right lung. I certainly am not a fan of prolonged recoveries, and I would have to rethink pursuing these large creatures with my current equipment. These animáis have a reputation for not going down easily, and i t is well deserved. I thought I was prepared with 700-grain arrows coming from a 63# bow. I have killed African eland and Alaskan moose with one shot from lighter equipment. On autopsy, my first arrow had only gone in about six inches, stopping after center-punching a rib, even though i t was a single bevel two-blade head. The second shaft went in 23 inches with a three-blade head, between the ribs. The third had completely traveled through the abdomen and chest, not affected by the rib cage. These are very large animáis, and this Trip Notes Should you wish to inquire about this área, contact Neil Summers at Bowhunting Safari Consultants 1-800833-9777. Gonzalo and Juan have their own website at: [email protected]. buffalo seemed significantly heavier than the two species mentioned above. The fact that he only succumbed five hours after the initial shot attests to their remarkable toughness. With the buffalo hunt over, I had set aside a day for wing-shooting. Though it is a different story, suffice it to say that if you should go to Argentina, plan a bird hunt as well. You may have heard of the phenomenal dove and pigeon hunting there, but the duck and partridge hunting is simply amazing as well. The following day we drove another three hours to the southwestern mountains, where Gonzalo has an additional 25,000-acre parcel for free ranging axis, red, and fallow deer. I only had that evening and the next morning to hunt, as I had to leave early to keep the peace with my wife. This was completely different country, and though the vegetation was of different species, you might as well have been in eastern Montana or Wyoming. Here i t was rocky with high hills, creeks, and open grasslands. The deer were plentiful, but I could not get closer than 50 yards as they were grouped up with many eyes. It froze the following morning, and we were greeted with four large red stags and their harems roaring back and forth, echoing across the mountain. Juan and Gonzalo had never seen this activity so late in the year, as the r u t was over two months earlier, and they assumed that the freeze had set them roaring again. It was a good send off for me as well, and left a lingering fond memory of my hunt there. Now i t was time for a long drive back to reconnect with my family, spectacular Argentine cuisine, and a three-hour tango extravaganza with my wife. F r e q u e n t c o n t r i b u t o r Tom Vanasche U v e s in A l b a n y , O r e g o n , w h e r e h e w o r k s a s an e m e r g e n c y room p h y s i c i a n , b r e e d s t h e world's greatest Labrador r e t r i e v e r s , and g i v e s tango ¡essons. Equipment Note On this hunt, Tom carried a Norm Johnson Blacktail recurve at 63#. He shot both ABowyer 2-blade, single bevel broadheads with inserts totaling 300 grains and DIB Archery 290gr. 3-blade GreenMeanie heads. Shafts were DIB Archery Comatoso 300 with 125-grain brass outserts, for a total weight of 704 grains with 30% FOC. - R l - . l - : l.íll l i n e c a t a l o ¿ : Pampa, i X 79065 • l=ax (8|)6) 6 6 5 - 3 0 3 5 l a i n s t c g v . c o m ji^éi . 5 22 WWW.TRADB0W.COM