bradyhunt
Lil-Rokslider
It has been my repeated experience in Argentina that deception is the play of the day.
I can only say to be very diligent in your research of outfitter. Find references and press them for true experience and read between the lines.
Often the outfitters will have a free range area almost devoid of deer. If they don't convince you to shoot one in the estate for a trophy fee, you may come across a big stag that just happens to be outside the "estate" fence. Clearly he's a wild stag who came there because of the deer rutting in the pen. You can shoot him, ah but he's much too big for what you paid for your average expected free range stag, and you'll still have to pay a trophy fee. But hey, he's free range! (No way he was kicked out of the estate hours earlier so this scenario could play out) Looking at going home empty handed or paying another 5k+, you decide to go for it. Surprisingly it's not all that difficult for you to get into range and get him killed.
True free range red deer down there that I've encountered have been few and far between, very leery, and in landscape that makes them very difficult to stalk into rifle range let alone archery. Not to mention very small trophies, which isn't a concern. I'd much rather kill fair chase raghorn than any monster reared in a pen.
I can only say to be very diligent in your research of outfitter. Find references and press them for true experience and read between the lines.
Often the outfitters will have a free range area almost devoid of deer. If they don't convince you to shoot one in the estate for a trophy fee, you may come across a big stag that just happens to be outside the "estate" fence. Clearly he's a wild stag who came there because of the deer rutting in the pen. You can shoot him, ah but he's much too big for what you paid for your average expected free range stag, and you'll still have to pay a trophy fee. But hey, he's free range! (No way he was kicked out of the estate hours earlier so this scenario could play out) Looking at going home empty handed or paying another 5k+, you decide to go for it. Surprisingly it's not all that difficult for you to get into range and get him killed.
True free range red deer down there that I've encountered have been few and far between, very leery, and in landscape that makes them very difficult to stalk into rifle range let alone archery. Not to mention very small trophies, which isn't a concern. I'd much rather kill fair chase raghorn than any monster reared in a pen.