The Andes buck, odocoileus virginianos USTUS.

[HUAINAMACHERO]

After several days of planning for a three day horseback and backpack hunt in the Andes I made it happen. We got it to the hunting spot after a 15 mile (5 hour) horseback trip. This hunt took place at an average altitude of 12000 feet. The whitetail deer we have here is a subspecie of whitetail called Odocoileus virginianus USTUS, almost the same thing, they just dont get as big as in the States. The first afternoon I spoted a group of three deer, one buck and 2 does, at around 900 yards, and I cant shoot that far accurately so I tried to close in the distance but they were feeding near wild cattle, and the cattle moved away and the deer runned away with them, but suddenly they changed direction and started walking and feeding towards where I was. They came out of sight at around 500 yards and popped back up in a little hill at exactly 260 yards. I got ready for the shot, range the buck at 247 yards, and squeezed one shot out of my 270 Win, Winchester Mod 70, rifle, muzzle velocity 2890 fps, accubond 140 grain, that hit him in the boiler room, DRT!!!.

Not the biggest buck around but the hunt was fun. I hunted hard for two more days and saw 20 more deer, no other big bucks, just little bucks, does and fawns. I also spotted 3 different Spectacled Bears, nice critters, they are considered an endangered specie. Anyway, nice hunting trip, hope you enjoy the pics.

 

[HUAINAMACHERO]

Some more pics:

 

[kiwi3006]

Nice country, and a nice buck. How do you like the Eberlestock?

Stu.

 

[HUAINAMACHERO]

I love the Eberlestock pack.
It is one of the best item of equipment I have ever bought in my life.
Fits me perfectly. With almost 50 pounds of weight in it, it carries very good, and all the different gadgets it has are awesome. I just love it. Wouldnt change it for anything.

 

[Ignacio Borja95]

Love the pictures, they show that it was a pretty nice hunt. its a nice buck, i miss hunting with you i hope we can go out and get one the two of us and have an amazing adventure.
Congratulations for the buck. Big hug. gun)

 

[royinidaho]

Nice hunt and buck!

Very interested in the pics of the horses.

Sheepskin pads between the butt and the saddle. Must help with sweating!

The pack appears to have been fastened to a regular saddle of the type on the other two steeds?

Also the packer wasn't too particular about using the diamond hitch.

Also noticed the boots you were wearing. Didn't look like leather? Was it wet?

I don't mean to be picky. Just observing how things are down in that area.

I was also pleased to see that you know your limits and stayed within your confident shooting distance.

Also those bear are pretty nifty looking. Did you ever think of packing a spray can of black paint and removing the spectacles?

 

[HUAINAMACHERO]

Roy,
Thanks for the comments, glad to answer all your questions.
Sheepskin pads make the ride a little softer, specially for long rides. It is usually cold there, around 40 - 50 F, so they help a bit. The days I hunted where hotter, I cant control the weather yet.
The packs where indeed tied to a regular saddle, I dont have a special saddle for packs, what do you use???
The boots I use there are just plain rubber boots, it is very wet and muddy, little swamps all over the area, any other type of boots and you have a good chance of getting your feet wet which is not a good idea, specially when cold. I do put some inner paddings in the boots to make them more comfortable when you walk. They are very popular here in the people that live in the highlands and they are very expensive 6 dollars a pair, not kidding
Those bears are nice, they are supposed to be an endangered specie, I am not so sure about that, but because of that fact I prefer not to hunt them. I saw 3 of them in those days, they are very shy and scared of humans. But they are a pretty critter.
Take care Roy, I upgraded my rifle and I am grouping much better, thanks for the tips. I posted it on the Gun Photos forum.

 

[kcebcj]

Thanks for posting your hunt. I find it very interesting to see how it's done in different parts of the world. One thing for sure though when you put horse's, rifles and deer in the same area one is usually having fun.

I take it the bear there are not too aggressive kinda like the black bear here in the northwest?