Argentina Exporter Raided Trophies Seized

steve white said:

Surely NEW hunt trophies won't be part of this nightmare???

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From what I am hearing it seems to be hit or miss on people going now. Some are getting them and some are still waiting. But that’s just knowledge from people I have spoken too.

steve white said:

Surely NEW hunt trophies won't be part of this nightmare???

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They aren't part of what has been seized. However, it has created a bottleneck and increased scrutiny on the entire process. So, while future hunted trophies are not directly involved with the seizure, they will be impacted by the fallout from it.

steve white said:

Surely NEW hunt trophies won't be part of this nightmare???

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I would be very cautious about the use of the word "surely" in relation to any aspect of international hunting.
Best
Spike

I was on the phone today regarding our trophies from last spring for a group of 10 hunters. Our crates were in the warehouses that were seized by the govt due to legal issues with the exporter. Our outfitter was able to get all of our crates and pull them out of the warehouse mess. Now we are being asked to comply with some new govt regs like proving we had flown into the country, etc. Now that the govt has gotten involved further, I'm wondering what the extra charges will be. It's a mess a year after the trip.

Green Chile said:

I was on the phone today regarding our trophies from last spring for a group of 10 hunters. Our crates were in the warehouses that were seized by the govt due to legal issues with the exporter. Our outfitter was able to get all of our crates and pull them out of the warehouse mess. Now we are being asked to comply with some new govt regs like proving we had flown into the country, etc. Now that the govt has gotten involved further, I'm wondering what the extra charges will be. It's a mess a year after the trip.

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I desperately want to hunt Argentina. I was ready to pull the ticket last year but was still hearing horror stories about trophies getting exported and decided to head back to Namibia. I am not regretting my decision so far lol

I hunted stag during the peak of the roar last March. The trophies were supposed to ship last July but didn't. Then there were some emails between the Lodge and Coppersmith in September that indicated they were ready to ship. I sent an email yesterday and the reply said they don't know when they will be released by the Government. Great lodge, hunt, and animals but I would have put the hunt off for a year and gone back to Africa in '25 had I known.

It’s unfortunate that the post hunt experience isn’t very good. That can affect people’s decision to return. Argentina deserves better than that. I’ve seen several reports that indicate Argentina receives more foreign hunters than Africa does each year. Lots of bird hunters.

Green Chile said:

It’s unfortunate that the post hunt experience isn’t very good. That can affect people’s decision to return. .........

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or to go to Argentina in the first place. The headache is not worth the trouble to many.

Green Chile said:

It’s unfortunate that the post hunt experience isn’t very good. That can affect people’s decision to return. Argentina deserves better than that. I’ve seen several reports that indicate Argentina receives more foreign hunters than Africa does each year. Lots of bird hunters.

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You are exactly right. I have a ticket with COPA Airlines due to a canceled peacock bass trip that I have to use before November. I was thinking about going back to Argentina for a water buffalo since Algar didn't have any really good ones but I won't until Argentina gets the trophy export process sorted out. Argentina hasn't gotten under my skin like Africa has but I would definitely go back

The other part of Argentina that needs resolved is not being able to bring in your own gun. Technically you can but many don't recommend it as you could easily have long delays to find the right govt official, miss your charter flight, etc. It used to be easy but not anymore. Someone is missing an opportunity to start up a Rifles Permit type company like Henry in Africa.

Green Chile said:

The other part of Argentina that needs resolved is not being able to bring in your own gun. Technically you can but many don't recommend it as you could easily have long delays to find the right govt official, miss your charter flight, etc. It used to be easy but not anymore. Someone is missing an opportunity to start up a Rifles Permit type company like Henry in Africa.

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Time-
Consuming indeed.
It seems that.. on average...the process eats up about 1 1/2 hrs upon arrival...and longer for departure.
For some reason, where we "need to go next" is always at the far remote "other end" of the B A airport.
Also, the firearm permit process can often trigger other time-consuming processes as they KNOW you were hunting.
Our last trip, after having FINALLY received our shotguns, we were sent to ANOTHER checkpoint (yep...other end of airport) for further more in-depth inspection. The shotguns, our luggage (I'm assuming to check for birds,feathers, stray ammo, etc)...THEN... we were asked to produce any footware that we used while hunting. Subject footware was then inspected and cleaned of any dirt, mud, seeds, and grasses. At that point we were permitted to proceed to our gate...with gun cases and luggage in tow...at (you guessed it)...the OTHER end of the airport.
The entire gun retrieval process, from soup to nuts, took a hair over 2 hours.
We have come to the conclusion that it's best, easiest, and fastest, to just bite the bullet and shoot the Outfitters guns, and shrug off the unfamiarity and attendant malfunctions.
Best
Spike

I have kindly suggested to our outfitter that they give the current guns to the guides and order a dozen basic rifles of something standard like 30-06...and a couple of 375s for the buffalo. They could put the same scopes on all of it and have 2 calibers of ammo on hand instead of random boxes of all types and bullet weights. From what they charge for rentals and ammo, they could easily pay that off in 1 season or less. As it is, the optics are all over the place...many different random calibers...and partial boxes of ammo that can only be used by a few guns instead of standardizing their rental guns. When I used their 375, they couldn't find ammo for 3 days and then came up with 3 cartridges only. I couldn't even check the sights before hunting buffalo. Argentina is beautiful but some of the operations need a tune up.

Green Chile said:

I have kindly suggested to our outfitter that they give the current guns to the guides and order a dozen basic rifles of something standard like 30-06...and a couple of 375s for the buffalo. They could put the same scopes on all of it and have 2 calibers of ammo on hand instead of random boxes of all types and bullet weights. From what they charge for rentals and ammo, they could easily pay that off in 1 season or less. As it is, the optics are all over the place...many different random calibers...and partial boxes of ammo that can only be used by a few guns instead of standardizing their rental guns. When I used their 375, they couldn't find ammo for 3 days and then came up with 3 cartridges only. I couldn't even check the sights before hunting buffalo. Argentina is beautiful but some of the operations need a tune up.

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Makes waaaaaay too much sense amigo...
never happen.
Cheers
Spike

Hunted March of 24. Still no trophies

steve white said:

Surely NEW hunt trophies won't be part of this nightmare???

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That's what I thought when I went last March and this had been going on for a couple years.

It has certainly caught last year's trophies including my own. It's unknown how this year will be affected but the backlog to work through is extensive.