My experience of an Argo is limited to my annual trips to Scotland. Like a quad, it's a great tool in experienced hands. Sadly these experienced hands are not always at the controls
My lasting recollection of an Argo is being out on the 'flats' about 5 or 6 miles from the lodge (and with a socking great ridge between the two). It was the type of glorious day you only get in the Highlands, and the stalker and I had successfully grassed a stag after a long but enjoyable stalk. With the stalker having radio'd the 'argo jockey', we had time to lie on top of the peat hag and catch a few rays. After 30 minutes we could just hear the argo in the distance as it came over the rise. Over the following 45 minutes the noise got louder until the argo was not only audible but also clearly in sight. Another 15 minutes and it was less than half a mile away, the said argo jockey carefully negotiating his way towards us. Then......silence, followed by the stalker's immortal words "this doesn't sound good". Then we heard the plaintive cry from the jockey "I forgot to top up the fuel tank", followed by some very colourful Gaelic from the stalker! My foreign language skills are limited, but even I managed the translation
The only action was for the three of us to walk all the way back to the lodge, the argo jockey getting the occasional boot up the backside. When we got back to the lodge the stalker contacted the neighbouring estate, borrowed their argo, and went out and retrieved the deer - by this time in complete darkness. We couldn't pick up the original argo as it was too dark and the peat bogs too treacherous, so I walked back out the next day and drove it back.
I should have known better, as some years earlier the same argo jockey and I had gone out to pick up only the second red deer that I'd ever shot. Again it was a glorious day. We got out to the stag and loaded it into the argo, then deciding to get back to the lodge along one of the old pony tracks. Unfortunately it had ditches either side, so our progress was halted on a not infrequent basis as one set of wheels or the other dropped into the ditch, necessitating a lot of sweating and swearing to extract it. What should have been a 30 minute argo journey took us well over 2 hours.
Give me a quad any day
willie_gunn