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Nilgai hunting basics in South Texas

24,490 Views | 32 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by phorizt
scottimus
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AG
Found a spot where they come down to the bay water, tons of tracks.

Advice on caliber and shot placement?
Field dressing or take it back whole?
Most of the meat edible?
Stalking distance?



cledus6150
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I would suggest a .30 cal of some sort or a 7mm at the very least. They are very rough animals, good luck stalking as they are known for there incredible eye sight. As far as how good they eat, well from what I have had it was very good.
Centerpole90
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So you are going to shoot them from the bay or you have property along the water?
lazuras_dc
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Definitely be careful. Very few places can you legally hunt that is public property. Use biggest caliber you can find (sort of joking) and hit em in the vitals like you would a deer. Nilgai taste fantastic. Make better ground meat than axis IMO
Deerdude
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I used a 300 wby but think a 30-06 with about a 180 gr bullet would work fine. I got up within 75 yards of mine no problem. Don't throw anything out. It's all amazing meat.
scottimus
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My bay duck hunting cove spot just so happens to be where they cross over to the other shore for grazing. It's about two feet at high tide but at low tide it gets down to inches.

I thinking of building a blind in the water and waiting one out. Tracks everywhere.
tx4guns
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They run. Always. Bad idea. It's gonna run back to dry land, private property, and you'll lose it. Just book a hunt if you want one that bad.
B-1 83
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quote:
Definitely be careful. Very few places can you legally hunt that is public property. Use biggest caliber you can find (sort of joking) and hit em in the vitals like you would a deer. Nilgai taste fantastic. Make better ground meat than axis IMO
Be careful on this advice. Like so many foreign plains species, their "vitals" are shoved forward. Make the common "whitetail heart shot", and you have gut shot it. The best shot is low shoulder or just low and in front.
lazuras_dc
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Heart shot in one appears to be a heart shot in the other. Yes lungs, liver and all that is a different story...you can see how the chest cavity is far more protruded on the nilgai in front of the legs.
lazuras_dc
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Just go for a head shot
GinMan
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Use a 300 Win Mag or more, shoot directly into the shoulder or a little higher. Second choice, spine shot. Eat the whole damn thing.

Nacho97
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^ Not a nilgai.
MasterAggie
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That is the funniest looking nilgai I've ever seen.
powerbelly
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Furlock Bones
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Ar15 fired in rapid succession.
carl spacklers hat
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Are you shooting a bull or a cow? I took a cow 3 or 4 years ago with a 30-06, 180 grain placed behind the shoulder quartering away. She made it maybe 20 yards into the brush. A mature bull nilgai is a different proposition.
Centerpole90
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Depending on which part of the RGV you live in please be mindful of where you carry the carcass or any part of the hide to. Everything along the coast down there is currently under quarantine for cattle fever ticks, but not all of the Valley is. Nilgai are hosts for fever ticks and have been a problem moving ticks across the Arroyo.
scottimus
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I pay enough in HOA fees to not hunt them in my back yard.

This is where I hunt ducks (the red star) with tracks abundant at the green stars.



Low tide shot


Those would be my tracks up top with what I am assuming are Nilgai hooves.


High tide shot
scottimus
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County Shoreline.

I am pretty sure it is county property.
scottimus
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Saw a .50 Cal black powder rifle with a scope for 250 at a pawnshop... thinking about pulling the trigger...twice.
GinMan
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I used to wade near that area when I was a kid. Once everything grew in development we didn't have access any more. My grandmother used to wade that area daily when they lived in Laguna Vista.
I am assuming the nilgai are straying from the refuge? Looks like legal land to me...
PipelinerTP
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Killed a cow three years ago, took (2) well placed shots with a 300 WinMag to bring her down. Compadre took a bull with a 300 RUM. Not one of our shots were pass through. Imagine shooting a 600 pound hog with long legs and incredible eye sight.

And as mentioned above, forget about tracking one of these. They will not leave a blood trail.
lazuras_dc
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quote:
^ Not a nilgai.

Poster before me said "Like so many foreign plains species, their "vitals" are shoved forward. "
I never claimed it was a nilgai. It was the first photo representation I came across that supported the point.
lazuras_dc
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Ok it did say Nilgai in the post. Long day
jswags
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Once you start shooting, don't stop until it falls. These are some extremely tough animals.

I've killed two Bulls with a .300 WSM and they both took mutliple shots. I shot another bull with a .325 which is the smallest caliber the King Ranch lets you hunt them with. It only took one shot but he still ran about 100 Yds.

Cows are a little easier to bring down but be ready to reload.
rwv2055
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Make sure to use premium ammo with a well constructed bullet. Trophy Bonded, Barnes tsx or the like. If you want a blood trail you need an exit wound and it takes a lot of gun to go all the way through a nilgai.
AgsMnn
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Where are there decently priced hunts?
MasterAggie
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quote:
Depending on which part of the RGV you live in please be mindful of where you carry the carcass or any part of the hide to. Everything along the coast down there is currently under quarantine for cattle fever ticks, but not all of the Valley is. Nilgai are hosts for fever ticks and have been a problem moving ticks across the Arroyo.
Is the "temporary" extended territory from the quarantine from last year still in effect or is the area different? The way they put the info out is usually fairly confusing.
Centerpole90
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Anything that was in effect is pretty much STILL in effect if not more. The whole of coastal Cameron Co is quarantined and licks of it now extend out as far as Rio Hondo and up FM 1420 into Willacy Co. The line as it stands now is some pastures East of 1420 are in but not every pastures up to FM 186. No ticks have been found along 186, but because of logistics some pastures are quarantined. If a tick is found, that pasture is quarantined, as are ADJACENT pastures. There are 5,000-8,000 ac pastures along the coast, or bigger; so it's become an unbelievable burden on a couple, if not one, large ranch. There's some cattle out there that deeply resent being worked 1x/yr & being on a 30-50 dipping day schedule is an insane pace that has been extremely hampered by the wet 2015.

Then there is the permanent zone along the Rio Grande river (Hidalgo/Starr) and actually parts of eastern Kleberg Co, I believe south of Vottman. That tick was traced, IIRC, from a Caneron Co cow that sold at Three Rivers last year.

TL;dr- it's not any better yet.
scottimus
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There are definitely quarantine signs in the Holly Beach area.
Centerpole90
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You live in the zone anyway, right? So no big deal, it's just something to consider for folks who don't.
hurricanejake02
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While I've rolled a young bull that was running, I've also seen a mature bull take several hits from a .308 and keep running down a fence line. Still ran another hundred yards after the shot that took it down.

If I'm looking at your setup correctly, I'd make sure I hit one coming away from land, because it's rare they stop quickly, and criminal trespass becomes a Class A Misdemeanor if you carry your rifle with you.
Wodanaz
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Bumping this one for shot placement info.
phorizt
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I will be killing a nilgai with a bow next week. Looking forward to it.
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