Texas Nilgai - Rifle choices

[MedRiver]

I have zero experience to contribute, just want to say that I have enjoyed this thread and appreciate the experience that has been shared.

I built my .358 Norma with Nilgai in mind. It shoots a 225 TSX really well and the 250 NPT almost as well. Sounds like all I need is some snake chaps and a bigger ice chest.

 

[archer36]

Be careful of any American Hunting Guide. They are usually part time and not well paid. You may think they have lots of hunting experience but it's not necessarily the case. Now Professional Hunters (PH) in Africa is a different story. They actually go to school to earn that designation. In the U.S., anyone can be a "guide". Also, PH's see 100's of animals of all sorts get killed every year. Compare that to a gude in North America. Hunts are usually for one species and one animal limit. Just my 2 cents.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

It sounds like you are hunting with Tony Medina as he is the only Nilgai guide I know of that says Barnes would be bad because it goes all the way through?

Sounds like he’s in the boat of “if it exits then it’s not dumping it energy in the animal”.
Which we know is small brain thinking.

Do you know about the property you are hunting? Make sure you know what a mature bull looks like as many guides just have you shoot a bull to get paid.

• You will be pleased to know that I am NOT hunting with Tony (whoever he is?). Apparently , my guide did graduate from the same school or had the same or similar mentors, lol.
• My guide does hold the belief that if the bullet exits, it has not dumped all of its energy. I get that, as I used to think the same way. I have since grown up a bit and understand well the need for quality bullets that punch deep or thru the animal. I find it laughable that about any rifle from 300wm and larger will punch thru a Nilgai for all but frontal shots regardless of the bullet used.
• I have never been to this particular ranch but I do know the terrain in that part of Texas and how to id a mature bull as well as tell a cow from a bull. I do not need the guide to be a trained African PH to do a good job. I could hunt them on my own if they would let me. Having a local guide who knows the terrain and the animal traits is still a big help as well as to aid recovery of the downed animals and transport to the skinning shed.

Thx for the advice and inputs.

 

[lionofluangwa]

After years of experience, I would never hunt a Nilgai with anything less than a .375. I have a personal ranch off of Hwy 281 and my kids and family hunt them regularly and we lose more Nilgai shooting them with a .300 or lesser calibers than anything else. If you shoot a Nilgai with anything less than a .375, please shoot for the head. This way, you aren't wasting time when you hit one in the shoulder with a .300 or similar caliber and cant find it as they bleed very little to nothing so you won't be able to track it.

 

[dchum]

After years of experience, I would never hunt a Nilgai with anything less than a .375. I have a personal ranch off of Hwy 281 and my kids and family hunt them regularly and we lose more Nilgai shooting them with a .300 or lesser calibers than anything else. If you shoot a Nilgai with anything less than a .375, please shoot for the head. This way, you aren't wasting time when you hit one in the shoulder with a .300 or similar caliber and cant find it as they bleed very little to nothing so you won't be able to track it.

I’d say this is a bit of an overreaction. Head shots only if not .375

I’ve professionally guided just under 60 Nilgai hunts on the King ranch. And a dozen on my personal family ranch.

My camp/loaner rifle offer was a 300 win with 180ttsx.
If you double lung them they die. Pretty simple.

Of course bigger is better for those quarter away or hard quarter to shots.

 

[lionofluangwa]

I’d say this is a bit of an overreaction. Head shots only if not .375

I’ve professionally guided just under 60 Nilgai hunts on the King ranch. And a dozen on my personal family ranch.

My camp/loaner rifle offer was a 300 win with 180ttsx.
If you double lung them they die. Pretty simple.

Of course bigger is better for those quarter away or hard quarter to shots.

To each their own...... We kill 50 Nilgai a year off our ranch and have for 20 years. I know a little bit about this topic but fire away amigo. You are for sure misleading people saying that .300s are bonafide killers of Nilgai. That is just not accurate.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I have hunted nilgai twice, so by no means an expert. Shot one with a 300 WM and one with a 338 WM. Both one shot kills that didn't go far, no they weren't head shots.

 

[dchum]

To each their own...... We kill 50 Nilgai a year off our ranch and have for 20 years. I know a little bit about this topic but fire away amigo. You are for sure misleading people saying that .300s are bonafide killers of Nilgai. That is just not accurate.

You and your crew might not be the best shots

No antelope can survive a double lung shot, with any caliber…. 4 total holes in the lungs or 2 in each = dead

 

[gizmo]

My 2c as a Texas hunting outfitter. Shoot the biggest rifle you can accurately shoot. 300 WM is a great starting point but I like 9.3 or 375 even better. They are absolutely tough and it’s not just feathers being blown up the preverbal arse. I’ve seen them eat some pretty big rounds and shake them off.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

This is one of the great things about his forum. The amount of experience and knowledge that can be gained or shared is immense. Thank You.

I especially appreciate the inputs and comments from actual Texas Outfitters, Ranch owners and very experienced hunters who have taken multiple Nilgai over the years. I realize that the Nilgai is tough to track due to small or no blood trail, tall grass etc, and is tough enough to run a good distance before expiring from say a double lung or heart/lung shot. I also know that tough antelope and similar big game such as Wildebeest, Elk, Moose, Kudu, Eland and Nilgai are not likely to produce a "Bang-Flop" reaction often unless shot in the spine, neck, head and none of those shots are easy at long range. We all know that the vitals are lower and further forward than on most of the North American game species.

I have used the 375 a good bit on game and never lost an animal but, I have not found it to be a magic bullet either. I still am in the camp that a very well placed shot is far more important, than the bullet design deployed. After those two variables, the actual caliber/cartridge used becomes the key variable as long as it is powerful enough to penetrate to the vitals. In other words a good shot with a proper bullets trumps a poor shot with even the best cartridge. But, I also believe that every animal is different. They do not all respond the same.

I watched a fellow shoot a Cape Buffalo with a 500NE double rifle from 35 meters. His PH was armed with a 470NE dbl. They killed one with two shots and it dropped in its tracks. The 2nd bull a day later was shot six times with the 500NE and twice with the 470. Eight shots from a heavy gun at close range using soft point ammo. A third bull took five shots of the same. Why? The hunters cannot be accused of not using enough gun. But, the big double rifles are not exactly tack drivers and even on the range at 50y off a bench the hunter struggled to print a group the size of a pie pan. Many of his shots on game went well high of the ideal KZ due to??? Lifting his head in anticipation of recoil, or just poor marksmanship or getting a bit excited? Who knows. But many of his shots were in the boiler room too. Some critters just do not want to quit. The heart on the Cape Buff is the size of a basketball and the Nilgai heart is only a little smaller (cantaloupe size?). Hit that with a well constructed bullet, or the pluming attached to it and the animal will start leaking internally if not externally and in a few moments will expire. A little bit of tracking and we should have one in the salt. I would suggest that the little bit of tracking is the issue and many are lost at this point while mortally wounded. Please correct me if I am wrong. In that case, a little larger hole never hurts.

Finally, there is a reason the African PH's are taught to stalk in close to their game. The very large caliber weapons commonly used in Africa do not produce super high velocity and loose velocity faster than the more sleek, long high BC bullets used in some smaller calibers. A 375 with 300g bullets struggle to reach 2500fps at the muzzle and the larger 416's, 458's and 500's are even slower. If you stretch them out to long range the bullets are ambling along at sub 2000fps velocities and rarely expand much if at all in those cases. I would refer you to the Swift A-Frame expansion charts at speeds of 1700fps and slower.

If you punch a 40cal hole in an animal with a 416 Rigby at 200y will that kill it quicker than a 338 that expanded to 2.2x or 3/4" in diameter? Assuming they both penetrate deep enough. My long winded point is that bigger is not always better and there are deflection points where the benefits will flip depending on each situation. The 375HH (and similar) do sort of play in both realms well up to a point. It works great up close and you can still kill well at 200y and maybe a bit further. But, push it out to 300, 400y and you may as well be shooting solids even if you can hit the tgt.

 

[archer36]

The shot (accuracy) matters. The bullet matters. The distance matters. The caliber matters. They all work together. One cannot make up for the lack of others. Just asking "What caliber" is not a complete question.

 

[Bush Buck]

Nilgai don't leave good blood trails and they can run a long way with a decent hit. The terrain makes tracking very difficult so you want them down ASAP. In other words, you want to do more than kill it, you want it down quickly. You're gonna pay the bill whether you find it or not.

I've hunted with 4 different nilgai guides. In general, they want to get you a reasonable shot on a decent bull as efficiently as possible. If you say you're a dead-eye at 300 yards then they"ll find you a 300 yard shot opportunity because that's easier than 200.

When I started telling them that I was only confident to 200 yards I got better shot opportunities.
Be careful what you say about your marksmanship - only say what you can really do in the field off of sticks.

Finally, I'm surprised that on an African hunting forum folks are hesitant to use their 375s. Based on my experience a nilgai bull is worthy of a 375. I do prefer the lighter Barnes bullets in 375 and so have my guides. 250 TTSX works great.

 

[shootist~]

338 win mag one shot he went 50 yards. My guide recommended 338 and bigger with TSX bullets View attachment 677542View attachment 677543which I used.

Pretty sure I've seen that cooler before.

Mine was 49 yards with a 338 WM. Double lunged, ran only ~75 yards and was still hard to find.

Best wild game I've ever tasted, btw. Tonight was Bangers and Mash with jalapeño - cheese nilgai sausage.

 

[TaylorM456]

I was very nervous from reading horror stories about loosing Nilgai wounded. But I brought my 300 win mag and used Barnes TSX bullets and had absolutely no problem bringing mine down running away from me at 150ish yards. I put two more in for safe measure, but I think that one would have been enough. Just paid my bill today for the processing.... a little shocked at that $1300+ bill but it was 385 pounds of meat. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[dchum]

338 win mag one shot he went 50 yards. My guide recommended 338 and bigger with TSX bullets View attachment 677542View attachment 677543which I used.

That is such a mega toad of a bull - wow

 

[PanhandlinPat]

A friend of mine uses a 338 RUM with accubonds as his guide and loaner rifle. He told me clients have had great luck with the 300 PRC as well, and he recommends a 300 or 338. I told him I’d like to use my 375 on one and he said they’ve lost more shot with a 375 than anything else. I imagine shot placement is the culprit.

Close friend of mine shot one 4 times in the shoulder with a 300 wsm before his guide stoned it with a 35 whelen. He got home and had a whelen built.

The old GM of the king ranch told me of similar experiences with a 300 wsm. A particular story of him blasting one in the chest from a close frontal shot and having it run like hell into the brush stands out.

My cousins husband killed a few with a 30/06 and 220 grain round noses last year on the king ranch, said they all dropped in their tracks or nearly so.

 

[Pablo]

Well I’ll double down haha.

It sounds like you are hunting with Tony Medina as he is the only Nilgai guide I know of that says Barnes would be bad because it goes all the way through?

Sounds like he’s in the boat of “if it exits then it’s not dumping it energy in the animal”.
Which we know is small brain thinking.

Do you know about the property you are hunting? Make sure you know what a mature bull looks like as many guides just have you shoot a bull to get paid.

I just want you to have a good hunt and great first experience. Nilgai hunting is a passion for me.

Maybe Jtsafaris-home of the $600 nilgai hunt with an ass whipping thrown in. Lmao.

 

[dchum]

Maybe Jtsafaris-home of the $600 nilgai hunt with an ass whipping thrown in. Lmao.

Oh man - haven’t heard his name in a while you pinche

 

[JG26Irish_2]

A friend of mine uses a 338 RUM with accubonds as his guide and loaner rifle. He told me clients have had great luck with the 300 PRC as well, and he recommends a 300 or 338. I told him I’d like to use my 375 on one and he said they’ve lost more shot with a 375 than anything else. I imagine shot placement is the culprit.

My cousins husband killed a few with a 30/06 and 220 grain round noses last year on the king ranch, said they all dropped in their tracks or nearly so.

The 375HH is a great hunting rifle. I would use mine on anything from squirrels on up. But, it like all rifles is best deployed inside its best performance window. That is really about 0-200y. It can be extended to 250y but out past that, the velocity and ballistic drop on the bullet is precipitous. Plus, most of our African 375's are topped with a 1-6x or a 1-8x safari optic. A 3-12x or a 3.5-18x might be a better fit for Texas? Don't use an Axe if a scalpel is needed.

For example: The 300g TSX zeroed at 100y is dropping 5" at 200y but drops 10" at 250 and 18" at 300y. The 250g TSX zeroed at 150y drops 3" at 200y and 3" at 250y but drops 15" at 300y. Hold overs are not really that precise and most hunting situations do not allow enough time to laser the range and dial for drop (If you can, this is much more precise). So, shooting off sticks, I am usually forced to estimate range (good at this) and as I am mounting the sticks, ask the guide to estimate and also laser it if time permits as I get on tgt. I memorize the ballistic chart to aid in hold overs and for most situations that is enough. But, put it in a situation where a 250-300y shot is likely on a skittish animal with good eyesight (Nilgai) and little time to make the shot off sticks and now you set yourself up for failure. Mis-read the range, or mess up your hold over a little and you could easily miss the shot high or low by 8-12". That is enough to wound the animal but not result in a quick kill. Couple that with tough tracking conditions and you are as likely to lose the animal as not. No wonder lots of guides see Nilgai lost with the 375.

Yes, I can zero at 200y to squeeze out a bit more effective range but my point is the 375 is not a long range rifle. It is a medium range rifle. In Africa, we only rarely would use it past 200y and 90% of shots with the 375 would be less than that. A faster, flatter, magnum would be a better choice once you are out past 250y in my opinion. 338wm comes to mind.