.416 vs .458: Just how tough are Nilgai?

[Red Leg]

What Dwight said +1.
I have heard of some guides chasing the game with a pickup or UTV to get hunters their game quickly and that might account for them requiring a rifle that can hit game at longer ranges.
One of my college buddies had so many Nilgai on his ranch south of Raymondville that he chased them in a ranch truck and shot everyone he could. He considered them varmints and left the dead ones for the buzzards. Only close friends got to hunt that ranch and I took my first whitetail buck there about 10 yards from the King Ranch fence. We saw a 16+ point buck over that fence, but NO ONE in their right mind poaches on the King Ranch.

Yep. They have their very own security team and an established record of diligently protecting the place.

 

[Red Leg]

Interesting thread. I've inquired of a few outfits about hunting nilgai and a lot of the outfitters want you to shoot a 300 magnum or bigger. Pound for pound a zebra is a tough animal to down. They all are if shot placement is iffy. Well known hunter and guide Finn Aagard started as a PH in Kenya then immigrated to Texas where he finished his life guiding/hunting. Finn harvested quite a lot of nilgai using a 308 Winchester with 150grn Barnes X bullets. From what I've seen, these outfitters need to bone up on tracking skills for those clients who have a problem with shot placement. Sure they're tough animals but not bullet proof. Sorry if this offends some but just my observations.

I would describe them as very similar to a blue wildebeest from a toughness perspective. That observation, I hasten to add, is based upon my personal experiences not literature. Like a wildebeest, If the first shot is where it needs to be, then a hunter will have no issues. If it is slightly off target, then he can have a very long day and too often a lost animal. I should note, I have never seen a tracker anywhere in North America with anything like the skills of the average tracker you will find sub-Saharan Africa. Perhaps you can suggest how our guides in Texas might improve upon those skills?

If hunting whitetail with a .270 or 30-06, I would not hesitate to take a Nilgai if given a clear shot at an undisturbed animal. However, if deliberately hunting one, then my choice begins with a .300 of some persuasion. Shots can be long, presentations are rarely perfect, and they are notorious for spotting you before you see them. The heavier caliber, again based upon my real world experience, increases the likelihood of getting a second shot into a less than perfectly hit animal. If a client is paying a trophy fee, then I think he would be very foolish indeed to set off on a nilgai hunt with not enough gun.

 

[Frank Cavallo]

300 Win for mine.

 

[IvW]

I think he cannot shoot.....
9.3x74R O/U would be perfect if I was hunting one....

 

[Rick HOlbert]

I would describe them as very similar to a blue wildebeest from a toughness perspective. That observation, I hasten to add, is based upon my personal experiences not literature. Like a wildebeest, If the first shot is where it needs to be, then a hunter will have no issues. If it is slightly off target, then he can have a very long day and too often a lost animal. I should note, I have never seen a tracker anywhere in North America with anything like the skills of the average tracker you will find sub-Saharan Africa. Perhaps you can suggest how our guides in Texas might improve upon those skills?

If hunting whitetail with a .270 or 30-06, I would not hesitate to take a Nilgai if given a clear shot at an undisturbed animal. However, if deliberately hunting one, then my choice begins with a .300 of some persuasion. Shots can be long, presentations are rarely perfect, and they are notorious for spotting you before you see them. The heavier caliber, again based upon my real world experience, increases the likelihood of getting a second shot into a less than perfectly hit animal. If a client is paying a trophy fee, then I think he would be very foolish indeed to set off on a nilgai hunt with not enough gun.

Hello Red Leg. You bring up valid points to be sure. The old adage of use enough gun does hold true. Like yourself I have hunted blue Wildebeest many times and your observation of them is very true.
As for tracking skills,.... North American trackers will never be as good as African trackers because they weren't trained from childhood. They typically don't think like the animal the way a San Bushman does. It's almost eerie to watch them. But I will say this. They can and should spend more time learning tracking skills. I know one chap who spends his off season time guiding in Texas (he's from South Africa) and his tracking skills are very good indeed! Gaining the skill is never easy but it can be improved on. To my way of thinking a client should use a rifle he shoots very well and isn't afraid of (flinching) rather than one he perceives will kick the daylights out of him. Just my thoughts.

 

[crs]

Final Observation - Shot Placement Rules!

 

[John Wasmuth]

Oh for crying out loud, everyone whose anyone knows you can’t kill Nilgai with anything short of a 155mm tracked howitzer or unless you are really good, an A10 Warthog......

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Now THAT is a bull. Please note that I was very polite and did not comment on your first set of pictures way back then.

@Red Leg, You sir are a gentleman.

BTW, I had my larger Nilgai mounted and people always ask, "What the heck is that?" The best description I've heard regarding the horns: "They look like devil horns!"

 

[sgt_zim]

funny how old threads like this can get revived and take off with a new life.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Oh for crying out loud, everyone whose anyone knows you can’t kill Nilgai with anything short of a 155mm tracked howitzer or unless you are really good, an A10 Warthog......

With depleted uranium bullets.

 

[mdwest]

Its been 4 years since I last commented in this thread... based on knowledge gained over the past 1400 +/- days.. My thoughts are very different now than then...

in 2017 I was looking pretty hard at Nilgai at a few different ranches in TX and thought .308 should be more than enough.. why bother with bigger??? Id dropped several 400-650lb animals in the US and abroad with a .308 previously.. why is a nilgai any different?

Today.. while I still absolutely believe that a .308 could/would get the job done under the right circumstances.. What I've learned is wth nilgai the "right circumstances" are often not whats provided.. and shots are often at longer ranges and at less than ideal angles than a typical TX whitetail hunt, colorado elk hunt, etc..

So now.. if/when I decide to take the plunge (I backed off of the nilgai idea in late 2017 and started setting more money aside for planned trips to South Africa, Argentina, Peru, etc that occurred in 2018 and 2019..).. Im thinking its going to be 300WM or even potentially 375H&H (using a 250gr projectile)..

Nilgai is reasonably priced with several ranches Ive looked at.. but they certainly arent cheap.. Before I go dropping $3-$5K on a day hunt.. Im going to eliminate or mitigate as many risks/potential problems as possible..

 

[Mike70560]

I believe far more nilgai have been wounded by poor shooting than by too small a caliber/bullet/cartridge.

30-06 or better with a good 165 plus grain bullet, put said bullet where it goes, and they will die. I have killed quite a few, have witnessed a bunch being killed, and have skinned enough to last a lifetime.

Back in the 90s my company had 30,000 acres leased for several years on Kenedy Ranch.

 

[C.W. Richter]

The photo I posted in post #3 turns out was the smaller Nilgai that I took in 2009. This is the big boy from 2011. 9-1/8" horns. If you haven't hunted Nilgai, it is a lot of fun and it is a low cost (okay, lower cost) alternative to a real African hunt. It also fills the freezer with some excellent tasting meat.

View attachment 197682

View attachment 197683

Also a lower cost alternative to a real Indian hunt, where they live!

 

[C.W. Richter]

I would describe them as very similar to a blue wildebeest from a toughness perspective. That observation, I hasten to add, is based upon my personal experiences not literature. Like a wildebeest, If the first shot is where it needs to be, then a hunter will have no issues. If it is slightly off target, then he can have a very long day and too often a lost animal. I should note, I have never seen a tracker anywhere in North America with anything like the skills of the average tracker you will find sub-Saharan Africa. Perhaps you can suggest how our guides in Texas might improve upon those skills?

If hunting whitetail with a .270 or 30-06, I would not hesitate to take a Nilgai if given a clear shot at an undisturbed animal. However, if deliberately hunting one, then my choice begins with a .300 of some persuasion. Shots can be long, presentations are rarely perfect, and they are notorious for spotting you before you see them. The heavier caliber, again based upon my real world experience, increases the likelihood of getting a second shot into a less than perfectly hit animal. If a client is paying a trophy fee, then I think he would be very foolish indeed to set off on a nilgai hunt with not enough gun.

Unless there are holes in the fences, you'll find that wounded Nilgai! LOL

 

[C.W. Richter]

'Have a great old series of Fred Bear videos....In one he travels to India, stays at a palace and takes axis deer, nilgai and tiger-all with a quite long wooden 20/64" projectile (w/ a sharpened steel tip) at ultra low velocity. He just hit 'em in the right places. He could not hit the little gazelles with the rather loud/slow recurve as they'd jump the string every time.

 

[Deleted member 53080]

Also a lower cost alternative to a real Indian hunt, where they live!

That would be something! I knew you could hunt them in Pakistan. No hunting in India right?

 

[C.W. Richter]

With depleted uranium bullets.

If you dip the (no lead) bullets in CA into the water there, they also become heavily irradiated, compliments of Japan!

 

[C.W. Richter]

That would be something! I knew you could hunt them in Pakistan. No hunting in India right?

I think you can. The tigers are protected. It'll cost you _____ plus corona at present! (Whatever you do, Don't shoot the cows!)

 

[Red Leg]

Unless there are holes in the fences, you'll find that wounded Nilgai! LOL

LOL LOL LOL LOL

There aren't any fences to stop a Nilgai where I, or most people in South Texas, hunt them.

LOL LOL LOL LOL

 

[Red Leg]

I think you can. The tigers are protected. It'll cost you _____ plus corona at present! (Whatever you do, Don't shoot the cows!)

There essentially is no legal hunting of any kind in India. You may want to google the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.