This weekend I'll be goin' with my boss to South Texas to do some Nilgai hunting. I figure to take my .280 and my .338 Winnie and just shoot whichever happens to be feeling the best at the time/shooting the best.

I'm lookin' forward to it for sure, a little nervous as I've never hunted out of a truck before. There are to be 6 of us hunting. Other people at the company have given me some pointers....most of it boils down to taking plenty of ammunition and once you start shooting, keep 'em goin' 'til he's down.

Hunting with my boss is reputed my some of my co-workers to be a little tough as the quarry is always running and he drives like a maniac.....most shots are 200+ yards. I can attest to his driving since I'm the one who puts his truck back together every Monday when he comes back from the lease.

I play pedal steel guitar/guitar and sing in a country & western band; my boss likes us a lot and has hired us to go to the lease to play for his annual New Year party and do some hunting as time permits. It's gonna be a hoot whether I get a Nilgai or not.....I'll report back after we get home.......Happy New Year everybody!!!!!

Rod

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Rod's Place

You will enjoy your hunt down there. Don't be mystified by how tough some people say they are. I shot this bull one time with a 416 Rem. Hit them in the right spot and they die just like any other animal.

They can be real tough but like Tohuffs said, just hit them in the sweet spot with a good bullet and he's yours. We hunted free ranging Nilgai on the Kennedy Ranch a few years back and shot a couple with 270 150gr rounds and had no troubles. But of course they were hit very well which helped.

Be prepared becaue they can be very spooky and very challenging if there has been any pressure on them. Good luck and let us know how you do.

BTW, the meat is terrific!

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Good Hunting & Hunt Safe,
David

DavidP,
The Kennedy Ranch is where we're goin'.......reporting to the Turcotte gate at 1300 tomorrow (Sunday). I'm headed out now to get a new knife....to me, knives are like guns, you can never have to many. Y'all wish me luck.

Rod

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Rod's Place

I have taken 3 in the past 5 years,and they are fairly hard to take down but I have taken 1 with a 30-06 and the other 2 with a 300 mag using Barnes X bullets in a 165gr. All have been 1 shot kills. I go for the neck shot if possible. I did a short internship at the Kennedy when I was at Texas A&I getting my masters in Wildlife and Range Management. I never got to hunt on the ranch but have hunted them at the King ranch.

Have fun and hunt hard.

Doc in Texas

I shot one at 160 yards with a 250 gr Nosler Partition at 2500 fps from a 35 Whelen a few years ago. All I saw were the back legs kick up in the air as the rifle recoiled, the nilgai tumbled and was dead. The shot hit a bit high behind the shoulder. The ranch hand was thoroughly impressed claiming that they typically require mutiple hits. I suspect that shot placement and/or bullet selection are the problem not rifle power. The hunt was a lot of fun. I was amazed at how wary the animals were. Good luck.

85 yards, one shot from a 300 weatherby mag, 180 grain X-bullet...
wish I had another one,,

Rod,
I agree 100% about the knives...you can never have too many! Can't wait to hear about how you did. Bring back stories and photos.

The Kennedy Ranch is an impressive place with BIG bucks and lots of Nilgai. It's interesting to go through the Customs check point too, even though you aren't going to Mexico.

I hope to go back one day.

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Good Hunting & Hunt Safe,
David

I shot mine last year with .35 Whelen at under 80 yds. Bullet entered liver from the right and stopped in front of the shoulder on the left. The bull actually ran about 40 yards into the thorniest brush I have ever been in.

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JD

Well, nobody can relate this kind of huntin' to ya; ya just have to do it. It was a blast. I took a young cow. I was on the deck with 2 other younger fellas and we spotted a harem. We took after them and they started running.....we were still well over 500 yards out from them. The bull was large and I would have liked to get him, but the other two hunters were gunnin' for him and I opted to just take a cow and let the boys try for the bull.

We got within' 200 yards and they started lettin' fly.....I pulled down on the first head I saw and led her out to her nose.....hit her in the neck.

I can tell ya this, it's the hardest shot I've ever made.......these things are fast!! I can't say with any authority on speed, but if I was told 35 mph I wouldn't be surprised. They were runnin', the truck was shakin', two guys to the side of me shootin' and it was just a hard shot. I pulled it off and made a good shot, she went down hard and her feet came up in the air and that was it.....she was done.

My boss has already invited me back, I told him to just name the day........he won't have to ask twice.

P.S. For those interested: My boss was ready to go when we got there and I didn't have time to sight in either rifle, I just borrowed his Sendero......the Nilgai was taken with a 7mm Remington Mag. I'm almost sure it was a Winchester Fail Safe but I don't know what gr. the bullet was.

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Rod's Place

[This message has been edited by vibrasonic9 (edited 01-02-2002).]