Is a 270win with good 150 grain bullet adequate for a big nilgai? I know people use 270 for elk, moose, etc. But i have heard nilgai are extremely tough. I dont doubt it with a good double lung through the ribs, but what about their shoulder...

Won't even penetrate! Nothing less than a .500NE will do for Nilgai.


Seriously, I have no clue.

You might slip it in behind the shoulder, but what do I know. Are you going on a guided hunt? If so, ask them. I'm definitely doing a nilgai hunt someday. They've become part of south Texas.

I would definitely be ready to put a second round in it, if you have the opportunity. They have a reputation of being pretty darn tough.

not my first choice but with the right bullet yea. mine had what looked like what was left of a 270 riveted out on the shoulder. a 7mm wsm with 150gr power point winny did not get a exit at about 80 yard broadside

I would think it would work. Go heavy and use a tsx, partition, or other premium bullet.


Auto correct couldn't spell tsx.

I think he means TSX, otherwise, the south Texas democrats would have a lot more in the coffers.

I went on a Nilgai hunt in January and used a 30-06 with a 165gn bullet. On a broadside shot to the neck, it did not penetrate through to the other side of the neck at 240 yards. The Nilgai was DRT, but if I had to do it again, I would go with a heavier bullet weight in case my shot placement was not ideal.

With excellent placement, the 270 will work, but you are not giving yourself much room for error. And for most hunts, if you make it bleed, you bought it, even if not recovered.

Here is the link to my post about it:

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4934386/Re:_King_Ranch_Nilgai_Hunt_%28pi#Post4934386

Hope that helps. The meat is excellent, get as many steaks as you can from the loins/backstrap. Have the rest ground up for sausage of various types and ground meat to use.

With a penetrating bullet and the right shot, you could do it - but you usually don't get a standing shot at a calm animal, and they can run forever after a lung shot- huge lungs, takes a while for them to fill. Lots of the guided hunts require a .30 cal or bigger. If you are hunting in terrain with thick vegetation I recommend something you can punch through a shoulder with. The organs a further forward behind the big shoulders plus breaking them down is key. A .300 win/wsm or .338 would be my suggestion.

With my apologies to the OP, Mr. magspa, may I temporarily hijack this thread and ask who is/has the best "value" nilgai outfitter/hunt for south Texas?

ok thanks for the input. I will actually be bow hunting unless i got drawn for rifle too. No problem on the high jack creekrunner. Hopefully next year i can find a nice pasture to lease that they travel through. Ive heard the vitals are further forward than most animals,the heart being protected by the shoulder.

From the management at the mariposa, they have a .300
Win mag minimum

The 7mm rem is considered light

A .270 is probably the lightest I would go with a 140 grain tsx or other copper bullet

Forget a softpoint from what I've been told

Where I hunted deer on the king ranch they had a 325 minimum for nilgai.Some ranches may have different rules but they are tough.

a 270 will do the job but id go atleast 300 some type of mag with qualirty bullets. no matter what caliber you choose use quality bullets.

Just food for thought I have a budy who shot a bull elk in Colorado with a 300RUM and 180 grain Swift sirocco bonded bullet in the neck at less than 50 yards and that bullet didn't exit either.

150 Grain Nosler partition or 130 grain tsx and I wouldn't hesitate to use it at all.

The .270 will do the job with a bonded or TSX bullet, but it should be considered minimum and treated as such.

Here's the most important part on hunting Nilgai:

-Shot placement! Study their anatomy and either put that bullet low and forward, or take out the spine. You are trying to bust up the shoulder and take out the heart, or sever the spine (I prefer the heart). A lung-shot bull can go a long way in some nasty brush, and the spine doesn't have a high margin of error.

-Keep shooting until he's down! If I had a dollar for every hunter who put 1 shot in a Nilgai then pulled out of the scope and watched it run off I'd be able to buy something nice. Stay in the scope, jack another round in the chamber, and don't stop until he's down for good.

FYI: Nilgai are famous for going down at the first shot, but then struggling up and running off. Stay in the scope until you're sure. The bull in my sig took 225 gr through the heart from my .338 Win Mag and STILL tried to struggle to his feet. Tough critters.



When is your hunt? You going to Laguna Atascosa? Good luck to ya, and keep us posted!

if it starts with a 3 and ends with a magnum you should be ok.

yes Atascosa. Still hoping for a permit though so not for sure. As of now ill be bow hunting. Just curious or the future hunts. Still getting settled in here in TX. Should have never sold my 30-06 haha.

If you used a 270, I'd go TSX. A 150 Partition/A-frame bullet would be ok. A bonded bullet, maybe. The TSX will get you the penetration for sure.

I had some friends that shot some Nilgai and used a 300 WM with 180 AB. One got 1 round into it with a long run, and the other got 2 rounds into it for a short recovery. If I used a 270, I'd be ripping the bolt for a second or third follow up, for sure.

I killed mine with a 270 150 grain. 150 yards, right through the neck...

27 years ago..


Good luck!

Here is a Atascosa nilgai cow my friend shot with a 280 Rem. Shot her through the neck at the base of the skull with a Rem Core-Lokt.



Went straight down dead. You need to be able to do your part especially in light that you will not be hunting from a truck or stand with a steady rest. I'm not sure if you have hunted on the refuge yet or not but if you are interested in nilgai, you are going to be hunkered down pretty good. The brush can be a bit low so I'm often laying back against my pack. I practice shooting from a similar positions prior to the hunt.



This setup produced a shot a cow as well with my Rossi Rio Grande 45-70 Govt. I'm a levergun guy and have used a 444 Marlin and 45-70 Govt both on this LRGV refuge system and private ranches. What I have noticed at the refuges is that the nilgai are different than on private ranches. The refuges tend to have thicker ground cover and no trucks in the pasture. I honestly think the nilgai on the refuges are a bit more relaxed. I've seen one on the Ata shot through the heart at 40 yards with a Marlin 336 chambered in 30-30 Win using a 150-grain Core-Lokt at 40 yards. It ran 40 yards leaving a heck of a blood trail and fell over dead. My uncle has killed several dozen with a 30-30 Win while sitting in deer blinds and I know a number of hunters that have killed them with their deer rifles while deer hunting on their ranches or leases.

I honestly think private ranch paid hunts have the Magnum minimum because they simply don't want to get out of the truck. At the same time I have see guys at the refuge have one step out on the road at 200 yards and they ping the critter in the shoulder (they think) with their 30-06 and wonder why it didn't go down or leave an blood trail.

Oh... If I get drawn this year, I will use my Rossi R92 chambered in 454 Casull with the TLC452-330-RF cast bullet I designed for the rifle & cartridge.

My dad has killed three in last few years. He used cheap ole Remington 130 softpoints. He hasn't had any problem bringing them down with lung shots. I was trying to get him to use a barnes, but he said his old .270 has t failed him yet with mule deer, whitetail, hogs, oryx, axis and elk, so why change now. He did say they never stop running when they where hunting them. Never a easy shot, where he hunted. I bought a .300 win mag just to go nilgai hunting a couple years ago and haven't been yet!

It's amazing what someone can do with a rifle where they have experience, confidence and control on exactly where that bullet is going to strike.