Had a chance to go to the King Ranch and hunt a bull Nilgai.

If you have not hunted Nilgai before, they can be challenging, and this site has some good info (note: I did not use this outfit, I am only referencing their site because it had good information. I was on a guided hunt on the King Ranch)

http://allseasonsguideservice.com/nilgai_hunting.php

First had to work up a load using IMR 4064 & CCI primers. Ended up with 165 grain Sierra Gameking bullet in my Rem 700 in 30-06.


Lots of trips to the Range, working up the load and then practicing off the bench with it, this is photo the target is at 200 yards:

Final load performance off bench at 100 yards (there are 3 shots under the quarter)


And 3 shots at 200 yards:


Arriving in Kingsville checked out the museum and Hiblers taxidermy shop before going to the ranch.

After a full morning of searching and stalking, found this lone bull.

Final shot was 240 yards (ranged afterwards). Had to go for a neck shot because of tall grass. Nilgai have a very thick neck hide (up to an inch thick) where bulls fight and build up scar tissue. So bullet entered neck and did not exit. Bull did not even take one step but fell instantly dead to the ground.


Took all 3 of us to get the bull up in this position for the photo:


Closer up of the horns:


The guide estimated about 500lbs on the hoof and 350 pounds dressed out. I have ordered a Euro mount and the hide tanned (maybe to make something out of it later). Backstrap and tenders will be steaks, with the rest being various kinds of sausage (summer, smoked, with cheese, etc) and some ground up.

Nice bull!

Nice bull. Your right about the neck. I finished one off with a neck shot from a 338-06 and a 225 Hornady. close range about 20 yards. The
bullet didn't come out on it. At that range the velocity completely flattened the bullet. You got a lot of great eating there.

Nice bull congrats! Them guys dry aged a couple of weeks are mighty tasty!

Very nice, congrats.

nice shooting

Good story, good shooting and good eating. Sounds like a good time.

Sounds lke a great hunt, very nice bull
Did you hunt with Mike as your guide?

Nice job

I was with a new guy named Clay. He said it was the end of his second season there. A&M grad and had interned there and he lived on the ranch.

Nice one. Congrats!

X2 and that is a great, old, respectable bull.

sweeeeeet

Very nice

Hopefully this is the year for me to finally kill one!

nice..one of the best wild game meals I ever ate was Nilgai chili

Very nice bull. Congrats.

Cool!

Another one on my bucket list. Congrats

Nilai are definitely on my with list. Congratulations on a really nice looking bull. Who did you hunt with and can you share any information about prices and accommodations? Is there a best time of the year to hunt them? I'm mostly interested in the coloring of their cape, some of them have a blue tint to them, while others don't seem to have that color at all and I'm curious if it's a certain time of the year or just variations from animal to animal.

Eddie

congrats

The outfitter you referenced in your post (http://allseasonsguideservice.com/nilgai_hunting.php) is a great outfitter for both Nilgai hunts as well as many other trophy animals. I used them for my Nilgai hunt as well as my Old Mexico Mule deer hunts.
They are good folks and can put you on some nice critters.
Sounds like you had a blast and I am sure will enjoy the table fare too