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Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake #7316554 10/16/18 08:55 PM
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DoubleU Offline OP
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Anyone have any experience with East Lake unit for Nilgai. Just got notice that I drew.

Re: Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake [Re: DoubleU] #7316701 10/16/18 11:15 PM
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LoneStarCarnivore Offline
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What dates?

Re: Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake [Re: DoubleU] #7316799 10/17/18 12:35 AM
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DoubleU Offline OP
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2nd hunt, Feb 15-17.
Any hunt information/expectations would be appreciated.

Re: Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake [Re: DoubleU] #7317161 10/17/18 11:50 AM
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I've talked to some people down there but never hunted it myself. I have hunted Nilgai on places almost backed up to it. All I can tell you is there are a lot of Nilgai in the area. I know an outfitters son who has hunted on it and was successful. I would be excited. Nilgai is delicious meat. If you've never hunted them read up on them. There a little different. It's south Texas, hunt close to water.

Re: Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake [Re: DoubleU] #7317215 10/17/18 12:25 PM
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I have been down there. I was drawn for a whitetail/hunt on the unit on the Nov 16th weekend and will offer a complete report when I get back.

Right off the bat, what I suggest is that you start walking every day if you don't do so already. You need to probably walk at least three miles a day and work up to carrying a pretty good load in your pack. You will want to get away from the parking area probably be prepared for a mile and a half. So, a three-mile round trip in and out every day. I figure a quartered nilgai to be about 75 lbs/quarter, which is a pretty good load on a pack frame and given the distance, a long haul. I've been so tuckered out that on that last trip, I've considered pulling the bolt out of my rifle and leaving it behind.

This is very sandy country, in fact, it is in the sand sheet. I've gone the cart route before but they bog down in the sand or the axles/wheels foul in the grass. I do use a cart to get my popup/chair back during scouting and then leave it hidden and chain it to a tree. I'm pondering not using it this year as pulling it can just wear you out. I'm going down the Monday before, the first scouting day, and will probably just pack frame it in. A bicycle is no help getting game out. Another thought is that I've helped more fellows work on nilgai that was shot on the way in or out of the unit. The one thing they all had in common was that they had a rifle in their hand, not holding handlebars or pulling a cart.

Patience and perspective are always important. Your group of hunters will bring the number of hunters on the unit to 100 since the first weekend of November. This isn't a very large unit; measured on GEarth, the boundary is 1740 acres, with the lake bed taking up 580 acres leaving 1160 huntable acres. That's 116 acres/hunter. Some of the hunters will not be able to sit still so you need to.

I was drawn for the exotic (nilgai) hunt on Teniente the weekend following your hunt. That's a larger unit that sits just SW East Lake.


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Re: Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake [Re: DoubleU] #7317375 10/17/18 02:26 PM
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DoubleU Offline OP
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Appreciate the input, I’m going to go ahead and take the permits.

Re: Rio Grande Valley NWR East Lake [Re: DoubleU] #7318211 10/18/18 02:00 AM
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Originally Posted By: DoubleU
Appreciate the input, I’m going to go ahead and take the permits.

Oh yeah. Take them.


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