They don't have very large horns, so..what's the deal? Is the meat good?

the meat is good and they are a large animal providing a lot of good meat.

Very good meat.

One of the earliest exotics brought into the state. They've been here so long, they're part of South Texas. They're huge and can take a decent size bullet and still run off. Not everything is about the size of the horns.

I've shot a grysbok and his horns are about 1&1/2". Also have a Common Dieker, a Klipspringer, and a Steenbok. Tiny guys. I might go after a "scrum cap" Cape Buffalo someday. (Both horns brokEN off.) 'Sign of a true Warrior.

Excellent meat and can be a tough, challenging hunt depending on circumstances. My good friend and I hunted them last year and shot two bulls, after gutting, skinning and deboning we had almost 500 lbs. of great meat from those two bulls left. My family and I ate Nilgai almost the entire pandemic!

Excellent eating animal. One of the best of all wild game animal that I had.

agree with above comments. A must!

Excellent meat and a worthy adversary. Belief mine - nilgai hunting is the closest to safari style you can get in Texas.

Thanks to all. Since it is not a "trophy" hunt but a meat hunt, I personally like to test out weapons. In other words if my go to is a Remington 700 30-06 and I know I can kill game with it, if I'm after a trophy I want everything as sure as can be BUT if it's a "meat" hunt then, can it be made more interesting using a crossbow or flintlock, etc.? When you say "hunt", what is the typical situation? Are you in a tree stand over a feeder or do you actually get out there and move around? Stalk heavy cover? Glass open areas? I know nothing about how to hunt them. What are some of the choices on a hunting weapon you think appropriate? Thanks.

I'm planning a Nilgai hunt for this fall. I dont like hunting in 90* weather. But I'm old and phat

The only exotic I would say tastes better to me would be a eland, Nilgai provide excellent table fare, a challenging spot and stalk hunt on a very hardy animal , relatively low cost of commercial guided hunt, and a bull with proper hide colorations can make beautiful and unique mount (even the European mounts look wicked)

Yes sir!

Great meat and a fun hunt!

Are you saying you are going on a meat hunt not a trophy hunt or are you saying that because the horns are not large comparatively speaking that makes it a meat hunt and not a trophy hunt?

Well.......sort of. I realize any animal can be a trophy. A caribou has huge horns, even a so-so would still put a lot of "horn" on the wall. On the actual hunting- it sounds like stalking is a common method?

Yes. Spot & stalk, hunting over dung piles and water holes, and safari style (driving around & shooting from vehicle/most common method). Less common is spot lighting them.

This photo shows both a euro and a shoulder mount. If the horn length is on on the short side, you might want to consider a euro mount. Both displays are great at showing off your 'trophy'.

Actually, they are a pretty neat looking critter. I like the shoulder mount.

There is definitely a trophy component to hunting Nilgai bulls, the size of the animal and even the length of the horns vary pretty dramatically. Some of those old bulls are HUGE, super wily and have longer, sharper horns.

Yep. Besides tasty table fare, what's not to like. They (kind of) look like a combination of several species (greyish elk head, mountain goat horns and a turkey beard).

Thats a beautiful mount !!

Where is the "hold" spot on these? I hear their vitals are a little further forward than the whitetail?

I stole this pic from TexasBowhunter.com, but the nilgai anatomy is similar to african game as the lungs/heart are further up front in the chest cavity. Nilgai vitals are tucked behind the shoulder and bulls are front heavy so taking out his shoulder is paramount. Where the "X" on the pic is where the blade meets the leg bone. Break that and he can't run and it'll send bone fragments into heart/lungs with the bullet. You want to break down the shoulders so it doesn't wander off. That 3/4" hide is very elastic and will close over a bullet hole leaving little sign of a blood trail.

Most outfitter require a minimum of .300 Win Mag for a reason, tough critters.

Shoot them in the neck and they will drop. If they are looking at you, shoot at the bottom of the white spot.

Capes of the blue bulls are beautiful and make an excellent drape. This mount never receives a complaint -

They look much nicer mounted than a whitetail in my opinion. I don’t care for deer shoulder mounts but I’m liking the Nilgai.