Nilgai public draw ?

What are the odds of finding a Nilgai down south on a draw hunt and witch TPWD draw hunt is the best or most successful for Nilgai ? Laguna Atascosa NWR - Bahia Grande Unit?

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR - East Lake ?

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR - Teniente ?

any info would help
just curious to the success rate of these hunts ???
anyone taken one from the draw hunts ?

The draw odds are long on all the hunts that have Nilgai. The public hunt catalog has the success rate and the number of hunters that applied for the hunts.

For about $200 you can apply for every hunt in the Texas public hunt catalog. I am going to keep doing it forever as it is a cheap way to get into a lot of hunts. I apply for all doe, management, exotic, and any sex buck hunts in units that are either in West Texas, the Pandhandle or the Hill Country.

If you get drawn you'll have an opportunity to hunt public land that most never get to hunt. Very few of these hunts are actually like hunting a heavily managed game ranch, if that is what you are used to you will be disappointed.

I drew a javelina tag last year on Elephant WMA.

Would I do it again, eh.... not sure. I got screwed by the weather, it happens. Never saw a single javelina. Saw plenty of mule deer, and my compartment had about 300 beef cows in it. Did I mention I was the only non-Texan to draw the hunt?

Did I apply for other hunts this year? Yes most certainly.

i have done the archery nilgai hunt at laguna twice in the last 4 years.

it is fun but difficult experience. it can be lots of hard hiking or it can be hours of patient sitting

i saw nilgai each time and fired arrows, but did not get one either trip. they are tough critters.

i finally went down on a guided hunt with insight outdoors and got my bull and whole lot of meat for the freezer.

the draw hunts are a unique experience, and i would encourage it.
but i would also suggest you put in with multiple friends so that you all get drawn together and have some help on your hunt.


good luck

First post on a hunting forum ever here! I also drew the Nilgai bahia grande hunt this year and am stoked to get out there. I drew the firearm hunt and will be taking a maverick 88 with slugs to try to get some nilgai.

I wanted to pose the question to the forum, what can I do to increase my success chance? Me and a friend both drew so we'll both have shotguns out there, would yall recommend hiking in to the farthest away pond near sign and sitting? I figure if people can get close enough to nail them with bows, I could probably hit them with a slug, and maybe even a follow up given their reputation for not going down easy.

It's the first year Bahia Grande is open to the Nilgai hunt if I'm not mistaken, so this info might be hard to come by.

I drew the firearms hunt last year on the lower rio grande unit and we were able to get one bull for 3 of us hunting. Best advice i can give is they are the most spooky/alert animal i have ever hunted. Use your scouting days if possible find the communal poop piles and figure out where they are living. Then set up a blind or find good brush to hide in and wait. We tried cover ground and spot and stalk and wasted most our hunt days getting busted and never getting a shot till we realized we should just sit and wait. A slug could definitely get it done but i would be double and triple sure of your shot placement the hide is thick and if you dont break the spine or hit the heart they are gone for good.pm me if you want any more info

Increase your chances by using rifles.

Thanks that was my big concern. The grass is only so high and they're so fast I didn't know if I'd even be capable of stalking them over this area so I'll try to find a couple of good spots. I'll get on that 💩scoutimg


Increase your chances by using rifles.[/quote]
Hunt regs for this draw are muzzleloader or shotgun slug only, and not having the money or desire for a muzzleloader, i gotta go with the slugs.

BIG rifles

It's pretty tough to hunt Nilgai with archery, especially if you've never hunted them before. I second the suggestion of using a rifle and -for a public hunt- I would try to find a transit/trail and stick to it, there's a bunch of hunters moving around and spooking the already jittery animals and there's a good chance that they'll head your way if you're further in than most people.

Bumping this up again (I think is the forum terminology),

So as mentioned, I drew shotgun only Nilgai and will be hunting Bahia Grande which has not been open for public draws before this year I believe.

Answering OP question,

I've seen people at other forums (eg tx roksliders) who have had good experience in the units where rifle is allowed, and many people say the whole refuge is thick with them so it's a good possibility you'll see them regardless of where you are put in the compartments. How close they get and how far a shot you wanna take seems to be the real variable.

I really wanna hear of anyone who has gotten one with a slug though. I'd think with such a huge equivalent caliber size and weight of the slug, it wouldn't be difficult to drop them when close, but again, I've never shot at them at all.

as above they are extremely tough, and you will need a good neck, spine or heart shot bring them down.

Shotgun only? Why would that hunt even be offered? It is nice, very nice, to get out there and enjoy the experience, but =a harvest with a shotgun would have to be considered a success of monumental proportions.

Go play around with a modern scoped shotgun with a rifled barrel. It still isnt a centerfire rifle, but its plenty worthy.

Scoped, rifled barrel slug gun is a very capable platform up to 150 yards or so. Very do-able.

You might try to find this slug. Looks like it would work on a nilgai.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NynJOLt4eTY

A 12 or 20 Gauge slug will have more than enough knock down power to bring down a nilgai.

Thinking here adequate knock down power of a slug gun just isn’t the issue.

Me and some buddies drew out too for last hunt in feb

I don't know why they would hold this hunt specifically but I'd bet it's because it is surrounded by busy thoroughfares on the north and south of the area boundary and a whole city and high school on the right, so they don't want rifle shots possibly ricocheting onto somewhere, but idk.

This site had archery and shotgun and other sites had rifle and archery but I didn't win any of them

https://www.outdoorlimited.com/shot...-1-oz-1600fps-segmenting-slug-10-rounds/
Nice I can't find that one but I can find these, so I may get some of the segmenting slugs.
Right on, which tract or area Boomerdog89?

Bahia grande (muzzloader/shotgun)

We're two weeks out, I might see you out there Boomerdog89. I know orientation is online this year with that video, but yall know if the compartments are first come first serve, or is it just one big unit, or how will it be divided up?

Chris,
sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this hard freeze in south texas is likely to wreak havoc on the nilgai population. You could see a very significant die-off of the herd in the next 2 days, they are not built to withstand temps like this....fyi.

Ive been kinda watching didnt look like that got much moisture and actual temps will be above freezing didnt kno if that made much difference or not?

Be nice to hear what the guy this wknd see talked to guy on first set of bowhunters said he seen 30/40 everday

I shoot my scoped 12 ga all the time for both deer and elk here in our "short=range" seasons. Regularly kill them at 200 yards, with a 4X scoped Rem 870. The main advantage of the shotgun over the muzzleloader is 5 shots, vs only 1 with the muzzy. I shoot Hornady 12 ga 300 grain SST's, at 2000 fps, and I guarantee if they kill elk just fine, they'll work on nilgai!!

Good luck with your hunt, please let us know how you do

Will do hope the cold didnt hurt em to bad

Can't wait to retell it to yall. I hope it's with a good harvest pic but I'm glad to just have gotten picked. I'll be making the drive back home (Brownsville) from el Paso next Wednesday for this. If anyone knows how the Nilgai are doing I'd love to know they're still alive. It shouldnt be below freezing any single day after today, and a bit of rain on opening day Friday with a 65/58 temperature range for the day.

Someone on Bowhunters got one with an arrow just under the spine!

There may have been a die off from this cold snap, but I would still go!!!!

Thanks for the encouragement! Whenever weather hits I always get a little skittish over whether I should still go hunt and it always seems like the times I decide to not go, the weather cuts out at the perfect time and the hunt ends up being great and I end up wishing I would've gone anyway.

If I were You I would definitely go. Friend of mine bow hunted Bahia grande a week or so ago and got a bull with a bow. And saw a ton. I would keep your shots to 100yds with the shotgun. I hunted this past weekend and killed 4 3bulls and 1 cow. Didn’t see a single one dead due to the cold.

Holy hell 4 Nilgai! That's amazing! Was that at the bahia, a different laguna site, or on private property? Congrats! Hope you got lots of prime meat out of it!

Was suppose to be East Lake but was moved due to Fever tick

We ended up killing 5 between me and 2 other guys that put in with me to cows and each got bigger mature type bulls .it was really fun hunt still hunting and slowly stalking into range ready to go back lol.

Need pics!