Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Nilgai, How much gun is enough?

From a post by JB a while back:

"I have done some nilgai hunting, usually with large groups of other hunters, so have gotten some data on what works and what doesn't.

One group was about a dozen people who went to the King Ranch several years ago to test the then-new .270 WSM with 140-grain Fail Safe bullets. The guides were NOT enthusiastic about this, since Winchester had also taken some people there a couple of years before to test the .300 WSM (though not entirely with Fail Safe bullets) and the results had been erratic.

By the end of the .270 WSM hunt the guides all agreed opinion that it was one of the best nilgai cartridges ever.
This was based on 24 nilgai being taken, both bulls and cows.

From my experience (not just that hunt) the bullet makes a much bigger difference in nilgai hunting than the cartridge--just as it does when hunting any other fairly large non-dangerous game. The 140 Fail Safes penetrated plenty, so did the job when placed right.

One of the other conclusions the guides came to was that the batch of hunters on the .270 WSM hunt were better shots overall than the hunters on the .300 WSM hunt. That makes a difference too.

I've also decided that one of the reasons nilgai got the reputation of being so hard to kill is that so many are chased around in pickup trucks and shot at long range on the run. A lot of animals are tough to kill when they get shot in the guts and legs. And yes, I have been on one of those so-called nilgai hunts too, and the outfitter not only encouraged those kinds of shots but the way his guides hunted virtually guaranteed them.

In fact most of his guides didn't think it's possible to stalk or still-hunt nilgai--which is BS, because it's done a lot on the King Ranch. Both of the nilgai I took on that hunt (a bull and cow) were still-hunted, and shot at ranges of 75 and 200 yards.

Another reason nilgai often seem tough is the same reason elk seem tough: People have heard they're tough, so they bring big rifles, which often turn out to be rifles they don't shoot very well.

So I agree with Mark, even though he's never hunted nilgai. Take any decent medium-game round with GOOD bullets, and the job will be done neatly if the shooter does his job."
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John