Have shot more Nigam or blue bull than most. Well over . . . . Which amounts to 35 years of weekly hunting for the pot.
I have taken Bos elaphus tragocamelus with 22lr on several occasions but this does not mean that it is suitable for nilgai. The 275 rigby is as good as the 30-06, the 7mm rem mag and 300win mag are good, yet not good enough.
The 338 win is I am sorry to say a useless cartridge which exists because the extremely efficient 350 Rigby remained a propriety and thus expensive round. Indeed the 350 rigby would have been the ideal cartridge for Nilgai.
The 9.3x64 Brenneke is a typical theoretical German cartridge. It offers similar ballistics as the 375h&h but is extremely uncomfortable to use, indeed more so than the 458 win mag , 416 rigby, 425 westley Richards 465 India h&h etc.
The 9.3x62 lacks penetration and should not be used on nil gain or on dangerous game. I am aware of its reputation in South Africa where it was popular because it was cheap.
I have removed 30-06 bullets from nil gain shot from the rear, which have penetrated upto the kidney region; the wound had healed completely and the animal was in good health !
The 8x68 is again a theoretical invention with little practical use.
Apart from the 350 Rigby the only really practical round is its nemesis, the 375h&h mag. There is no angle from which the 375 holland will not completely penetrate and devastate nilgai.
A liver shot with a 30-06 will hardly stop this animal whereas the same shot with a 375 will stop him within 50 yards , if not 20 yards. If you must use a 300 win mag , avoid shooting at running nilgai, for if you should hit him a hands' breadth behind he will take you for a long search.
Rifles heavier than the 375 h&h lack accuracy at longer ranges and hence sere no useful purpose on nilgai.
I have taken blues from 3 yards up to 400 yards with express sights. The cheapest federal bullets will do the job although the RWS ammunition is better.
Any medium rifle will do the job but here the h&h does it better and with little fuss.
Forget your American calibres, blue Bulls were vermin big game of the British empire and the empire knew how to deal with them.
Well we are all a product of our own experiance. Who knows what happend to you. Good grief.
