Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Nilgai cartridge choice

I was out this weekend in Kennedy county, still hunting the beasts. Spotted 15 and they all came withing 100-150 yds from me on Saturday morning. Wind was good and in my favor. Problem was they were all just across the fence on the neighbor's place. I was watching a clearing where they had been frequenting as of late. Unfortunately they didn't show in our pasture. I had 5 big bulls in my scope at the same time. But the good news is I can go back again and again until I get one! Maybe again in April... I felt very confident in my 9.3 x 57 had I gotten a shot.

BN

One of my friends moved down to Brownsville in 2001 and has taken a few nilgai. The first one was with his 7mm-08. I think it took 3 shots before the bull was dead and they had to chase it around a bit. Not sure what bullets he was using. Then he switched to a 35 Whelen with Federal 225 gr TBBC loads. 2 others since then have been one shot kills.

Hatari !!

Have shot more Nigam or blue bull than most. Well over . . . . Which amounts to 35 years of weekly hunting for the pot.
Not one have I shot in Texas ! Our blue bulls are much larger and the largest I have weighed has been a little over 1000 lbs with horns over 11 inches ; almost or perhaps a record.
The problem with Nilgai is that they are tough and can run nearly 100 yards with a smashed heart. Hit the shoulder aorta and spine and they fall instantly all be it not quite dead. I the real world animals move and bullet placement may go awry. The best rifle is one which is forgiving, has excellent penetration, deviates minimally in thick brush and packs a punch.
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.
I apologize for the long reply, I could go on for an eternity on shooting blues for the pot. As you perhaps know , nilgai were not fair game where pig sticking was concerned unlike axis porcinus and leopards.

WTF

A friend I was with killed on that was 11.5 inches... so much for TX bulls being small...

I do agree that larger rounds make a bit more sense

Duly noted! Will bring this up at durbar before next hunt. I know several in the party that will appreciate your comments and expertise! Perhaps they will benefit and experience a sucessful hunt

Until then, I remain,

Votre humbler et tres' obeissant serviteur!

Kaywoodie

Jeff,

I don't think Subedai was talking only about horn length, but I have talked to biologists in Texas who've weighed a number of bulls of 900+ pounds, with a few around 1000.

Probably so, the 11.5 inch one, was not light in weight at all compared to the others we killed. But alas no scale.

I'd have thought 850-900 or so.. Others thought more.

Take a 45-70. Load it with a hard cast 480 to 500 grain flat nosed bullet and drive it at 1250 fps. You will shoot all the way through any nilgai that walks at any angle, and won't have any trouble.

Well we are all a product of our own experiance. Who knows what happend to you. Good grief.

Apparently a victim of bad bullets, common where they're not as easily obtained as in the USA.

Subedai also apparently posted his dissertation and hasn't been back since.

All hunting was banned during the late 1970s in the land of the Nilgai. My old shikari continues to cull blues despite this. We have in our days taken bluebells in thousands and not in dozens.
Take my advise or leave it but do not use a 45-70 or a 458 or 465, 470, 475, 577 etc. Apart from the 45-70 all these are excellent weapons in thick jungles. Indeed you may kill an elephant with a 275, but this does not make it the ideal rifle for dangerous game.
From what I have seen the 375h&h is perhaps the correct choice for shooting blue bull.
A 458 win mag with 1959 full load; same striking energy as the 470 NE , will only penetrate 3.5 feet into the spine from behind. Indeed a paraplegic blue bull will attack you following this unfortunate bullet placement. A 22lr behind the ear where the skull is cellular and weak will suffice as a coup de gras.

I'd like to hear more about this, please tell us of your experience here.



Would that include the 35 Whelen?



And this too.....

How does a rifle deviate minimally in thick brush? What is forgiving about it?

Please inform us sir.

Thank you SU 35. This confused me as well. I would like to hear more!

Hmmm...

Standing by, anxious to learn more...

DF

Its 6 months till Christmas, and yet we've found a fruitcake early.

Subedai,

Have you ever used any of the modern expanding bullets that penetrate much deeper than 1959 .458 Winchester soft-points? I realize such bullets as Nosler Partitions, Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullets and several others may not be available to you, but they penetrate far deeper, and do indeed make "American" cartridges entirely suitable for nilgai-sized animals, as well as others, including the 9.3x62. In fact I've shot essentially lengthwise through not only nilgai but elk (about the same size as nilgai) and Alaskan moose (much larger than nilgai) with cartridges including the .270 Winchester, .30-06, various .300 magnums, the .338 Winchester Magnum and 9.3x62.

From your posts it appears that you're using simple bullets with relatively thin jackets and lead cores, but modern bullets make far more difference in terminal performance than caliber or even bullet weight these days.

He probably has killed a few thousand. He does show some bias against the Germans doesn't he.

I watched rangers culling elephants with AR-15s in Tanzania. It all boils down to being able to shoot the rifle that you have, and knowing its capabilities and its limitations.

For North American sport hunters, the priority should be making a clean kill--not wounding animals to death. This means passing on shots that are marginal or low percentage, regardless of how few opportunities you have had or how little time you have left to hunt.

Culling, especially for population reduction or removing problem animals, is something entirely different.