2026 Texas Nilgai Hunt - Choosing a Rifle?

BillyJack1975 said:

I guided Nilgai hunts in South Texas for a few years, and I usually recommend a 300 magnum with a bonded bullet. A good 30-06 is very effective if the shooter can do his part. I’ve seen several lost with light calibers and poor bullet placement. I used 200 grain Hornady ELD X handloads in my 300 WSM. I also worked up a 220 grain handload for my scout rifle when having to run down and put Nilgai down. Both were effective combos! Definitely a fun hunt.
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All but one of those bulls are juvenile with their soft caps still.

Hope they weren’t paying full trophy price for them. Meat bulls maybe?

BillyJack1975 said:

I guided Nilgai hunts in South Texas for a few years, and I usually recommend a 300 magnum with a bonded bullet. A good 30-06 is very effective if the shooter can do his part. I’ve seen several lost with light calibers and poor bullet placement. I used 200 grain Hornady ELD X handloads in my 300 WSM. I also worked up a 220 grain handload for my scout rifle when having to run down and put Nilgai down. Both were effective combos! Definitely a fun hunt.

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BJ - Thx for sharing your expertise. I recently cleared up a miscommunication between myself and my Guide for Nilgai. Either, I misunderstood him (possible) when we talked on the phone or he misspoke regarding use of Barnes TSX bullets.

Turns out the use of TSX and TTSX is OK for Nilgai. I am planning to hunt with my Sako in 338wm loaded with 225g Barnes TTSX ammo. Our backup gun will be my 375HH loaded with either Barnes 300g TSX or 250 TBBC ammo. It shoots them both well. If I swap to the Bearclaws, I will have to rezero the rifle. Our other pair of hunters are taking a 300wm loaded with 180g TTSX and a 338wm loaded with who knows what, lol. All are experienced hunters and pretty good marksmen. They are all too busy to practice much but such is life.

dchum said:

All but one of those bulls are juvenile with their soft caps still.

Hope they weren’t paying full trophy price for them. Meat bulls maybe?

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Good eye on the maturity level of those Joven bulls, I would agree a person should have some basic understanding of the game they’re hunting, nilgai are very complex for a inexperienced hunter To judge IMO , horn length and color variation don’t = a mature bull .
Unfortunately lots of hunts are “ hey there’s one hurry shoot it “ and then your out the front gate !

BillyJack1975 said:

Nilgai, regardless if an old bull or young cow are excellent table fare. No gaminess and yield a bunch of meat.

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I am looking forward to sprinkling some of my South African Six-Gun seasoning blend onto one of the tenderloins and giving it a try. 6-Gun will make an old shoe taste like a filet but is much better on a good cut of venison.

My favorite African meal was a Kudu pot pie that was made from minced venison, seasoned with 6-Gun, onions, peas, and carrots and covered with either puff pastry or in a next of mashed potatoes and baked. Either method is damn good.

JG26Irish_2 said:

I am looking forward to sprinkling some of my South African Six-Gun seasoning blend onto one of the tenderloins and giving it a try. 6-Gun will make an old shoe taste like a filet but is much better on a good cut of venison.

My favorite African meal was a Kudu pot pie that was made from minced venison, seasoned with 6-Gun, onions, peas, and carrots and covered with either puff pastry or in a next of mashed potatoes and baked. Either method is damn good.

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Save your Nilgai heart. Its huge and has lots of clean amazing tender meat. I’m sure 6 gun will make it taste great! I made mini kabobs with my latest bulls heart. Cooked them with some sweet Asian glaze in a hot pan.

dchum said:

Save your Nilgai heart. Its huge and has lots of clean amazing tender meat. I’m sure 6 gun will make it taste great! I made mini kabobs with my latest bulls heart. Cooked them with some sweet Asian glaze in a hot pan. View attachment 738598

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The last heart from an animal I shot was blown in half, lol. I will spare you the photos. Direct impact with a 225g SST at about 2700fps - boom/flop. If, I get an intact heart, we will give it a try. Thanks for the recipe, idea.