I had the privilege to hunt King Ranch over the last couple of days, and took an ancient and very large bull. If you look at the horns, he has started to shed the outer covering at both the base and tips. A year ago, he would likely have scored very high, but a year ago he would not have been such an old and spectacular animal.
We spotted a group of five or six bulls around 600 yards away at about 8:30 am. The wind was in our favor, and my guide and I were able to ghost within 300 yards of them. Using a handy mesquite limb, I was lined up on one very respectable animal, when this bull stepped out from the brush. He was clearly older, and I instantly switched to him and launched a 200 gr ELD-X from my .300 Win Mag R8. The bullet hit him low in the chest (later found to have cut through the lower heart), and he reared on his hind legs like a stallion. I immediately hit him twice more while he was still on his feet which is pretty much the standard drill in South Texas where they can be quickly lost in the thick brush country. As he gave a cape buffalo type death bellow (often happens with Nilgai), I used my Leica's to check the range to the shot - 282 yards. My R8 in .300 Win Mag livery is extremely accurate well beyond that - and really quick on a follow-up shot.
Normally, I would not mount a Nilgai, but this is a special old bull, and I am afraid that I will have to find a place for him.
We spotted a group of five or six bulls around 600 yards away at about 8:30 am. The wind was in our favor, and my guide and I were able to ghost within 300 yards of them. Using a handy mesquite limb, I was lined up on one very respectable animal, when this bull stepped out from the brush. He was clearly older, and I instantly switched to him and launched a 200 gr ELD-X from my .300 Win Mag R8. The bullet hit him low in the chest (later found to have cut through the lower heart), and he reared on his hind legs like a stallion. I immediately hit him twice more while he was still on his feet which is pretty much the standard drill in South Texas where they can be quickly lost in the thick brush country. As he gave a cape buffalo type death bellow (often happens with Nilgai), I used my Leica's to check the range to the shot - 282 yards. My R8 in .300 Win Mag livery is extremely accurate well beyond that - and really quick on a follow-up shot.
Normally, I would not mount a Nilgai, but this is a special old bull, and I am afraid that I will have to find a place for him.
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