7MM Magnum for Texas Nilgai

[baldhunter]

If you can get it,tight behind the shoulder quartering away is going to be a great choice.You will do damage to the lungs, a lot of arteries,possible heart and spine damage to.That quartering away shot is going to be directing the full impact and destruction in a very vital part of the animal.Compared to a quarter towards you,that shot is directed from a vital region towards the gut region,which can be lethal,but the animal may travel a long distance before dying.Even a broadside shot can be bad if not far enough forward.The old bulls are very thick in both hide and muscle membrane.Some of the membrane around the muscle can be like the thickness of deer hide.I pick a good bonded or partitioned bullet of at least 160grs.Factory ammo in the 7mag has been kinda anemic,I'd load my own myself.Also make sure the ranch or outfitter knows what caliber you plan on shooting.Some places require a 300 Win Mag minimum.

 

[Mrkdiver]

Partit

Planning a hunt for next year. Nilgai is on my bucket list. Have my new 7mag , M70 Supergrade. Undecided weather to just buy a box of factory loads or reload my own.

I like making my own but will not pound this rifle with a lot of Maximum loads.

This being said, what would be your bullet choice? hand loaded or factory? I'm looking at the

160gr Partition
160gr Swift A-Frame

Nilgai are supposedly very thick skinned, hard to kill antelope. In fact the guides mostly require a magnum .30 caliber minimum to hunt. I guess they get tired of chaising *** shot animals all around the ranch

A partition will work fine, they aren't super human. I've shot a bunch with 270 Win. and 130 Speer to a '06 with 180 Hornady interlock and 2 with 55# longbow.

 

[tooth doc]

Planning a hunt for next year. Nilgai is on my bucket list. Have my new 7mag , M70 Supergrade. Undecided weather to just buy a box of factory loads or reload my own.

I like making my own but will not pound this rifle with a lot of Maximum loads.

This being said, what would be your bullet choice? hand loaded or factory? I'm looking at the

160gr Partition
160gr Swift A-Frame

Nilgai are supposedly very thick skinned, hard to kill antelope. In fact the guides mostly require a magnum .30 caliber minimum to hunt. I guess they get tired of chaising *** shot animals all around the ranch

I dont know everything but i hunt all over the us, canada and have 22 trips to africa. My favorite hunting bullet is the barnes ttsx. Never had a failure due to the bullet . A 160 in your 7 mm will due all you need, a 150 would probably be fine. I also like 168 bergers but put in the boiler not the shoulder

 

[Sanford338]

Planning a hunt for next year. Nilgai is on my bucket list. Have my new 7mag , M70 Supergrade. Undecided weather to just buy a box of factory loads or reload my own.

I like making my own but will not pound this rifle with a lot of Maximum loads.

This being said, what would be your bullet choice? hand loaded or factory? I'm looking at the

160gr Partition
160gr Swift A-Frame

Nilgai are supposedly very thick skinned, hard to kill antelope. In fact the guides mostly require a magnum .30 caliber minimum to hunt. I guess they get tired of chaising *** shot animals all around the ranch

From those 2 choices I'd go with A-Frame. I've taken 2, both with my custom 338 RUM shooting 250 grain LRX Barnes. They're as tough as folks say... Good Luck & Good Hunting

 

[Bob Wright]

Didn't know anything about them until this thread. Shot placement is straight thru bone so I can see why a well constructed bullet and a lot of energy will be needed. Impressive animal.

 

[trophyhunter1000]

7 Rem Mag is plenty of shock and trauma on the receiving end. Generally, S TX nilgai are in or near brush, unless they are hangin' out in the Kleberg County roadside ditches at night. Shots over 300 yards are uncommon in the brush country. Heck, over 200 is uncommon especially if you are hunting from a high-rack/top-drive truck in heavy cover.

That said, if it were me, I would load the 160 or 175 A Frames muy pronto and practice up. Remember, Swift bullets tend to like to jump.

I agree with Laguna Freak. It all depends on what ranch you hunt on as far as distance also. I know when I guided on the tio Moya in Encino tx we had one field that you could stretch a guns legs out to 600 yards. A 7 mag will do the job just use the heaviest most well constructed bullet you can find. As a guide I wanted my hunters to bring a .300 mag or a 338 win mag with 200 grain bullets preferably swift A frames or sciroccos. Jm2c

 

[trophyhunter1000]

oh and you will love the meat. In my opinion its better than beef.

 

[J E Custom]

Some animals are tenacious and don't want to go down. some call this tough and that is a side effect of being tenacious mentally. Some have thick skin and muscle and others have the will to amaze people when shot perfectly and still run. The high powered rifles we have will penetrate any skin and muscle so placement is very important. Even hit perfectly, with a 350 grain at 2700 ft/sec from a 416 the bull stayed on his feet and ran 20 yards. the bullet went completely through taking a large chunk out of the opposite shoulder. Sometimes animals just run when there is no reason So shot placement may assure that it is a killing shot, but the running part is undetermined.

I am a believer in bigger is better but there is a reasonable limit to that philosophy and considering the minimum preferred caliber is .30 It is more for the average shooter that books hunts that seldom makes perfect shots, than someone that can place the shot in the best impact area every time.

I have been on hunts that the shots were held to 70 yards for these people so they could pull off a poor shot and still be successful. I personally would not hunt many animals with small calibers, but that doesn't mean they could not be used successfully with proper placement for the size of the game. (A head shot with a 22/250 will make a mess, but will still drop anything in North America but it is an iffy shot and not recommended.

Having shot most animals and skinned them, The armor on a large boar hog is definitely the thickest and toughest and takes a good bullet with plenty of energy to penetrate.

Will a 7mm RM kill a Nilgai ?"YES". Is it the best all round cartridge for a Nilgai ? "NO" Distance and shooter ability is the deciding factor in my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[JMW67]

oh and you will love the meat. In my opinion its better than beef.

You are correct here nilgai steaks med. rare will compare with the best beef

 

[Buckys]

Oh yeah. Make sure you wear a good pair of COMFORTABLE snake boots. S TX rattlers only slow down when the blue northers blow through.

TX hunters' rule of thumb; most everything on the ground will bite, stab, or sting you.

That goes for the flora as well as the fauna

 

[wonderman4]

Rattle snakes are all over the south this time of year. When you've been here long enough, you just learn to live with them.

As some others have said, shot placement is key in nilgai killing. Buddy of mine was on the King ranch a few years ago and they gave him permission to shoot one. He proceeded to nail one behind the ear for an instant kill. The ranch hand nearly crapped his pants when he wanted to see the gun. It was a 222 Rem with 50 grain bullet.

 

[Betarider]

You are correct here nilgai steaks med. rare will compare with the best beef

Yeah but how much per pound

 

[Laguna Freak]

Rattle snakes are all over the south this time of year. When you've been here long enough, you just learn to live with them.

As some others have said, shot placement is key in nilgai killing. Buddy of mine was on the King ranch a few years ago and they gave him permission to shoot one. He proceeded to nail one behind the ear for an instant kill. The ranch hand nearly crapped his pants when he wanted to see the gun. It was a 222 Rem with 50 grain bullet.

I was going to suggest a neck shot. It kills 100% of the time. A shot anywhere along the neck within 2 or 3 inches of center-line will produce a shockwave that turns the big blue beast's brain to mush and will likely sever the spinal chord even if it doesn't break vertebrate which it probably will. He ain't running anywhere with that wound. DRT

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

I've shot several Nilgai here in South Texas on the King Ranch and IMO the 7mm Rem Mag is enough gun, however I strongly recommend the Barnes TTSX bullet and a shot "in the chevron" as the African PHs say, i.e. halfway up front leg. Vitals are further forward than we are used to seeing in N American game. FYI, it can be a DRT shot or you can hit 'em good with a big iron and they may run. Last year the guide told me to bring a big rifle...so being a smart acorn I offered to bring my .375 H&H...to my surprise he said "that'll be perfect". During the hunt i got a good steady face on shot through the brisket about 70 yds (which is unusual to get that close glass and stalking). I hit him good with a 300gr Barnes TSX and he went right down...as I expected. Then about five seconds later he got up and started to trot off...which I did not expect. I got a second shot in while tracking and hit bit further aft than the chevron and he went down but got up again. We went after the track and found him a bout 200 yards further down the trail. My buddy took his with a single perfectly placed shot using 180 gr A Square in .300 Wby Mag. That guy went right down. So...take enough gun and hit 'em good with a strong bullet. Be ready to make a second shot and practice shooting your big iron off the sticks.