7MM Magnum for Texas Nilgai

[Ronald W Schaefer]

One last thing, those bacon wrapped filets are like very high quality Kobe beef...they just happen to cost about $100.00 per pound after processing!

 

[JMW67]

Yeah but how much per pound

Yeah paying for a guided hunt all meat is high dollar I have been lucky and kill 8 to 10 a year get to keep 1 or 2 and have never paid a cent all processing is done by me I guess the sun shines on a dogs butt every now and then

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

Those critters are tough, and if they're fired up they're even tougher. The perfect shot at a reasonable range can be pulled off with about anything from a .270 on up, and a really tough bullet (TSX/TTSX my choice), but when things go wrong you'll wish you had a .375 or something bigger. I shot mine at a little over 200 yards with a .338-06 and a 210-grain TSX. If you shoot and they run, like mine did, and you don't have an exit hole, like I didn't (quartering shot), be prepared for a workout. We went 400 yards into the brush before finding blood. Forty yards farther he was down. I didn't have enough velocity left to drive the shot through the front shoulder. I would have with a 338 Mag. Wear snake gaiters over a good boot, and have a great hunt.

 

[epags]

As some have said its not really a caliber thing more of a SHOT PLACEMENT thing. 7RM is capable of all NA game. Load or buy something with good bullets and see if they work for your rifle. The 7RM is more than good enough for Mr Blue... its all in shot placement....

Just an observation and NOT a criticism of 445 Superman's NA comment. Since the Nilgai is not native to North America perhaps their experience has convinced them that there is a better kill to caliber ratio with 30+ calibers and want the hunter to be successful given the cost of such a hunt. My opinion is to verify the 30 cal limit. If so this thread is done. Yea, I have had a bad day with hearing aids that get pulled off with every wiggle of the mask.

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

Just an observation and NOT a criticism of 445 Superman's NA comment. Since the Nilgai is not native to North America perhaps their experience has convinced them that there is a better kill to caliber ratio with 30+ calibers and want the hunter to be successful given the cost of such a hunt. My opinion is to verify the 30 cal limit. If so this thread is done. Yea, I have had a bad day with hearing aids that get pulled off with every wiggle of the mask.

Who is 445 superman. . Hey they, the owners of these places can do anything they want. Shoot maybe they should put minimum at 585 Nyati. Wonder if that can get through. If I called about a hunt and they said I can't use my 7mm. Of any flavor rifle I'll just call another place. But darn I would show up with my 445 supermag or my 41 GNR #2 OR MY 454 Casull

 

[Laguna Freak]

Umm. From the sun?

Sun and the bitin' stabbin' stingers. Many comin' from the ground hang out at eye-level.

 

[Buckys]

Sun and the bitin' stabbin' stingers. Many comin' from the ground hang out at eye-level.

Yeah, and when you start hunting with your buddies who moved here from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, they do silly things like ring the dinner bell at the feeder. The cheesehead had hung a soup can for that purpose and thought he would pretend to call the deer in ... I just remember looking at him like WTH? and then feeling the most excruciating pain when the paper wasps that were living in that can stung me right below the eye. I never hurt that bad all the time I spent boxing when I was younger and I **** near punched him right there, lol.

He was the same guy that scoffed at me on our first bow hunt together about the flora and fauna are all out to get you. He ended up at the ER with a staph infection from a mesquite thorn that buried in his leg when he decided to bury a tripod in some brush. Needless to say, he is the first one to warn new out of state hunters to be careful hunting in Texas, lol.

 

[Buckys]

Ok I hunt Nilgai at least once a year sometimes twice. Dropped piles of them. You will never find a tougher animal in NA. Sorry that's just my opinion and the reality is they are thick skinned animals.
as such your typical lead core of any kind is not going to do the job. I've watched many hunters write a check for a animal than was hit as many as 5 times walk/run off. You want immediate terminal performance, period. 7Mag is awesome. I recommend Barns LRX solids not TTSX.NT CEB's not Hornady, not Nosler. The only bullet I see them consistently dropped with is Barnes with these small calibers. Use the biggest bullet you can at the highest reasonable velocity. You need to penetration with full energy transfer. Breaking the axel on this animals will work but I've only see it worth with 338-416 calibers at 80-300y. Only one of those went all the way through.
My personal choice is 338LM 280g Barnes LRX at 2945FPS. Longest shot was 511y,DRT blew his heart up. I've seen 300wm and 300Rum just tickle these beasts at 75-100y! Then bam, gone.
the RUM shooter hit it 5 times. Never found it.
375HH or 375RUM are other good calibers.

you can talk to Sam Ilse who is the only guide I go with. We have shot a lot and he has seen more Nilgai shot than any other human on the planet. He knows and Id trusthis recommendations.
I just finished building a 338LM for a client specifically for Nilgai Killing.
It's the smallest calIber I will personally use.
7mag is a caliber that definitely kills above what you would expect. Use the Barnes LRX bullets and try to get a shot at 250y and under. Ask Sam what he thinks but that is my recommendation.

Wondering why you say "I recommend Barns LRX solids not TTSX."

 

[Laguna Freak]

Yeah, and when you start hunting with your buddies who moved here from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, they do silly things like ring the dinner bell at the feeder. The cheesehead had hung a soup can for that purpose and thought he would pretend to call the deer in ... I just remember looking at him like WTH? and then feeling the most excruciating pain when the paper wasps that were living in that can stung me right below the eye. I never hurt that bad all the time I spent boxing when I was younger and I **** near punched him right there, lol.

He was the same guy that scoffed at me on our first bow hunt together about the flora and fauna are all out to get you. He ended up at the ER with a staph infection from a mesquite thorn that buried in his leg when he decided to bury a tripod in some brush. Needless to say, he is the first one to warn new out of state hunters to be careful hunting in Texas, lol.

I have a buddy, Navy brat from Hawaii, who already had glass in his right eye socket (surfin' or some kinda tiger shark wrestlin' injury-to hear him tell it) who was hunting by himself way up in Mason, you know far away from the bitin' stabbin' stingers , and got a mesquite thorn scratch across his left eye. Needless to say, he had an adventure just gettin' back to camp. Li'l bigger adventure driving back to Buda.

Poor guy. He fancy's himself some kinda genius...

 

[dogz]

This is exactly.

I have guided a fair share of nilgai hunts and a 7mag is not under gunned. Most places want 30 cal because they don't know any better. Work up a load with the 175gr accubond LR. That bullet is a great example of why a 7mag is more than capable.

Now you're talking! Get a good hunter on the ground, work in for a good shot. Have a cool guide helping it set up if need be. And Powder River let er buck..........said volunteer will go to Croak City Wyo right now

 

[swe123]

Most of these out of state hunters have never seen a Rattlesnake that can strike well above the knee.

 

[Laguna Freak]

Most of these out of state hunters have never seen a Rattlesnake that can strike well above the knee.

True that.

 

[highdrum]

I've had nilgai and oryx on my bucket list for a while now. 338 rum with 300 bergers going 2820 fps is what I've dialed in with. An accubond may be something else I develop just for this hunt.

 

[JohnnieB]

I've taken two, both with my 340 and 225 TTSX bullets, first one was shot right in the pocket tight to the shoulder, but I didn't see that the shot angle was a bit quartered to. Bullet placement was perfect, clipped the back of the heart, (but just clipped), and clipped the bottom of the lungs. Bull was running off and second shot went high and shocked, but did not break the spine. When I got to him, he was getting back up and ready to fight, turned a bit and third shot broke both shoulders. Whew!!! Most unwilling animal I've ever seen.

Second nilgai was also quartering to, but I knew this. Bullet broke the near shoulder, destroyed the lungs. DRT.

Shoot them with a VERY strong bullet, smack in the shoulder as one would with African game.