Well, about all I can say is that I survived. No but seriously, I had a blast. I met some great people and learned a lot about hunting nilgai. I didn't have a shot opportunity, but I learned how to hunt them on these rattlesnake infested islands and next year hopefully will be able to put that to use.
As for being tough to take down I found that it depends on the size of the nilgai. The big bulls can be for sure, but the younger onesnot so much. At least three of the six killed on this trip were shot with 30-30s, both 94 Winchesters. The reason for these experienced nilgai hunters using Winchster Lever guns is because they are light and fast handling and within 100 yards, deadly.
I'm not sure what bullet they were both using but I think at least one was using 170 grain Core Lokts.
The other three animals were killed with 30-06s.
One of the problems with this hunt is that the air boat we were planning to use blew got hot the first afternoon out and blew a head gasket at minimum and may have cracked a head. The thermostat stuck. The tide was out so far that it was a 1/4 mile walk through the mud to the island from where the regular outboard powered boats ran aground going to the islands we were hunting.
I never saw a Nilgai alive
but i still enjoyed it all. Anyway I will post again later
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Better luck next time... It is hunting, not catching.
D
"A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
OK, I'll admit it - I might try a running shot on a Nilgai, up close.
Sorry you didn't get one, but it sounds like you had fun.
Yeah it was a great trip. I tell you, the Robinsons don't have crap on this bunch. there's all kinds amongst them. There were three retired colonels from the Army, a **** ass (Local name for Cajun), 4 Corpus Christi boys, a few Seadrift Outlaws, and a ****, well the **** who was born in Mainland China is an American citizen and one of the retired colonels and so were 2 of the Corpus boys. But to see this bunch you would think Duck Dynasty was a bunch of amateurs. Some of the guys were just fishing. They didn't hunt. It's a great area to fish being about 3 miles down the canal from Baffin Bay.
The guy that ran the boat, a shrimp boat about 40 feet long, is from Corpus and is brother in law to two of the Retired colonels. He shoots a .270 WBY Magnum. But he was mainly a guide on this hunt, although he has taken many Nilgais with his Weatherby in the past.
We caught the boat at the Kennedy Causeway turnaround, underneath the bridge on the Padre Island side. The bridge goes over the Intracoastal there. Some of the guys took their bay fishing boats which ranged from 19 to 21 feet long having an assortment of outboards from 115 to 225 HP. It was a 4 hour ride going down and 5 coming back into a strong norther yesterday. The outboard powered fishing boats made the run in about fortyfive minutes>
The owner of the air boat, Russel brought both it and his 21 foot Carolina Skiff with a 200 HP Susuki on it nd the Shrimp boat towed them both. The brother to two of the Colonels brought his new boat he built from another hull, which had a cabin on it and resembled a Lobster Boat. So we called it the Lobster boat. His name was Jeff. He didn't hunt and was there to fish. The Coonass from Nederland Texas, between Beaumont and Port Arthur brought his Go Gator Duck boat and it would have gotten us to and from the islands dry except he wore down his prop pulling the lame air boat out of the mud back to the channel. This guy also cooked some good gumbo and made a kick ass potato salad. For those of you not schooled in the culinary arts of South Louisiana, potato salad is often spooned into a bowl of Gumbo and is a very good match. We had all sorts of talent on this trip. Chris was his name and he killed the first nilgai when the Air Boat crapped out with is Browning BAR 30-06 with 165 grain bullet. He was riding in the air boat with Russel scouting things out when it got hot and crapped out. But just before that happened an unsuspecting Nilgai bull decided to cross between two islands and Chris nailed it. His was by far the biggest Nilgai. He also killed a bunch of ducks, Blue Bills and caught a mess of black drum fish. He was right at home in his element.
i went out for two Nilgai drives. However, we weren't aware of four guys who were amateurs who had a 4 wheeler and had been running around on some of the islands we hunted with no success. On the last morning, yesterday, we ran into them on or last hunt. We were mainly looking for Whitetail on this island and that's where these guys were that morning. Our guide, a guy named Shane told them they weren't hunting it right and they didn't have enough hunters and all they were doing was scaring the Nilgai off that island and screwing the hunting up. It may have worked out better for us if we'd been there ready and let them drive the island.
Oh well, we don't own it. It's state land. We just have to do the best we can and if it pays off, the more the better. We did get six Nilgai and a bunch of ducks and fish. And most everything was divided up, so I have no complaints. A trip like this is more than about killing game anyway. When I hunt I like to kill something, but this was a special occasion.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
That sucks that you didn't get a shot, but great that you learned what needs to be known for the next go-around.
What all I learned I learned the first day out. It's a drive hunt. Nilgai are wari and smart and can see and smell better than deer. I learned to find me a relatively snake free place and get down where they can't see you but you can see them coming. Don't move or make noise. It helps to block your scent. But hunting them like we died you need to wear Blaze Orange to keep from getting shot. So that's why you need to be well hidden and not move. Those Islands are loaded with racoons so I had a bottle of spray **** Urine. One thing that can really blow your cover with a wari animal is your breath. When you breathe you're spewing your scent all over the place. What I do is bring fresh onion or garlic, because both grow wild around here, and I nibble on one or the other. I've used both with success on Whitetail Deer. With Nilgai it's important because they can smell you farther away than deer can. Anyway mask your scent and stay out of sight and don't move around and when the drivers flush the nilgai you should be in luck.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Replies
As for being tough to take down I found that it depends on the size of the nilgai. The big bulls can be for sure, but the younger onesnot so much. At least three of the six killed on this trip were shot with 30-30s, both 94 Winchesters. The reason for these experienced nilgai hunters using Winchster Lever guns is because they are light and fast handling and within 100 yards, deadly.
I'm not sure what bullet they were both using but I think at least one was using 170 grain Core Lokts.
The other three animals were killed with 30-06s.
One of the problems with this hunt is that the air boat we were planning to use blew got hot the first afternoon out and blew a head gasket at minimum and may have cracked a head. The thermostat stuck. The tide was out so far that it was a 1/4 mile walk through the mud to the island from where the regular outboard powered boats ran aground going to the islands we were hunting.
I never saw a Nilgai alive
but i still enjoyed it all. Anyway I will post again later
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Sorry you didn't get one, but it sounds like you had fun.
Yeah it was a great trip. I tell you, the Robinsons don't have crap on this bunch. there's all kinds amongst them. There were three retired colonels from the Army, a **** ass (Local name for Cajun), 4 Corpus Christi boys, a few Seadrift Outlaws, and a ****, well the **** who was born in Mainland China is an American citizen and one of the retired colonels and so were 2 of the Corpus boys. But to see this bunch you would think Duck Dynasty was a bunch of amateurs. Some of the guys were just fishing. They didn't hunt. It's a great area to fish being about 3 miles down the canal from Baffin Bay.
The guy that ran the boat, a shrimp boat about 40 feet long, is from Corpus and is brother in law to two of the Retired colonels. He shoots a .270 WBY Magnum. But he was mainly a guide on this hunt, although he has taken many Nilgais with his Weatherby in the past.
We caught the boat at the Kennedy Causeway turnaround, underneath the bridge on the Padre Island side. The bridge goes over the Intracoastal there. Some of the guys took their bay fishing boats which ranged from 19 to 21 feet long having an assortment of outboards from 115 to 225 HP. It was a 4 hour ride going down and 5 coming back into a strong norther yesterday. The outboard powered fishing boats made the run in about fortyfive minutes>
The owner of the air boat, Russel brought both it and his 21 foot Carolina Skiff with a 200 HP Susuki on it nd the Shrimp boat towed them both. The brother to two of the Colonels brought his new boat he built from another hull, which had a cabin on it and resembled a Lobster Boat. So we called it the Lobster boat. His name was Jeff. He didn't hunt and was there to fish. The Coonass from Nederland Texas, between Beaumont and Port Arthur brought his Go Gator Duck boat and it would have gotten us to and from the islands dry except he wore down his prop pulling the lame air boat out of the mud back to the channel. This guy also cooked some good gumbo and made a kick ass potato salad. For those of you not schooled in the culinary arts of South Louisiana, potato salad is often spooned into a bowl of Gumbo and is a very good match. We had all sorts of talent on this trip. Chris was his name and he killed the first nilgai when the Air Boat crapped out with is Browning BAR 30-06 with 165 grain bullet. He was riding in the air boat with Russel scouting things out when it got hot and crapped out. But just before that happened an unsuspecting Nilgai bull decided to cross between two islands and Chris nailed it. His was by far the biggest Nilgai. He also killed a bunch of ducks, Blue Bills and caught a mess of black drum fish. He was right at home in his element.
i went out for two Nilgai drives. However, we weren't aware of four guys who were amateurs who had a 4 wheeler and had been running around on some of the islands we hunted with no success. On the last morning, yesterday, we ran into them on or last hunt. We were mainly looking for Whitetail on this island and that's where these guys were that morning. Our guide, a guy named Shane told them they weren't hunting it right and they didn't have enough hunters and all they were doing was scaring the Nilgai off that island and screwing the hunting up. It may have worked out better for us if we'd been there ready and let them drive the island.
Oh well, we don't own it. It's state land. We just have to do the best we can and if it pays off, the more the better. We did get six Nilgai and a bunch of ducks and fish. And most everything was divided up, so I have no complaints. A trip like this is more than about killing game anyway. When I hunt I like to kill something, but this was a special occasion.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Just the opportunity to pursue one of these antelopes and not take a second mortgage is primo in my book.
What all I learned I learned the first day out. It's a drive hunt. Nilgai are wari and smart and can see and smell better than deer. I learned to find me a relatively snake free place and get down where they can't see you but you can see them coming. Don't move or make noise. It helps to block your scent. But hunting them like we died you need to wear Blaze Orange to keep from getting shot. So that's why you need to be well hidden and not move. Those Islands are loaded with racoons so I had a bottle of spray **** Urine. One thing that can really blow your cover with a wari animal is your breath. When you breathe you're spewing your scent all over the place. What I do is bring fresh onion or garlic, because both grow wild around here, and I nibble on one or the other. I've used both with success on Whitetail Deer. With Nilgai it's important because they can smell you farther away than deer can. Anyway mask your scent and stay out of sight and don't move around and when the drivers flush the nilgai you should be in luck.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.