Irish and I are headed to FL in January to hunt a few pigs and deer. We will have a chance to try our luck on nilguy. I have never hunted them before and don't know anything about them except that they are big. Are they good to eat? What do you do with one if we do have some luck?
Great eating if you ask me. Very hard to take with a rifle, much less a bow. I cook them up just like any ole steak.
They are very hard to get close to and harder to punch thru than a big hog.
I thought they were along the coast of Tx, never knew they were in FL
What method to hunt? Spot and stalk, tree stand? I tried to find info on the net but just came up with a bunch of ads for guided hunts. Anyone know of a website or book about them. I'm shooting a 65# recurve and heavy woodies, sound like a good enough setup?
Don't know anything about them but good luck you guys. I hope you have a great hunt :)
Tracy
Tracy that was one nice buck. Congrats. Are they still running hard? Still got my KS buck tag for western KS. May have to make a trip out there again.
Thanks John, They have been running for the last ten days.So I am sure there is a doe or two that still needs breeding. Chance of snow this weekend I will be on days but my son will be hunting hard. He has a couple of big ones he is chasing.
Good luck :thumbsup:
Tracy
Friends tell me Nilgai tend to have areas wher they deposit their droppings at. They say you will find mounds of droppings concentrated in small areas,and they hunt there. Maybe one of the Wensels will see this and chime in as they have some Nilgai hunts on the King ranch and would know more.
Draco hit it on the head. Some buddies of mine have hunted them that way, with training wheels and have had decent luck. Another option is to find a watering hole with some good trails coming to it. They like to water in the same spot and once you get them patterned, it's a very productive hunt.
John,
The Blue antelope of India is what your after. The Nilgi originally came from India, the largest of the antelope specie there. They are big and built like a brick $hit house. They are well known to absorb alot of lead. Very wary animals in the wild and from what I'm told one of the toughest trophys to take in Texas with a bow. How tough they are to hunt is very dependant on where they are habitating. In Florida they are a ranch specie not free ranging as a number of them are in Texas. You have some good advice on waterhole's above and I am sure the rancher will have some good advice. I have not hunted them myself but have a number of friends that have shot them with bow and gun. I have eaten it a number of times and it was good meat in all my experiences. Good luck and have lots of fun!
I have been on ranches down in south texas hog hunting and they always tell us, if you want to shoot a nilgai, go ahead, but noone has gotten close enough with a bow yet. The pile of droppings draco is talking about can get as big as the bed of a truck, this is the best place i have seen to get close to them. their sense of smell is like deer but better and can see like turkeys, but very fun to try to stalk. good luck and let us know how you do.
I have hunted them before in TX, very wary and sense of smell and sight is very good, hard to pattern even over the dung piles, there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why they use the ones they do. The best chance you have is that hopefully you will be in an area with lots of them and eventually you will come into contact with one. Good meat, low fat content. My first hunt for them I was not really interested in shooting one but someone told me "if you see one you will want to shoot it" boy was that right on! from the minute I saw one I became focused on shooting one. They can be stalked, it's hard and terain dependant but lots of fun, especially if you get multiple opportunitys. Have fun !
I have taken two nilgai with my 65# Wes Wallace recurve. We hunted free-range animals in south Texas. There are about 40,000 of them in a four county area. The vast majorities are on the King or Kennedy Ranches. It is some of the best eating I have had. My wife always ask when I plan to hunt them again. They were transplanted from India and have found that the south Texas climate is conducive to there reproduction in the wild. You will find the dung piles, which to me just means they are in the area, but it does not necessarily mean that they will frequent during daylight. The mature bulls are very aggressive and have been know to kill each other as well as domestic cattle during the "rut." I use the term rut loosely because they tend to have kind of a rut or breeding season in January and February, but can breed almost any time. So this time of year I tend to see more movement as the bulls are looking for cows. Water holes are a good start in Texas because it is dry. I am not sure if you will have the same localized pattern in Florida if there is access to excessive water. We had reasonable success stalking because we did see more animals and focused our attention on the transmission areas between mesquite and live oak. However, a tree stand in the transition zone was most productive. Their natural predator are tigers, which are usually on the ground, so getting into the trees helped us get around their awesome vision. Food was really everywhere, so yes it did make it difficult to pattern them. I do not know of any bait you could use to bring them in.
All of this may be interesting to you, but none of it may be relevant in Florida. I image that these will be captive animals, but I am not sure. As far as them being tough to kill, this is true. Mainly because there heart and lung set forward in their thoracic cavity a little more than deer. I would check out the anatomy of other plains antelope as well to get a reference. They also have a high hump between the shoulders due to extremely long spinal process of the vertebrae. This gives you an illusion of a large target, when actually you should be aiming quite low and forward just above where the front leg connects to the body. Look only for broad side or slightly quartering away shot. From a tree stand it becomes even more difficult since most of us are used to shooting deer and we can hit them higher. The bigger bulls develop tough hide in their front shoulders due to fighting. Another thing about nilgai that makes them tough is they can run very fast and cover a lot of ground, so even a good fatal hit may leave you with a much greater distance between blood drops. Their hair is thin and lays flat. They cannot handle the cold very well. There has been several die-off due to extended uncharacteristic freezing weather in south Texas. The challenge is great, but so is the reward if you are truly able to hunt them.
I published an article about nilgai in TBM, you may be able to read it in the Best of Traditional Bowhunter book compiled by Gene Wensel. brothersofthebow.com
Good luck and have fun,
Mike
And the meat...WOW I believe it is my favorite. Low in fat and that cholesterol stuff. Fantastic taste.
Thanks guys, sounds like I'm in for a challenge. These animals will be behind fence but a very large fence. Irish and I will be hunting hogs and deer and the rancher said that we could try for one of the nilguy. Hopefully the meat is as good as you guys say it is, the deer hunting has slowed a little around here. Don't want to start any aguments but would you guys suggest switching the WW's for my Magnus 2 blades?
John,
Sounds like your gonna have to cover yourself with Nilgi dung and hold tight! I'd stick with the two blades or have one handy if that nilgi shows up. Penetration will be the key on these guys.
OK, maybe John is going to cover himself with Nilgi dung :eek:
Think maybe I will hold back say 15 yds and John can be the decoy!!
Yep awesome eating and even more awesome challenge. I spent three hog hunting trips to the King ranch back many years ago persuing the wily critters. I wanted to stalk and kill one, got close many times but just never came together.
Then Barry I think it was wrote his article in TBM on the "Blue Bulls".... Before the article Nilgi were only another $10 or so tacked onto your hog hunting fee. The next year after the article they went to like $175 a day just to hunt the blue bulls.... :mad: Thanks Barry.... ;)
Mike is right on, hold low and forward and be prepared for a tough blood trail even with a great hit. I was in on three or four trailing jobs and these guys are very fast and tough. Every time I see a mount of one I get the urge to head south.
Enjoy your trip guys!
Any one have a pic
Yea I read One of the Redneck Twins article on them and looked into to hunting them. Right at that time it was just Doug said and almost giveaway with a paid hog hunt. I studied their anatomy and determoned tight real tight to the shoulder and one third up from the bottom to be just about ideal arrow placement. Well by the time I had saved up the money for the hog hunt the Nilgai went from no trophy fee $25 addition to a 100/day plus a $750 trophy fee. So I've never hunted them.
Shoot whatever broad head you are comfortable with. I used a WW on one nilgai and a zepher temest on the other. But I have taken moose with the WW as well. The mature bull nilgai weigh about 550 pounds and the adult cows weigh 300-400 pounds.
I shot a cow in Texas in 2001. They are just like African animals and you need to shoot straight up the leg and not further back. The price for them is out of sight now. I think you can hunt the king ranch for something like a 1000.00 a day now and the Kennedy ranch I think they are like 1700.00. I hunted them for 150 a day. That was the best wild meat I have ever eaten.
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Great bull Mike :notworthy: Awesome critters!
Thanks guys. No offense Herdbull but I hope they taste better than they look. Kind of a strange looking critters arn't they? Did you mount the bull? He would make a cool looking trophy. Thanks again guys.
kctreeman Oh yes they taste great. The best! I did my own taxidery and they look good on the wall together. I really had to alter the form to fit the cow since most folks don't mount them. But they are a real trophy and at my friends suggestion I did both of them.The bulls look mystical and have a bout three or four color phases as they mature. The cows look like a deer in summer coat. They stand taller in the front than in the hind end so at times they have a gait like a hyena. They have long necks like other antelope and the cow's looks more pronounced since they are much thinner than bulls. Rigor has set in the cow pictured, so it does not look as good. But believe me they are absolutely beautiful animals. They have cool markings on their ears and on the lowest part of their legs. They have a withers and a mane. The tail is long and has a big tufted of hair at the end. I really loved hunting these nilgai!!! Ha!
Most of you guys know I've hunted pretty much all over the world. Free ranging nilgai with a stickbow is right at the top of my list as far as challenge is concerned. You can't bait them, you can't call them, you can't push them anywhere for certain. They have excellent eyes, excellent ears, excellent noses, excellent reflexes, never curious, they are tough to kill and the best eating wild meat I've ever had. If they had bigger horns, they'd be famous! If they see you, its over. They are not very difficult with a rifle and many were shot by compounders at longer ranges but getting inside the 25 yard line with a stickbow is one supreme challenge. I doubt it was Barry's article that raised the prices. The King Ranch started shooting them commercially from helicopters to sell the meat about that time. Shortly thereafter Four Arrows Outfitters went belly up and the King Ranch went to only guided hunts at high dollar. Our best results were hunting them from live oak treestands when the bulls were cruising during their rut in January or setting up at fence crossings where they go under fences. The dung piles are not really productive. Nor is waterhole hunting in January. They are extremely tough animals. The bulls kill each other regularly by fighting. If you make a bad hit, they run until they die. No stopping or lying down after a couple hundred yards like a poorly hit deer, etc. Very hardy species. I truly miss being able to hunt them fair and square at reasonable rates like we used to.
Mike they are fantastic animals, my hat off to you. very interesting picture, kinda reminds me of some old Paul Schafer pics. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
These Nilgai hunts are great example of taking advantage of a unique opportunity while it exists. Put things off for "someday" and someday never comes.
Steve , I know what you mean. For us non-residence to Alaska it will be black bear, moose and caribou going to need a guide to hunt them. I hope it doesn't happen, but you never know. Like the nilgai of south Texas, you just can't put things off.
With our bleak looking moose populations and subsistence issues, it could happen at any time. I wouldn't be too concerned about caribou and black bear at this time however.
Zimbabwe is also a good example of a great opportunity gone away.
Luckily, I have a friend that has a lease on the
Kenedy Ranch. I have hunted there many times with him. The very first time I stalked within 25
yards of a bull, and 2 cows. It was the first
day of my first hunt so I past up the shot thinking there would be many others. BAD MOVE!!
I have made probably a dozen more trips down there and have never been that close again.Everytime we go we are hunting hogs deer and javilina, butI would love to be able to spend a couple weeks
just hunting Nilgai. Without a doubt the toughest animal that I have ever tried with a bow. My hats off to anyone that has been succesfull.
Paul J.
Mel & Mike,
Not sure about how you would hunt Florida Nilgai, but if they allow you to shoot cow or bull...I would not be too picky. Sorry for the length of this post. I was fortunate enough in 1998 and 1999 (July both years) to bowhunt Nilgai at Four Arrows Outfitters @ King Ranch for $75 a day. Still the best valued hunt I have ever been on. All do it yourself. There were enough animals per square mile that I actually got within 25 yards of four different animals over six days (three day hunts both years). I killed a young cow the first afternoon after setting up on a fence crossing with multiple trails. I used whitetail logic and it paid off. Water holes were never productive as the Nilgai were just too smart. In 1999, I shot a big bull the first afternoon after stalking up on one by accident. That summer, they had a lot of rain and the grass and mesquite were thick. I was stalking (more like scouting) into the wind and could smell the recent presence of Nilgai (smell like Elk). I was walking along a trail directly besides a fence and I heard what I thought was a big hog to my left. I could barely make out a big body deep in the grass under some oaks just munching away. When I saw the big hump above his shoulder blades and the bluish color, I could not believe I was within 10 yards of a blue bull. I could not see his belly due to the height of the grass, so I started at his back and went down what I thought was 2/3 of his body. I zipped a Zwickey clean through the fence and his body, but he trotted off like nothing hit him. You have to hit them low and forward. I hit him for a perfect double lung on a whitetail and never found a drop of blood. This was with a compound bow as I was not shooting traditional yet. My friend, scored on a nice bull the next morning while stalking through the mesquite. I would hunt them like whitetails and key into where you see one. They seem to feed/hide in the same areas as other Nilgai based on food/hunting pressure. So if you find one feeding on something or can establish some type of pattern (not likely) stick with it! Pay close attention to the wind and walk SLOWLY. You can stalk them if you are in an area that has alot of animals. ABSOLUTELY BEST WILD MEAT I HAVE EVER EATEN! Four Arrows is no longer open...Sorry. GOOD LUCK.
I hunted with the Wensel brothers on the King Ranch in '97. At the time, if memory serves me correctly, it was believed that no one ever killed a Nilgai with traditional archery equipment. Well, our group killed three Nilgai bulls. I brought this one home, Barry Wensel killed one, and so did my 16 year old son(using a compound). As others have said; a very challenging game animal and one that I would love to spot and stalk again.
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I have hunted the King Ranch and the Yturria Ranch for Nilgai with a rifle. Killed a cow on the King and a very large bull on the Yturria Ranch near Raymondville Texas. I really want to hunt them with a stickbow and am looking into doing that now. The Yturria is not hunted as hard and had more bulls. A good guy to call and get info with prices etc. is Lendall Laxton at www.llhunt.com. (http://www.llhunt.com.) You can also reach him at 361-573-6813. Many outfitters in the area will not let you bowhunt them because they are so hard to kill and congrats to the guys here that have taken one with a stickbow. For the guys that have the time and can afford it......it is a great way to extend your hunting season because I hunted them in the spring. You will see some beautiful country and tons of animals. Good Luck to anyone that tries it. I remember the one thing that Lendall told me about the animals......THEY DON'T BLEED.....
One more animal I will never get to hunt. Sigh. :campfire:
I got a hold of Lendall and they don't allow bowhunting for them. This really sucks. I wish I could find a place to hunt them for around a $1000.00 for 4-5 days. I just might have to go to a game farm to do it.