CPAjeff
Well-known member
Man, what an adventure! Thanks for wonderful recap!!
Pretty Fly for a Nilgai
- Thread starter jt13
- Start date
It's not quite over yet! Stay tuned
This particular National Wildlife Refuge has a check station and a walk-in cooler to use. Once I got him all loaded up in the truck, that's where I headed. It was about a 45 min drive, but well worth it. I met several other successful hunters there, some volunteers, TPW staff, and refuge staff. Everyone was exceedingly friendly and helpful.
It was the early afternoon by the time I got free and clear from there. I treated myself to a lovely lunch of Whataburger and got back after it. This draw permit is for unlimited nilgai and I traveled over 2000 miles to hunt so you weren't going to find me wasting much time!
The rest of the evening was filled with whitetail deer sightings and the most ducks I have ever seen in my life:
And the sun sets on hunt day 2 of 3:
It was the early afternoon by the time I got free and clear from there. I treated myself to a lovely lunch of Whataburger and got back after it. This draw permit is for unlimited nilgai and I traveled over 2000 miles to hunt so you weren't going to find me wasting much time!
The rest of the evening was filled with whitetail deer sightings and the most ducks I have ever seen in my life:
And the sun sets on hunt day 2 of 3:
Sunday came and I found myself on the last day of the hunt. A 3 day hunt like this is a whirlwind affair but yesterday's success removed all pressure off my shoulders. Anything else from here on out would be a nice bonus.
My sore back and legs from the long pack out the day before led me to want to hunt a bit closer to the truck. I told myself that I would keep it within a mile of a road or trail. I started the hunt about 60 minutes before sunrise, I didn't feel the need to be quite as early since I wasn't going in as deep. I crept along trying to pick out silhouettes of animals with my binos in the wide open as I did the day before. No luck this time. The only animals I can find as legal light came were two whitetail bucks.
I decided to walk the brush similarly to what I had done on Friday, wind in my face and slowly creeping down game trails. I went about a half mile and caught a glimpse of nilgai butts weaving through the mesquite. They seemed spooked but I didn't think it was from me. There was a pack of coyotes in the area howling while chewing on a nilgai carcass and I think it made them nervous. I continued along.
As the sun came up, I was both being blinded by it and lit up like a Christmas tree. I needed to change directions so I turned east towards a massive salt flat. Before I hit the edge of the cover I catch the reddish brown color of a nilgai cow out in the open. A cow and two calves feeding away from me at about 400 yards. After quickly analyzing the situation and making a game plan I started to crawl... and crawl... and crawl... through soaking wet cactus filled grass. I eventually ran out of cover and had to stop.
I'd went over 200 yards but with them feeding away from me I only closed about 100 yards of distance. I ranged the cow at 286 yards. I decided instead of forcing the issue and most likely spooking them I would sit and wait. I was hoping a big bull would see them and pass by me or that they decided to get out of the open and head back my direction to cover.
I took this photo while I waited. If you look closely you'll see some blurry nilgai in the distance:
About 15 minutes went by and I did my best to keep from moving too much or "prairie dogging" my head above the cover. Eventually I peek up to check on them and I see the cow rounding up her calves, seemingly on high alert. She stomps and barks at something out in the flat, turns 180 degrees and takes off at a trotting pace back towards me!
I hustle to de-fog my soaking wet range finder to start ranging bushes and yucca trees. Once clean I rise up slightly to get a range and it becomes immediately apparent that the rangefinder is unnecessary. They are at 100 yards and closing fast, the trajectory they are on will cross in front of me at about 85 yards. I dropped the rangefinder, raised my shotgun and got on them. The cow trotted by but stopped briefly right at the edge of the flat and the brush. I squeezed the trigger and fired. It was a hit. I chambered another round and fired while she was on the run... miss... and she disappeared into the brush. I approached immediately to the area where I last saw her to see if she'd stopped or gone down.
And what I find is this:
A monster of a nilgai cow!
My sore back and legs from the long pack out the day before led me to want to hunt a bit closer to the truck. I told myself that I would keep it within a mile of a road or trail. I started the hunt about 60 minutes before sunrise, I didn't feel the need to be quite as early since I wasn't going in as deep. I crept along trying to pick out silhouettes of animals with my binos in the wide open as I did the day before. No luck this time. The only animals I can find as legal light came were two whitetail bucks.
I decided to walk the brush similarly to what I had done on Friday, wind in my face and slowly creeping down game trails. I went about a half mile and caught a glimpse of nilgai butts weaving through the mesquite. They seemed spooked but I didn't think it was from me. There was a pack of coyotes in the area howling while chewing on a nilgai carcass and I think it made them nervous. I continued along.
As the sun came up, I was both being blinded by it and lit up like a Christmas tree. I needed to change directions so I turned east towards a massive salt flat. Before I hit the edge of the cover I catch the reddish brown color of a nilgai cow out in the open. A cow and two calves feeding away from me at about 400 yards. After quickly analyzing the situation and making a game plan I started to crawl... and crawl... and crawl... through soaking wet cactus filled grass. I eventually ran out of cover and had to stop.
I'd went over 200 yards but with them feeding away from me I only closed about 100 yards of distance. I ranged the cow at 286 yards. I decided instead of forcing the issue and most likely spooking them I would sit and wait. I was hoping a big bull would see them and pass by me or that they decided to get out of the open and head back my direction to cover.
I took this photo while I waited. If you look closely you'll see some blurry nilgai in the distance:
About 15 minutes went by and I did my best to keep from moving too much or "prairie dogging" my head above the cover. Eventually I peek up to check on them and I see the cow rounding up her calves, seemingly on high alert. She stomps and barks at something out in the flat, turns 180 degrees and takes off at a trotting pace back towards me!
I hustle to de-fog my soaking wet range finder to start ranging bushes and yucca trees. Once clean I rise up slightly to get a range and it becomes immediately apparent that the rangefinder is unnecessary. They are at 100 yards and closing fast, the trajectory they are on will cross in front of me at about 85 yards. I dropped the rangefinder, raised my shotgun and got on them. The cow trotted by but stopped briefly right at the edge of the flat and the brush. I squeezed the trigger and fired. It was a hit. I chambered another round and fired while she was on the run... miss... and she disappeared into the brush. I approached immediately to the area where I last saw her to see if she'd stopped or gone down.
And what I find is this:
A monster of a nilgai cow!
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Guttin' and gillin' part two.
Front and back of a 385 gr. Remington Accutip, stuck in the hide on the opposite side of her:
She was quartered up and I took one load back to the truck that was parked just about exactly one mile away. I returned with a borrowed plastic sled, loaded the remaining three quarters, and drug them out. The sled was certainly a fine tool for this particular job, though I'll say it still wasn't easy. Dragging 125+ lbs alone through all kinds of nasty stuff in 85 degree heat was a special kind of fun. Once out, I raced this one over to the walk-in cooler to hang with the bull.
With 2 nilgai on the ground, butchering to do, logistics on baggage and meat care I called it a hunt. I spent the remainder of Sunday butchering and packaging for the trip home.
I do a good job cleaning up so my reviews are stellar but if Airbnb hosts only knew what I did to their places on trips like these...
Needed to tape the freezer shut and weigh down the door.
Front and back of a 385 gr. Remington Accutip, stuck in the hide on the opposite side of her:
She was quartered up and I took one load back to the truck that was parked just about exactly one mile away. I returned with a borrowed plastic sled, loaded the remaining three quarters, and drug them out. The sled was certainly a fine tool for this particular job, though I'll say it still wasn't easy. Dragging 125+ lbs alone through all kinds of nasty stuff in 85 degree heat was a special kind of fun. Once out, I raced this one over to the walk-in cooler to hang with the bull.
With 2 nilgai on the ground, butchering to do, logistics on baggage and meat care I called it a hunt. I spent the remainder of Sunday butchering and packaging for the trip home.
I do a good job cleaning up so my reviews are stellar but if Airbnb hosts only knew what I did to their places on trips like these...
Needed to tape the freezer shut and weigh down the door.
The final chapter is a series of canceled flights, travel woes, lost baggage, and general ridiculousness that came with this winter weather. It's almost too ridiculous to even try and adequately explain so I'll just leave it at me, the gun case, my luggage, and 211 lbs of boned out nilgai meat made it home safely albeit 24 hours later than planned.
An unsung hero of this trip... the food:
My first taste of nilgai, delicious:
In conclusion, I had the solo DIY public land hunting trip of a lifetime. An adventure I will never forget. I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given and can only hope and pray that I'll get to do it again some day.
An unsung hero of this trip... the food:
My first taste of nilgai, delicious:
In conclusion, I had the solo DIY public land hunting trip of a lifetime. An adventure I will never forget. I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given and can only hope and pray that I'll get to do it again some day.
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Keep on
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2021
- Messages
- 1,434
Nice hunt and write up. Were you able to get that much meat frozen overnight, and how did it hold up with an extra day getting delivered home?
Carl 9.3x62
Well-known member
Sweet! You planning on doing any sort of male/female taxidermy with them?
Really cool story, thanks for sharing. Did a hunt on one of the nearby units a few years ago and it was an awesome experience. Its a part of Texas I never knew existed but fell in love with it. Nilgai are incredible animals and tasty too! Thanks again!
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The same fella the lent me the plastic sled let me use some freezer space, I also used the freezer in my AirBnb, as well as dry ice. Nearly all of it was rock solid in the 30 hours or so it had to cool down.
I brought along 4 collapsible cooler bags for transport. I was able to fit approximately 50lbs in each cooler bag. Two coolers were used as a carry-on and personal item. The other two coolers went into checked baggage. I had to check one extra bag making for 3 total and of those 3 two of them were overweight. It cost me about $300 in baggage fees to get it all home.
If it weren't for the holiday on Monday, I could've mailed gear home and saved money on baggage but that's the way the cookie crumbled.
Everything was still frozen darn near solid when I got home. Outdoor temps below freezing was a benefit there.
I'm going to do a European mount of the bull. Bringing home as much as I did was a logistical hurdle, adding two capes and heads would've been difficult to handle
Sask hunter
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- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
- Messages
- 3,294
Congrats!
CRJR45
Well-known member
Cool stuff !
LostTexican
Active member
Man I can’t wait to get back after them. If you’re selective with applications and who you apply with you can do this more than once.
I'm the only one in my hunting group that applies in TX. I'll keep applying regardless but wont have my hopes up.
If someone out there with a bunch of points is reading this and wants to put me on their Texas NWR exotics application next year I'm in! Send me a message, I'll help carry your stuff! Lol
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
Congrats! Sounds like an awesome trip.
Forkyfinder
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- Joined
- Dec 13, 2023
- Messages
- 2,534
Cool hunt and story!
