Public Land Nilgai Bull - DIY - Texas Parks and Wildlife Draw Hunt

[SC Living Outdoors]

Back in October I was on a New Mexico elk hunt without any cell service. I finally found some service on the top of a ridge. I took out my phone and checked my email. I found out that I had drawn a Nilgai hunt down in South Texas on a Wildlife Refuge. This was a huge surprise because draw odds are only around 1%. I did all the research I could, but honestly its not a normal western hunt. The ground is incredibly flat and thick. So e-scouting wasn't a ton of help other then just learning where the roads were and looking at the outline of the property. I talked to the guy over all the hunts to get some pointers. He told me there were plenty of Nilgai if you could find them. He said the best way he new to hunt them was to try to find an active trail that had a scat pile with fresh scat because Nilgai with consistently poop in the same area over and over. I arrived a day early to scout. I covered about 8 miles that day. I saw lots of trails and lots of scat piles. However, it is very dry down there and it was super tough to tell how fresh trails are unless you find fresh scat. I finally found a very very good area. Even though I was told to hunt trails I found an area that the Nilgai were feeding consistently. They were mowing down the green grass and there was fresh scat there. Growing up as a whitetail hunter I know that food is king. Everything has to eat. I set up a ground blind and brushed it in with grass. I decided I would sit all day. When I go on a hunting trip I hunt. You can't kill anything sitting in the truck or taking a nap. On day one I saw 2 Nilgai cows and 2 calves. I missed the cow with my 45-70. It was 250 yards. I've never shot that gun that far. I wasn't expecting them to come out at that distance. I aimed high, but I'm guessing that I missed low. I immediately went back to the truck and got my 7mm08. I'm very comfortable with that gun out to 400. That night I saw 2 fantastic whitetail bucks, but I couldn't shoot whitetails . Day 2 was really slow. I saw 5 moo cows and 5 whitetail does right before dark. I knew there was at least one bull in the area because I found fresh scat on a scat pile on the walk back to the truck the previous night. Day 3 was slow until 12:45pm. I just happened to be looking down my lane instead of at my book when I caught some movement down the lane. A big Nilgai bull was moving into the lane from the right. He wasn't coming out to feed, he was just crossing the lane. I did the never failing whitetail bleat to make him stop. I leveled the crosshairs behind his shoulder at 150yds. I knew I had hit him hard. The shot felt perfect. The bull bucked and he kicked hard. After 30 minutes I headed down to the area. After 10-15 minutes I found the bull. The 140gr accubond performed perfectly. He ran about 150yds and piled up.

I spent 32 hours in the blind and it was worth it in the end. Very few people draw this tag and even fewer kill a good bull. I'm proud to be able to say I killed a mature Nilgai bull DIY on public land. Someone has to draw and maybe it'll end up being a hunt you'll never forget.

 

[noharleyyet]

Congrats, how's the eating? I've only had sausage and it was mighty tasty.

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

Congrats, how's the eating? I've only had sausage and it was mighty tasty.

It's pretty darn tasty!

 

[Mudranger1]

Very cool. Is it going on the YouTube's?

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

Very cool. Is it going on the YouTube's?

Yeah. Once I edit it up I’ll post it on my channel.

 

[geetar]

Congrats buddy the eating and the mount on that one will be awesome!

 

[3855WIN]

Says a lot for the Accubond and the 7mm-08. Congrats.

 

[Sask hunter]

Congrats!

 

[T Bone]

That's cool! Good on you for throwing your name in the hat and making the long odds pay out in a great bull!

 

[BayouBengal]

Back in October I was on a New Mexico elk hunt without any cell service. I finally found some service on the top of a ridge. I took out my phone and checked my email. I found out that I had drawn a Nilgai hunt down in South Texas on a Wildlife Refuge. This was a huge surprise because draw odds are only around 1%. I did all the research I could, but honestly its not a normal western hunt. The ground is incredibly flat and thick. So e-scouting wasn't a ton of help other then just learning where the roads were and looking at the outline of the property. I talked to the guy over all the hunts to get some pointers. He told me there were plenty of Nilgai if you could find them. He said the best way he new to hunt them was to try to find an active trail that had a scat pile with fresh scat because Nilgai with consistently poop in the same area over and over. I arrived a day early to scout. I covered about 8 miles that day. I saw lots of trails and lots of scat piles. However, it is very dry down there and it was super tough to tell how fresh trails are unless you find fresh scat. I finally found a very very good area. Even though I was told to hunt trails I found an area that the Nilgai were feeding consistently. They were mowing down the green grass and there was fresh scat there. Growing up as a whitetail hunter I know that food is king. Everything has to eat. I set up a ground blind and brushed it in with grass. I decided I would sit all day. When I go on a hunting trip I hunt. You can't kill anything sitting in the truck or taking a nap. On day one I saw 2 Nilgai cows and 2 calves. I missed the cow with my 45-70. It was 250 yards. I've never shot that gun that far. I wasn't expecting them to come out at that distance. I aimed high, but I'm guessing that I missed low. I immediately went back to the truck and got my 7mm08. I'm very comfortable with that gun out to 400. That night I saw 2 fantastic whitetail bucks, but I couldn't shoot whitetails . Day 2 was really slow. I saw 5 moo cows and 5 whitetail does right before dark. I knew there was at least one bull in the area because I found fresh scat on a scat pile on the walk back to the truck the previous night. Day 3 was slow until 12:45pm. I just happened to be looking down my lane instead of at my book when I caught some movement down the lane. A big Nilgai bull was moving into the lane from the right. He wasn't coming out to feed, he was just crossing the lane. I did the never failing whitetail bleat to make him stop. I leveled the crosshairs behind his shoulder at 150yds. I knew I had hit him hard. The shot felt perfect. The bull bucked and he kicked hard. After 30 minutes I headed down to the area. After 10-15 minutes I found the bull. The 140gr accubond performed perfectly. He ran about 150yds and piled up.

I spent 32 hours in the blind and it was worth it in the end. Very few people draw this tag and even fewer kill a good bull. I'm proud to be able to say I killed a mature Nilgai bull DIY on public land. Someone has to draw and maybe it'll end up being a hunt you'll never forget.


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Awesome SC!

My wife and I just got drawn for this hunt on Friday! Hunting February 4-7, 2021. Would it be alright if I shot you a PM to talk about the hunt? Thanks!

 

[nmassey]

Great story! I drew this tag for April 202 but due to COVID the hunt was moved back to two weeks ago. It was a super tough hunt, the high temps and humidity made sitting all day very difficult. I ended up taking a cow nilgai on the last day so was super excited. Looking forward to trying out the meat once it gets back from the processor.

 

[BayouBengal]

Were you bow or rifle hunting? I'd love to visit with you on general thoughts/strategies if you don't mind. This is definitely the first type of hunt like this for us.

 

[Sytes]

Wow! Never knew... grats on your draw and success! Pretty cool!

 

[nmassey]

I was rifle hunting. Shoot me a PM, would love to help in anyway

 

[Randymcghee89]

Back in October I was on a New Mexico elk hunt without any cell service. I finally found some service on the top of a ridge. I took out my phone and checked my email. I found out that I had drawn a Nilgai hunt down in South Texas on a Wildlife Refuge. This was a huge surprise because draw odds are only around 1%. I did all the research I could, but honestly its not a normal western hunt. The ground is incredibly flat and thick. So e-scouting wasn't a ton of help other then just learning where the roads were and looking at the outline of the property. I talked to the guy over all the hunts to get some pointers. He told me there were plenty of Nilgai if you could find them. He said the best way he new to hunt them was to try to find an active trail that had a scat pile with fresh scat because Nilgai with consistently poop in the same area over and over. I arrived a day early to scout. I covered about 8 miles that day. I saw lots of trails and lots of scat piles. However, it is very dry down there and it was super tough to tell how fresh trails are unless you find fresh scat. I finally found a very very good area. Even though I was told to hunt trails I found an area that the Nilgai were feeding consistently. They were mowing down the green grass and there was fresh scat there. Growing up as a whitetail hunter I know that food is king. Everything has to eat. I set up a ground blind and brushed it in with grass. I decided I would sit all day. When I go on a hunting trip I hunt. You can't kill anything sitting in the truck or taking a nap. On day one I saw 2 Nilgai cows and 2 calves. I missed the cow with my 45-70. It was 250 yards. I've never shot that gun that far. I wasn't expecting them to come out at that distance. I aimed high, but I'm guessing that I missed low. I immediately went back to the truck and got my 7mm08. I'm very comfortable with that gun out to 400. That night I saw 2 fantastic whitetail bucks, but I couldn't shoot whitetails . Day 2 was really slow. I saw 5 moo cows and 5 whitetail does right before dark. I knew there was at least one bull in the area because I found fresh scat on a scat pile on the walk back to the truck the previous night. Day 3 was slow until 12:45pm. I just happened to be looking down my lane instead of at my book when I caught some movement down the lane. A big Nilgai bull was moving into the lane from the right. He wasn't coming out to feed, he was just crossing the lane. I did the never failing whitetail bleat to make him stop. I leveled the crosshairs behind his shoulder at 150yds. I knew I had hit him hard. The shot felt perfect. The bull bucked and he kicked hard. After 30 minutes I headed down to the area. After 10-15 minutes I found the bull. The 140gr accubond performed perfectly. He ran about 150yds and piled up.

I spent 32 hours in the blind and it was worth it in the end. Very few people draw this tag and even fewer kill a good bull. I'm proud to be able to say I killed a mature Nilgai bull DIY on public land. Someone has to draw and maybe it'll end up being a hunt you'll never forget.


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Hey bubba great animal. Is this a points draw like the normal drawings or is it different being that it’s a national refuge hunt?
Thanks

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

Hey bubba great animal. Is this a points draw like the normal drawings or is it different being that it’s a national refuge hunt?

I believe it’s bonus points.

 

[Miller.anthony0815]

Back in October I was on a New Mexico elk hunt without any cell service. I finally found some service on the top of a ridge. I took out my phone and checked my email. I found out that I had drawn a Nilgai hunt down in South Texas on a Wildlife Refuge. This was a huge surprise because draw odds are only around 1%. I did all the research I could, but honestly its not a normal western hunt. The ground is incredibly flat and thick. So e-scouting wasn't a ton of help other then just learning where the roads were and looking at the outline of the property. I talked to the guy over all the hunts to get some pointers. He told me there were plenty of Nilgai if you could find them. He said the best way he new to hunt them was to try to find an active trail that had a scat pile with fresh scat because Nilgai with consistently poop in the same area over and over. I arrived a day early to scout. I covered about 8 miles that day. I saw lots of trails and lots of scat piles. However, it is very dry down there and it was super tough to tell how fresh trails are unless you find fresh scat. I finally found a very very good area. Even though I was told to hunt trails I found an area that the Nilgai were feeding consistently. They were mowing down the green grass and there was fresh scat there. Growing up as a whitetail hunter I know that food is king. Everything has to eat. I set up a ground blind and brushed it in with grass. I decided I would sit all day. When I go on a hunting trip I hunt. You can't kill anything sitting in the truck or taking a nap. On day one I saw 2 Nilgai cows and 2 calves. I missed the cow with my 45-70. It was 250 yards. I've never shot that gun that far. I wasn't expecting them to come out at that distance. I aimed high, but I'm guessing that I missed low. I immediately went back to the truck and got my 7mm08. I'm very comfortable with that gun out to 400. That night I saw 2 fantastic whitetail bucks, but I couldn't shoot whitetails . Day 2 was really slow. I saw 5 moo cows and 5 whitetail does right before dark. I knew there was at least one bull in the area because I found fresh scat on a scat pile on the walk back to the truck the previous night. Day 3 was slow until 12:45pm. I just happened to be looking down my lane instead of at my book when I caught some movement down the lane. A big Nilgai bull was moving into the lane from the right. He wasn't coming out to feed, he was just crossing the lane. I did the never failing whitetail bleat to make him stop. I leveled the crosshairs behind his shoulder at 150yds. I knew I had hit him hard. The shot felt perfect. The bull bucked and he kicked hard. After 30 minutes I headed down to the area. After 10-15 minutes I found the bull. The 140gr accubond performed perfectly. He ran about 150yds and piled up.

I spent 32 hours in the blind and it was worth it in the end. Very few people draw this tag and even fewer kill a good bull. I'm proud to be able to say I killed a mature Nilgai bull DIY on public land. Someone has to draw and maybe it'll end up being a hunt you'll never forget.


View attachment 128260View attachment 128261View attachment 128262View attachment 128259

Back in October I was on a New Mexico elk hunt without any cell service. I finally found some service on the top of a ridge. I took out my phone and checked my email. I found out that I had drawn a Nilgai hunt down in South Texas on a Wildlife Refuge. This was a huge surprise because draw odds are only around 1%. I did all the research I could, but honestly its not a normal western hunt. The ground is incredibly flat and thick. So e-scouting wasn't a ton of help other then just learning where the roads were and looking at the outline of the property. I talked to the guy over all the hunts to get some pointers. He told me there were plenty of Nilgai if you could find them. He said the best way he new to hunt them was to try to find an active trail that had a scat pile with fresh scat because Nilgai with consistently poop in the same area over and over. I arrived a day early to scout. I covered about 8 miles that day. I saw lots of trails and lots of scat piles. However, it is very dry down there and it was super tough to tell how fresh trails are unless you find fresh scat. I finally found a very very good area. Even though I was told to hunt trails I found an area that the Nilgai were feeding consistently. They were mowing down the green grass and there was fresh scat there. Growing up as a whitetail hunter I know that food is king. Everything has to eat. I set up a ground blind and brushed it in with grass. I decided I would sit all day. When I go on a hunting trip I hunt. You can't kill anything sitting in the truck or taking a nap. On day one I saw 2 Nilgai cows and 2 calves. I missed the cow with my 45-70. It was 250 yards. I've never shot that gun that far. I wasn't expecting them to come out at that distance. I aimed high, but I'm guessing that I missed low. I immediately went back to the truck and got my 7mm08. I'm very comfortable with that gun out to 400. That night I saw 2 fantastic whitetail bucks, but I couldn't shoot whitetails . Day 2 was really slow. I saw 5 moo cows and 5 whitetail does right before dark. I knew there was at least one bull in the area because I found fresh scat on a scat pile on the walk back to the truck the previous night. Day 3 was slow until 12:45pm. I just happened to be looking down my lane instead of at my book when I caught some movement down the lane. A big Nilgai bull was moving into the lane from the right. He wasn't coming out to feed, he was just crossing the lane. I did the never failing whitetail bleat to make him stop. I leveled the crosshairs behind his shoulder at 150yds. I knew I had hit him hard. The shot felt perfect. The bull bucked and he kicked hard. After 30 minutes I headed down to the area. After 10-15 minutes I found the bull. The 140gr accubond performed perfectly. He ran about 150yds and piled up.

I spent 32 hours in the blind and it was worth it in the end. Very few people draw this tag and even fewer kill a good bull. I'm proud to be able to say I killed a mature Nilgai bull DIY on public land. Someone has to draw and maybe it'll end up being a hunt you'll never forget.


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Great story. I was just selected on a nilgai hunt as well. I was curious which hunt you were selected on and any tips for success?

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I have a rule that I don’t tell people where I hunt. In terms of tips for success get out there and scout find some good areas and be persistent. I think I was in my ground blind for 30+hrs over 3 days before I saw a bull. It was a cool hunt. Good luck.

 

[BradA]

Congratulations I feel like your applying for a lot since it seems like your always drawing something and good for you for doing that.

 

[publichunter1]

Congrats on a fun hunt!