nilgai with a 308?

[miket]

Hunting Oryx down south next week ( smaller than Nilgai ) and when I told the guide I wanted to use my 308 Win ( favorite rifle ) he said bring something bigger. I have never shot one, so dont know, but people kill Elk with smaller rifles.....Im just assuming he has dealt with a lot of bad shots

[Jmh05]

Sounds like you had plenty of gun…

Yes sir, any caliber will work with a well placed shot like I made but despite almost perfection, I learned that those animals will take hits and vanish if you do not have near perfect shot placement.

[DUKFVR]

Hunting Oryx down south next week ( smaller than Nilgai ) and when I told the guide I wanted to use my 308 Win ( favorite rifle ) he said bring something bigger. I have never shot one, so dont know, but people kill Elk with smaller rifles.....Im just assuming he has dealt with a lot of bad shots

Yep, being a guide he has seen it all. I have had guides tell me they hate to see magnums, because lots of times the clients are scared of them & flinch, causing bad hits or misses.

[Killer]

You bet it will work fine. My son has killed several with 150gr Speer SP handloads out of his 308.

[trophy8]

I used .308 on both of mine with winchester ballistic silvertips, both were shot at the Kennedy and this is the bullet they shoot out of their loaner guns usually. Good luck and I'd practice shooting off of sticks.

Neck shot I assume?


They are very tough OP. Yes a 308 will work. The point of a bigger gun is to get em down quick. They don’t bleed much. Can run a long way in sone very thick country with marginal shots. “My daughter killed one with a 223”. They forget to tell you it was a neck shot lol. Break their front end down and they won’t go far.

Lots of folks play with fire and just haven’t been burned. Put odds in your favor any way you can. Good luck! They are fun to hunt.

I will add that we all want to make perfect shots. And that many small calibers can do it. Just know your limits on what you can shoot best and limits on the shots you take.

[Main Frame]

Hunted the Yturria in Raymondville a few years ago. We brought a few 300 WM and a 300 Wby. Guide wouldn’t let us use them. Made us use his 33 Nosler and 338 Lapua. I think our rifles would have worked fine, but as others have said, you want to get those nilgai down quick as possible. I’m sure your 308 will work with proper placement.

[miket]

Yep, being a guide he has seen it all. I have had guides tell me they hate to see magnums, because lots of times the clients are scared of them & flinch, causing bad hits or misses.

I hadnt shot my 338 in years, so was a little apprehensive when I went to shoot it, especially since I dont shoot rifles much any more. I do remember it kicking pretty good. It actually wasnt bad at all. Compared to the turkey rounds I have been shooting in my shotgun, it was pretty manageable. Those turkey shells made me think I was turning into a wuss! No, those mofos kick!

[B Lasater]

One was a neck, one was a heart shot, both required shots at point blank to finish them off. My larger of the 2 required a back hoe to load and had 2 other random bullets lodged in him.

[C-dubyah]

I shot mine with 308, it took 3 steps and fell. Also, took my canadian moose with the same 308. Shot placement matters, not size.

[piercebronkite]

.308 can be done but trophy8 is spot on with his response.

Shot this one at 200yards, that hole is the entry point. I shot him through a vary narrow brush window and clipped a tiny branch.

Single shot of a .30-.378 Weatherby magnum dumped him in his tracks.

[Arrowthreat]

I shot mine with a 30-06 and a Barnes TSX bullet. I shot him in the base of the neck in the white patch. Dropped in his tracks. I wouldn't shoot one with a .308 in the shoulder.

[Mitchell8]

Good excuse for a 45-70

[miket]

Guide told me to bring "plenty of coolers". Are 2 of the 150qt coolers big enough?

I have another 120 I could bring. I am thinking maybe I should ask what the cost is to shoot a nilgai too

[trophy8]

One was a neck, one was a heart shot, both required shots at point blank to finish them off. My larger of the 2 required a back hoe to load and had 2 other random bullets lodged in him.

I’m very curious of why the Kennedy uses BTs. I don’t see that actually happening on nilgai guns.

I shot mine with my 300 win mag and 200 grain ELDX. First shot did him in. He got 2 more pumped in him as he ran 100-150 yards. Hit em till they’re down lol

[MetalMan2004]

Hunted the Yturria in Raymondville a few years ago. We brought a few 300 WM and a 300 Wby. Guide wouldn’t let us use them. Made us use his 33 Nosler and 338 Lapua. I think our rifles would have worked fine, but as others have said, you want to get those nilgai down quick as possible. I’m sure your 308 will work with proper placement.

That’s odd. I had the opposite experience at the King ranch. I had planned to use a .308 but found a deal on a 300wm so I went with that instead. I mentioned it to the guide and he said the bill would’ve have dropped just the same with a .308.

Guide told me to bring "plenty of coolers". Are 2 of the 150qt coolers big enough?

I have another 120 I could bring. I am thinking maybe I should ask what the cost is to shoot a nilgai too

I brought a 200 and a 150. Ended up borrowing another 50 from a friend in addition.