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nilgai with a 308?

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    #31
    A well placed .17 or .22 will kill them. I killed one as a kid with an HK91 in .308. My weapon of choice now is a .375 RUM. As others have stated, .308 will work. . . or fail depending on shot placement. Same is true of larger caliber magnums. Bonded bullets, with adequate mass and speed (that you shoot adequately) is the best combination.

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      #32
      Kid on a youth hunt a few years ago shot one with an AR10 in 308, frontal shot, went down in around 10 yards the guy said. I thought 308 wasn't enough so had my son using my 300 WSM which he had issues the whole time seeing through the scope and cost him several shots. I still regret not just letting him use his 308 that he's used to and practices with.

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        #33
        Originally posted by skeeter View Post
        whatcha think?

        Im thinking of going to a 165 grain solid copper bullet. But, what do yall thing is the best 308 bullet for niggai?
        I am not sure how well that round will mushroom. I've killed plenty of nilgai and I use the Federal Nosler Partition. The 308 will work just fine provided that your shot placement is good. If it's broadsided, put it right in the shoulder and break it. Be ready for a follow up round if you can or it's needed.

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          #34
          Like said before keeping the shot close and bust a shoulder or break a neck
          When I worked on the Kennedy we killed them with .270, 8mm Remington mag, 300 H&H
          303 British ( 180gr cor-loc)
          Pick and choose the right shot, which is the hard part with daylight nilgai

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            #35
            A 165gn Swift A frame would be good medicine in the .308

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              #36
              I love my .308 but would take or borrow a bigger gun. Just my preference. If it bleeds you buy so why wouldn't you stack the deck in your favor?

              Little curious about the almost full weight retention and complete pass through comment above.....would that person elaborate?

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                #37



                308 with the proper bullet and placement will easily do the job. I’ve taken half dozen with my scout rifle and 220 grain handloads. This is my go to guiding gun and it’s always worked.

                I’ve had clients lose Nilgai with 7mm and 300 magnums. And I’ve had em lose em also with 3006 and 308. A whitetail deer 150 grain factory load isn’t recommended for Nilgai. I’ve seen Winchester PowerPoint and similar factory loads fail several times, where a better bullet construction would have done better. Granted, shot placement wasn’t always ideal.

                If your set on a 308, go with a bonded or copper bullet, or development a heavy hitting handload like I did. I specifically developed this handload for Nilgai hunting.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                  #38
                  300 win mag break both shoulders. Your welcome

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                    #39
                    Originally posted by CentralTXHunter View Post
                    You can kill them with darn near anything. Stick and a string and .243 and up.

                    However, a lot of guides won’t take bow hunters and have a minimum caliber requirement. That’s not because you can’t kill them. It just makes recovery that much more difficult. If you’ve never been in that brush county, it gets thick in a hurry and Nilgai are prone to weak blood trails.

                    Big caliber, bigger hole, more likelihood for a recovery when you get the shakes and make a less than perfect shot.

                    Your .308 should be fine, but if you have access to a larger bore rifle, I’d borrow it.


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                    You can’t write a better response to what you said when it comes to Nilgai.


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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                      #40
                      I hunting them on the King Ranch in March. Considered buying a 300 Win mag or something like that, but having a 30.06 and realizing the difference between these 2 is 100 fps for so many loads, decided to stick with what I have.

                      Then started shooting it off sticks & kind of sucked with it.

                      So I tried my 308 and that made a huge difference. Realized the stock on the 30.06 is kind of narrow and can move around in the 'Y' of the sticks where the 308 fits in there just right.

                      Then started looking at 308 loads, found the Barnes TTSX 150 grain and saw that it is as fast as most 30.06 150 grain loads. Saw many a recommendation saying 'use a heavy bullet', but then only a couple of these went on to say 'because when that bullets sheds 20% of it's weight, you'll still have enough bullet moving through vitals to get the job done'. Seems the TTSX loads don't shed much if any weight.

                      King Ranch sends out some intsructions/FAQs when you book. As far as caliber goes they say .30 & up with no mention of bullet weight, but several recommendations on which bullets (TTSX, Accubond etc.) - and pretty sure somewhere they say they don't recommend bullets made for deer.

                      I'm sure they've seen lots of hunters with big magnums they've not shot a lot and don't shoot too well-with results as you'd expect.

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by KX500 View Post
                        I hunting them on the King Ranch in March. Considered buying a 300 Win mag or something like that, but having a 30.06 and realizing the difference between these 2 is 100 fps for so many loads, decided to stick with what I have.

                        Then started shooting it off sticks & kind of sucked with it.

                        So I tried my 308 and that made a huge difference. Realized the stock on the 30.06 is kind of narrow and can move around in the 'Y' of the sticks where the 308 fits in there just right.

                        Then started looking at 308 loads, found the Barnes TTSX 150 grain and saw that it is as fast as most 30.06 150 grain loads. Saw many a recommendation saying 'use a heavy bullet', but then only a couple of these went on to say 'because when that bullets sheds 20% of it's weight, you'll still have enough bullet moving through vitals to get the job done'. Seems the TTSX loads don't shed much if any weight.

                        King Ranch sends out some intsructions/FAQs when you book. As far as caliber goes they say .30 & up with no mention of bullet weight, but several recommendations on which bullets (TTSX, Accubond etc.) - and pretty sure somewhere they say they don't recommend bullets made for deer.

                        I'm sure they've seen lots of hunters with big magnums they've not shot a lot and don't shoot too well-with results as you'd expect.

                        Either the 30-06 or the 308, virtually identical on performance, but the 30-06 will work better with bullets over 180 gr. I would be looking for a 165 to 180 gr. bullet for the 308, then an Accubond, Accubond Long Range, Nosler Partitian, or a Swift A-Frame. You are not really wanting velocity, when using a rifle such as a 308 or 30-06 on an animal of that size. You want some expansion but not a lot. A 180 gr. bullet of any of the types I listed, you will be fine, if you put the bullet in the right spot. A spine shot of some type would be preferred, either a neck shot, which might be hard to figure out where the spine is in those wide neck. Or top of the shoulder, that will intersect the spine.

                        But with a bullet like I listed, if you have to take a heart shot, it will do enough damage to put them down quickly. If you took the 30-06, as a back up gun, I might look for a 200 gr. bullet. But a 180 gr. would work very well. Then before you go, learn whatever ammo you choose to use. As far as bullet drop, then carry a range finder. With a 308 or 30-06 and 180 gr. bullet or heavier, it's going to drop noticeably by 300 yards. A spine shot could wind up quite a bit low.

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                          #42
                          Barnes LRX or the TTSX are fast becoming the go to bullet for Nilgai

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                            #43
                            I’m running the Hornady Outfitter 165gr out of my 308. Crushes everything, big Aoudad, etc. Put a quality 165gr bullet or larger slug in the boiler room and you’ll be fine.

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by skeeter View Post
                              whatcha think?

                              Im thinking of going to a 165 grain solid copper bullet. But, what do yall thing is the best 308 bullet for niggai?
                              Shoot it in the shoulder.

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                                #45
                                Originally posted by Muddy Bud View Post
                                You’ll be fine. We shoot them with 257 Wby mags 110 grain soft points. Hit them low or high in the shoulder and they don’t go far. That little bullet does a number internally. We like to keep the shots under 200.
                                What he said…
                                Shoot it in the shoulder.

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