Figured I'd post an update. The hunt was a success. I drove to Raymondville the day before the hunt started and got 1 afternoon of scouting in. Found a couple areas that looked promising, 1 of which turned out already had a ground blind setup in the area. So decided to hunt a certain other sendero that, while close to one of the county roads, it wasn't as easily accessible as parking at a gate and walking in.
First morning I got setup on the sendero where I could see about 500 yards down 1 direction and 300 yards the other direction. I'm just sitting on my little dove hunting stool with my Primos Triggerstick bipod, not in a ground blind of any sort. I started seeing a few deer cross shortly after first light, including a pretty nice, tall 8 point at 75 yards. Around about 9am, I decided I wanted to ease down and check out another sendero that the one I was sitting on Tee'd into, so I loaded up and eased that direction. Made it about 100 yards, then turned back around and looked the direction I came from, and there was a Nilgai cow standing about 100 yards the other side of where I was originally sitting. Dammit. She moseyed off into the brush.
So I figured I rushed out of my spot too quick, so I eased back to where I was and sat back down. All the deer and that cow were all from the east direction of my sendero, so I had my gun resting on my bipod facing only that direction. At about 10:30, I needed to stretch a little because my stool is small and not the most comfortable, and it also crowds the jewels and you just have to adjust every so often. So I stretched out for a bit, sat back down, then pulled out my cell phone to check it because it had vibrated several times in the last couple hours. I probably had my head down looking at my phone for 15 seconds, and I heard a feint sound like a twig snap. I looked up to catch a brief glimpse of a bull cross about 75 yards away and into the brush as soon as I saw him. Then a cow popped out behind him. She stopped at milled around and ended up facing directly to me. Aimed right in the middle of the chest and fired, and she was down.
I'd have to say this was the prettiest of any big game animal I've ever killed. I got her dressed and packed out to the truck. I needed more ice, so I headed back to town. I decided to take the evening sit off and hit it again in the morning in the same spot. I wasn't sure how hunting in the vicinity of a carcass would play out in the world of Nilgai, but in my years of experience, deer don't give a damn. We shall see.
Next morning im hunting the same sendero, but a different spot, about 50 yards from the carcass. It had already been stripped clean by the next morning. At first light, the buzzards and caracaras were having a huge party. Coyotes made appearances as a well. Even turkeys, although they didn't eat on the carcass, they did mingle around with the buzzards and caracaras.
About 8am, a Nilgai cow walks out at 25 yards from me, and stops and stares at all the carcass activity. She wasn't as big or as pretty as the cow I shot. She eventually walked off. Later that morning about 400 yards away, a bull and cow quickly cross the sendero without giving me any time to do anything other than ID them.
Around noon, for whatever reason., I decided I wanted to see some new ground. So I head back to the truck and drive the 3 county roads that go thru the place to see where and how many other vehicles there are hunting. I found another sendero that looked good on OnX, so I parked the truck and was just going to walk in blind. As I'm getting things ready at the truck, another truck with 2 guys pulls up and parks right beside me. Turns out one of them already had a blind setup where I was planning on heading to, so I opted out of that idea. Chatted with them for a bit, and one of them had killed a cow the previous morning, and that's all the Nilgai they had seen between the 2 of them. Sounded like I was having way more action than them, so I ended up going right back to the spot I had been hunting for the rest of the day. I get setup near the carcass again, and not 5 minutes after I get situated, a cow walks out very close to the carcass and just stares at the big buzzard/caracara party that is still going on. I watch her for a minute or 2, then she goes on her way.
At about 2:30pm, I notice a white spot next to some dark brush that I didn't recall seeing before, about 300 yards away. I grab my binocs, and it's a bull. Same as the others, he's just standing there staring at all the carcass activity. He is quartering toward me, so I put the crosshairs on the forward shoulder/chest. After fighting a hefty bout of buck fever, I fired. He runs into the brush, not acting like he's hit at all. I quickly went to where he was standing, and find not a drop of blood anywhere. So off I go into the brush in the direction he headed. After about 10-15 minutes of looking, I walked right up on him.
He had ran about 65 yards. Never found a drop of blood anywhere. I spent the rest of that evening packing him out, and decided that I had enough Nilgai meat in the bed of my truck. So that was the end of my hunt. Went back to the La Quinta, and enjoyed a few cold beers and some whataburger in my hotel room.
I ended up not bringing the 300 Weatherby that I mentioned on my first post in this thread. I ended up using my 7mag shooting Federal Trophy Bonded Tip 160gr. It was sufficient. It turns out hunting over a Nilgai carcass was a good idea. It made them stop and look, which presented longer duration shot opportunities.
