Great start. Hope you tag something
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
-
I saw two bulls and a group of cows (5) in unit 4 today...tried to put a stalk but I was in the open...always good to see animals though.Comment
-
Stuck a big ol bull at 25 yards this evening. Arrow came out opposite side at about the level of the fletching. He ran about 30 yards (couldn’t get another shot on him) and stood there for about a minute so figure he’s really hurt but then disappeared. Couldn’t find a blood trial. Combed an area for about 30 minutes before it got too dark, but couldn’t find him.Comment
-
Get some extra eyes in the morning. Hope you can find himOriginally posted by BigRed323 View PostComment
-
Originally posted by BigRed323 View Post
Nice! Hope you find him. I’m sure that was exciting. You in 6 by chance?
Didn’t see anything but pigs yesterday. Nothing this morning but it’s still and foggy.
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkComment
-
So if you blow a big stud of a bull out of an area, are the chances slim he returns to said area? Asking for a friend…
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkComment
-
Originally posted by BigRed323 View Post
Good luck! Hope you were able to find it. Those things don’t leave a blood trail at all, which is why the rifle hunters want those giant calibers to drop them in their tracks.
I’d always heard that about Nilgai not bleeding but I didn’t understand why until I finally had one on the ground. I saw my bull go down within sight (major relief), but to give him some time I went to where I shot him to look for my arrow and then tried to retrace his steps. I NEVER FOOND A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD! If I hadn’t watched my arrow bury right where I was aiming and then watched him go down a few seconds later - I would have sworn it was a clean miss just based on the (lack of) evidence he left behind.
What I found when I was skinning mine out was that they have this very thick layer of dense cartilage like material under the skin that covers their shoulders and necks. I assume this thick layer of tissue gives them some armor plating for fighting other bulls and gives them some protection from getting shanked by one of those 7” daggers they have on their heads. This shielding lays just below the hide, but it’s not really “attached” to the hide. I’m sure it is attached to some degree, but what I mean that those two outer layers move very freely and independently of each other. So, even if you put an arrow directly thru the lungs and cause massive trauma and blood loss, the only time blood will actually escape the chest cavity is when the entry wounds on each of those two layers align, which isn’t going to happen often if they are moving and when it does it will just be for a fraction of a second.
Their anatomies are nothing at all like whitetails. All the blood stays trapped inside the chest cavity. I actually heard my bull make 6-7 death moans. (Which is very disturbing, btw). Each one was slightly weaker and more gurgly than the previous, until his lungs filled with blood and he expired.
I say all that just to tell you - don’t let the lack of a blood trail make you believe it wasn’t a lethal shot.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ProComment
-
[QUOTE=FlyGuyy;16033498]
Their anatomies are nothing at all like whitetails. All the blood stays trapped inside the chest cavity. I actually heard my bull make 6-7 death moans. (Which is very disturbing, btw). Each one was slightly weaker and more gurgly than the previous, until his lungs filled with blood and he expired.
I say all that just to tell you - don’t let the lack of a blood trail make you believe it wasn’t a lethal shot.
Yes, blood trails are not common with nilgai and if present usually very sparse in my experience. I've also heard 2 bulls Ive killed death moan, its how I knew I had a bull down for sure.
BigRed did you hear anything like a death moan? It is a disturbing sound for sure. Good luck on the recovery, I'd bet he's laying dead somewhere but keep that bow handy.Comment
-
Originally posted by solocam_aggie View Post
Haha! Sorry to hear that but I’m glad you had an encounter!
Im no expert so I can’t say for sure, but in my limited experience- Every time I’ve blown a stalk or I got winded and had one blow out real bad like that then I’ve found that they were not back in there for the next couple of days at least…. Nilgai do not like people or pressure at all, and they will move away from it pdq.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ProComment
-
Nope no death moan unfortunately.
We covered area between 3 guys and nada. Hopefully he’s alive or the buzzards at least point me to him to get my hands on him.Comment
-
Nilgai, in my experience, virtually run to the next county when they are spooked unlike a white tail.Originally posted by solocam_aggie View PostComment
-
-
They are tough critters. I have tracked a number that started with good blood trails only to have them go to drops and then nothing in about 50 yards. It happens to us all at some point hunting these guys.Originally posted by BigRed323 View PostComment
-
Like what was said above...sorry bud.Originally posted by solocam_aggie View Post
If you were in the north part of LANWR...he is now in unit 1.
Comment
-
Laguna Atascosa 2021
So I went ahead and set up where I jumped the bull. Also jumped two whitetail bucks and there was a fresh scrape and rub. Really good area, just a tough place to set up. I got in my tripod at 3. 20 minutes later I hear this hawk sounding noise. Didn’t think much of it, but after many of them I finally see who they were coming from, a big bull! He worked around me, but never came in. I’m thinking he may have got a whiff of me.
Maybe it was a different bull, but lone bull in the same area makes me think it was him. Learned what kind of noise I bull makes lol.
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkLast edited by solocam_aggie; 01-08-2022, 03:50 PM.Comment
Comment