Story By James Powell, for Lone Star Outdoor News
Buying raffle tickets for a good cause can pay off.
Kenneth Hamill won his first hunt for nilgai antelope at the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation’s Wild Game Supper, donated by the East Foundation.
Hamill, of Dallas, joined the East Foundation’s James Powell and Trey Dyer for an eventful hunt April 4-5.
Despite hot and dry conditions in the middle of the persistent drought in South Texas, Hamill and his foundation guides were able to connect with a young, beautiful nilgai bull after a 700-yard-stalk through classic brush country.
Shooting hastily off sticks, Hamill connected on a 100-yard shot with a Ruger M77 chambered in 7mm Remington Magnum loaded with Winchester 150 grain Ballistic Silvertip bullets.
“I was excited for the chance to hunt nilgai in South Texas, and the hunt was a great opportunity to spend some time on a beautiful ranch and harvest meat to share with my family,” Hamill said.
Last October, the East Foundation donated the guided nilgai hunt on the Santa Rosa ranch, near Riviera, to LSONF at its 2021 Wild Game Supper, which was held to raise funds to provide hunting and fishing experiences for those who have the passion but lack the opportunity.
Nilgai, an exotic but now common large mammal species in South Texas, are plentiful on two of the East Foundation’s six ranches, and the Foundation is currently conducting research on the interactions between nilgai, white-tailed deer, and cattle on native Texas rangelands. Nilgai are also a carrier and transmitter of the cattle fever tick, which presents a risk to cattle herds in portions of South Texas.
For more information on the East Foundation and its work promoting the advancement of land stewardship through ranching, science, and education, visit eastfoundation.net.
