Spring Bear Hunt Booked

[nvbroncrider]

Well I just booked my spring bear hunt. Now I got decisions to make what rifle to take and bullet to use. The guide said any deer rifle will work. I will also be grabbing a wolf tag as well.

So that leaves me with lots of choices. Leaning hard towards my 338-06AI but I also have a 280AI a 280, 7X57 and the 6.5X55.

The wolves may be at longer ranges so it has me thinking. I know any would work but I know I'm super comfortable with the 280AI.

How big is a wolf, vitals? I know they are in Nevada even though DOW doesn't recognize them yet. They are in an isolated pocket.

 

[DrMike]

Good show, Jake. Will you be hunting Idaho? Think vitals the size of a deer--deep chest and strong legs. Either the 280AI or the 280 would be ideal for tagging out on a wolf. Any you listed would work quite well for black bear.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know about Idaho, but up here wolves tend to be shot over pretty open country... that 280AI sounds like the ticket for both.

 

[6mm Remington]

You are going to have too much fun. One of those .280's will work, well they all will work. Best of luck on your hunt!!

 

[PJGunner]

Jake. I haven't lived in Nevada for at least 36 years. A few years before I moved from Winnemucca my hunting partner an I were out just west of town harassing jack rabbits and trying to call up on occasional yote. Where we were there was a bench to the north and sky lined was a coyote running like hell right to us. I picked it up in the scope and it was a coal black wolf. I wasn't sure of the status back then so I held fire. Probably should of done the three esses .
Don't know if that was just a stray, advance scout or what but I'm thinking they just have been there as lot longer that we think.
Paul B.

 

[Guy Miner]

Paul, I hear similar stories here in Washington. Don't think the wolves were ever completely wiped out, not in some of the more remote regions of the west. The fellows who saw them "back then" tell me that our new wolves are far larger...

I'd dearly love to pop a wolf, legally, and have his pelt hanging from a peg here in the house!


NVBroncrider -

Bear? Oh yeah, I do like bear hunting! Is this going to be a "spot and stalk" bear hunt? Or will you be able to use bait or dogs?

Enjoy! Guy

 

[SJB358]

Your 338 is tailor made for the Idaho bear Jake. Your 280's would be excellent as well but you won't mind having your 338 when something pops out up close to you. Congrats on booking the hunt. I believe your going to have a blast.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Thanks guys. Yes it will be in Idaho up in the Frank Church wilderness area.

Mike I've never seen a critter called wolf before pictures make them seem good sized but seeing one in person is another thing.

Guy, it's spot and stalk and over baits. Should be a blast I'm pretty excited.

Thanks Scotty I appreciate it. The 338 is going for sure either 225 AB or PT or 210 SII I'll take another rifle as well. Maybe get a 168 ABLR load worked up for the 280 AI at around 3100 should be really flat for wolf.

Hodgeman, what ranges do you typically see for wolves? I want to be really prepared shooting wise last thing I want to do is wound one.

 

[Guy Miner]

Glad the .338 is going!

If not for bear, then why have a medium bore?

This should be a great hunt. Best of luck! Looking forward to the story and photos!

Guy

 

[DrMike]

My usual for spotting wolves is about 300 to 400 yards. If they spot you, they don't hang around to see what your intentions might be. I have seen them as close as 20 yards, but they were not aware of my presence. BlkRam (Gil) took one we called in at about 100 yards. He was moving toward us pretty quickly. Most, however, are bookin' it.

 

[Anonymous]

Hodgeman, what ranges do you typically see for wolves? I want to be really prepared shooting wise last thing I want to do is wound one.

I've only been within a couple hundred yards once. Typically 300-400 is about as close as you get and often in open country it's half a mile or more. I've emptied a rifle at a wolf on two occasions and never connected.

With wolves- it's a bunch of really good eyes, ears, and noses and they're really pretty spooky as far as folks are concerned.

Best way I've found them is when they're trailing caribou. I'd guess trailing elk herds might be the same effect.

 

[SJB358]

Best way I've found them is when they're trailing caribou. I'd guess trailing elk herds might be the same effect.

In that scenario I wished I could call for fire on the darned things. An AC130 or A10 might be better than anything we can carry :lol:

Jake, that same area you were hunting had a wolf at my bait while spring bear hunting. Unfortunately, no tags were available then.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Is it time yet? Waiting is killing me guys!!

 

[Vince]

Is it time yet? Waiting is killing me guys!!

Your hunt is a Spring hunt.
Lucky you. I have to wait until Fall to go chase moose in Newfoundland.
Best of luck and I eagerly await reading about your experience.

Vince

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[6mm Remington]

Jake what's your outfitters name and how close are you going to be to my neck of the woods?

I think you should take that 338-06 AI and your .280 AI. One is none and two is one! :lol:

Best of luck.

David

 

[JD338]

Jake,

Congratulations on your upcoming bear/wolf hunt. Good choice with the 338-06. The 210 gr PT
hits hard and shoots pretty flat with that .400 BC.
Black bears are easy to kill if you hit them right. Bust a shoulder with that 210 gr PT and he wont
go anywhere. As for wolf vitals, check out your neighborhood German Shepard. That will get you close.
Keep in mind that a big alpha male can go upwards of 150 lbs.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Is it time yet? Waiting is killing me guys!!

Patience, Grasshopper. Patience. :mrgreen:

 

[PJGunner]

Guy. Back in the late 80's I did an elk hunt on the Olympic Penninsula just a bit outside of a town called Humptulips. There was a small area with a sign called "The Promised Land" which bordered a nasty swampy area. I was sitting on a stand thinking how in the hell did I end up here when I heard a wolf howl. Didn't sound too far off. My head was swiveling around almost like the girl in The Exorcist and my hair was standing straight up. Later talking to one of the owners at the Oxbow roadhouse, the told me they'd introduced a few wolves to see if they'd multiply. I heard a few years later the Oxbow went belly up after the ecofreaks stopped the timber industry because of the spotted owl. They made a fantastic hamburger and the beer was cold. :lol: Weird hunt. It rained like hell the day we got there and was raining opening day. By the end of the opener the clouds were gone and the sun was out. Stayed that way the duration of the hunt and got downright hot. The elk were down in the nastiest jackpots they could find. The day we had to leave it started raining again. Was still a fun trip but no meat.
Paul B.

 

[Guy Miner]

Incredibly thick over there... And rainy. I'm not surprised you didn't get the elk. They're around... But where?

Wolves. Elk. Bear, Blacktail. Sasquatch... :mrgreen:

 

[Oldtrader3]

Jake. I haven't lived in Nevada for at least 36 years. A few years before I moved from Winnemucca my hunting partner an I were out just west of town harassing jack rabbits and trying to call up on occasional yote. Where we were there was a bench to the north and sky lined was a coyote running like hell right to us. I picked it up in the scope and it was a coal black wolf. I wasn't sure of the status back then so I held fire. Probably should of done the three esses .
Don't know if that was just a stray, advance scout or what but I'm thinking they just have been there as lot longer that we think.
Paul B.

PJ, I saw a wolf once Nevada, in the White Mountains about 1975. I was hunting White Mountain on the California side and the wolf on the Nevada side. I first thought it was a coyote but way too big and too much fur for a Nevada coyote.