Wolf hunting

[Slimfinn]

Has anyone gone wolf hunting? I carry a tag with me when I'm deer and elk hunting just as a target of opportunity, and the opportunity has ever shown itself. That and the retired biologist who tought a part of my daughters hunters ed, said to carry a tag because if you see one you might as well shoot it cause your hunting that day is over anyway.
So anyway there is 3 and a half months of season left so thinking maybe i should put on the skies or snowshoes and try and actually hunt for them. Anyone have any pointers? no i cant bait them

 

[mjcmichigan]

The guy I know that got one, spent three weeks tracking them through pretty rough terrain on snow shoes... he carried a small shelter and sleeping bag so he could stay on their trail. He said it was a fascinating education. He saw where the pack was running a doe.. they’d run three wide, one left, one behind, and one right, when the doe would turn, whoever she turned towards became the direct behind chaser, and one of the others would fill in the vacant spot...they caught several deer that way... when he came on a carcass that wasn’t froze yet... he knew the gap was getting smaller...got his shot the next day at 70 yards...

They are challenging quarry.

Should be fun!


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[DrMike]

Serious wolfers spend hours and days looking for these elusive creatures. We are allowed two wolves per year, and most people shoot them, if they shoot them at all, as opportunity arises. When I've been deliberate, I've called in wolves to a rabbit call. Being territorial, they will respond to a howl and come near to drive away what they must imagine to be an interloper. Pelts should be prime now, so the effort can be quite rewarding. Lovely creatures, but incredibly wary. They are definitely worth the effort.

 

[longrangehunter]

+1 to above. It's gotten a lot harder over the last few years, the Wolves have gotten educated and no the smell of a human very well. Luck is always a good thing! That said if you have the time and fresh snow tracking can be very effective.

Good luck and take aim.

 

[maverick2]

Like you, I carry a wolf tag with me should the opportunity to shoot one arises as I'm chasing deer or elk, but have never deliberately hunted wolves. I do have a work compatriot though that hunts them on a regular basis and is fairly successful. In talking with him, he tends to target a large area on any given day and uses a 4-wheeler or snowmobile to move from drainage to drainage, stopping multiple times in each drainage to call with a wolf howl. He'll spend 15-20 minutes at each stop, and unless he gets an answer moves on to the next stop until he gets a response. If/when he gets an answer, he does the rest of the work in that drainage on foot, looking for a good vantage point and calling periodically to get a sense which direction the wolves are moving. Most of his shots tend to be relatively long range as the wolf or pack show themselves crossing a bare patch.

 

[Thebear_78]

Most of the wolves shot by people I know are from a plane or run down by snow machines. You can occasionally call them in but it’s tough. I’ve seen several but never shot one yet.


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[Anonymous]

I shot mine as a target of opportunity. I've gotten three cracks at one that way- only one of which worked.

I know a few people who seriously pursue wolves and all of them stake out a wolf kill and use a coyote call.

 

[gerry]

My one wolf was a target of opportunity during early bear season. Have tried to get a couple of others I saw over the years but came up empty. Hope to get out this year still and will be hunting the better moose wintering grounds and see what we can come up with.

 

[Blkram]

Shot my first wolf as it was coming into camp to mess with the camp dog.
Second wolf, DrMike called in for me with a predator call and wolf howls. When the call was making noise, it would run towards us, and then hang up to look when the calling stopped. Came in to 90 yards.
The interesting thing was while we were skinning the wolf on the back of the truck afterwards, 3 cow elk came out onto the powerline and began to feed within 50 yards of us, without so much as a care or worry that we were there, nor the smell of the wolf. Must have known it was safe for them then!

 

[Guy Miner]

I was fortunate. With the grizzly tag, a hunter also got up to ten wolf tags when I hunted Alaska in 2017. I saw four wolves during the nine day hunt, managed to get one of them. Very pleased to have done so.

The guide actually called it closer by howling. I suspect that the wolf came to investigate those howls. The 200 gr Nosler Partition from my 30-06 opened up just fine. That wolf is hanging but a few feet from me as I type this. Wolf hunting, I highly recommend it.

Guy

 

[Thankful Otter]

Canada has an off and on love affair with the wolf. They ( our liberal govt., Hollywood types, anti's ( gun, hunting), climate control, liberals in the large cities ) believe the Wolf is responsible for the decline in the Caribou herds, I believe the problem is more because of the continued mineral exploration and mining thereof and the roads created, as well as grazing disturbed.

We have no limit on them in Nunavut and can hunt 7 in Yukon but can trap even more. If one follows a Caribou herd you will see them, and in Nunavut they ( a pack of three to six or seven ) will sometimes flank you and follow you. We do occasionally hunt them via aircraft . We have had them come into camp in Nunavut, as they dont see humans and are not sure what we are. The Northwest Territories have some very large Wolfs. This has always been interesting to me. I believe the Mackenzie river and tributaries provide excellent table fare for them ( large and small ) Trapping and Hunting them seems easier than it is for those in Alaska, according to posts I am reading from Mike and Josh.

Guy that is a nice one. Sorry you didn't get one David. BTW, there are outfitters who specialize in predator hunts, if getting one is important to you.

Personally, I like the Wolf. Beautiful Animal.

Who has gotten a Wolverine ?

 

[DrMike]

Who has gotten a Wolverine ?

Never purchased a tag, Cheyenne. I've seen wolverines on numerous occasions while hunting other game. It's fascinating to watch them lope along as they go about their business.

 

[Thebear_78]

The guy I know who consistently kills wolves year in and year out has a very specific method.

He finds a fresh kill via the air. Then he either hikes in or snow machines in to a vantage point and tries to snipe a few, then if he is on the snow machine he runs down the ones that get away. A wolf doesn’t run as fast with 20-30 pounds of moose in third bellies.

I have actually had a chance at a wolverine a couple times. Just couldn’t bring myself to shoot one. They are such a cool little critter.


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[Thankful Otter]

Dr Mike

They can be fun to watch, they also can be destructive as all get out and they love to follow a trap line and eat whatever is in them, very irritating (-;

the bear_78.

we do that both for ourself and for the Govt ( in regards to hunting Wolves via aircraft ) your right, It works (-;

The reason we take Wolverine is their price is high. ( Fur ) Polar is the best, then Grizzly, then Wolf, then Wolverine and Muskox. The Wolf can be beneficial both with the price received for the fur but the Govt also pays a bonus for each wolf eliminated .

 

[Blkram]

Hello Cheyenne!

Have seen a few wolverines over my lifetime, and have only seen one while I had a rifle, but it was too far away for a shot with the 375 Win. When I got to where it had crossed the road, our camp dog (1/2 wolf) jumped out of the back of my truck and took off after it. I followed in the waist deep snow for a ways, thinking it would be cool to catch up with it. After about 1/2 a mile, I started to think that the wolverine would probably make a mess out of that dog in the deep snow, so started calling him. He came back, in good shape, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and happy. Do not know that he caught up to that wolverine or not, but I like to think that if he did, he had the good sense to not mess with it!

They are a very cool animal, and I too have witnessed their destruction on the trapline!Does not take them long to break into a cabin and wreak havoc therin!

One summer as a kid, we were working clearing traplines for the elders. We were workingon my grandfather's trapline one morning when he came back down the line, grabbed his rifle and told us to follow him. As we neared a small clearing, he told us to wait, while he went ahead. A few moments later, we heard a shot. A little bit later he came back and got us. As we entered thee small clearing, it was torn up! looked like it had been stripped and roto-tilled. On the other side of the clearing, there were broken branches and the top of a pine tree laying on the ground. About 6 feet off the ground there was an 8" log about 12 feet long hanging by a chain When we got to the tree, we could see the chain ran further up the tree and over a branch about 3 feet out from the trunk. On the other end of that chain was a wolverine caught in a trap! He had been caught in the clearing, where he had torn it all up trying to escape, before trying to climb that tree, stripping it of smaller branches, to where he had snapped the top of that tree off, where it was about 5" in diameter. Looked like when the top broke, he fell and was caught over that large branch far enough out that he could not touch any other part of that tree. And that was where he was found and dispatched. We climbed that tree and cut the branch, to get him out of that tree.
I picked up that green log afterwards, and it was all I could do to lift up and put it on my shoulder! I was already 6' tall and weighed about 170 pounds at the time, and having worked hard on the farm as a kid. An amazing feat of strength by an animal that weighs no more than 40 pounds!
They truly are teeth, claws and bad attitude! LOL

 

[Slimfinn]

Thanks for all the insight, will let you know if anything comes of it other then taking a nice walk through the hills with a rifle and a predator call.

 

[Thankful Otter]

Thank you Gil for sharing that story, enjoyed it.

We were asked to try to dart some so as to collar them. Try daring a wolverine from a helicopter, that is an effort in futility .

They are so cute a guest once said--right up until they destroy a cabin or evade a trap line

slimfinn, apologies for moving off topic. Good luck with your wolf hunt.

Dr Mike, Hello

 

[England]

Hunting from the air, that sounds really exciting stuff!

 

[35 Whelen]

Since wolves can travel vast distances over very difficult terrain, "tracking em down" would be a hopeless venture, unless they were hanging around an area constantly preying on herd animals that were staying put . We hunted
them by air, for years in Alaska. I missed out on a very large, unusual colored, one that got into the timber one day, temperatures were in the 20 below range.
The following day I saw that exact same big Wolf about
30 miles away, to get over there he had to cross over a Mountain pass that's nearly 6000 ft high.
Try that at - 20 below on snowshoes and let us know how that works for ya!
The 'good ole days'

 

[Thankful Otter]

I always enjoy the stories 35Whelen and Salmonchaser share with us