Wolf hunting has been in Idaho for a few years, but I have yet to run into anyone who can say they have found a reliable way to hunt them. The best advice I have heard is "find the elk and you will find the wolves." Great strategy, but I am curious if anyone has any solid tactics? I would love to fill my tag!

This post was originally in the reference sub-section where it wasn't completely on topic and wouldn't necessarily receive as many views/replies. I moved the topic to this section so the OP might get some responses.
CalHunter
Moderator

Not sure how to hunt them because I never tried but I recently went to NW Ontario for deer hunting and the wolves were all over the place. We heard them almost every day and they were especially good at finding a deer kill and eating all the innards. I shot a buck on Thursday and by Friday morning the ridge was covered with wolves. I found where someone just killed and gutted a deer next to a logging road and within a few hours the birds were on it followed by the wolves. We drove past to pick up a couple of hunters and when we came back through 30 minutes later the gut pile had been dragged into the middle of the road and eaten. The only thing left was wolf crap right next to the blood stain on the road. I would say that a carcass left as bait would bring them in. I did see 1 wolf in a week of hunting and it vanished as soon as I saw it. They seem to be very wary.

I read an article yesterday that France has a wolf problem and NONE of their hunters could even bag one during the season. They were considering reaching out to American and Canadian hunters to see if they could do it!

If I was going to try hunting wolves, I'd head to an area where they are known to be first. I know that sounds dumb, but wolves will cover a fair amount of territory and if they ain't there, you ain't gonna get one.

Once I was in an area that has them, I think a predator call would probably work well. Wolves like anything that preys on something else will not pass up the chance for a free meal. A dying rabbit call may not work but I'd bet an injured fawn call would. I know some guys that have used them to call in cougar and bear.

In all the hunting I've done, I've had exactly one shot at a wolf. it was in BC and we were hunting black bear. He had a gully we put the bones in after we took the meat and we heard some wolves howling over that way the last night we were there. At first light the guide and I snuck up on the ridge and there was a black wolf sitting down like a dog facing us at about 300 yards. I flat out missed the shot and to this day really don't know how. But that was the only chance I've ever had at one.

While I've never hunted them myself yet, I've been researching it a lot lately. Mama B and I want to be sure to go before they close the seasons again. I have friends and family in areas with wolves, so we're looking at going without a guide, meaning I need to have our tactics on lock before we go.

Like Flags mentioned, it seems the most productive strategy is to track the pack and either wait until they cross onto property where you have permission, or get temporary permission where you have found them to be RIGHT NOW at the time.

They have such large territories, and if they aren't within earshot when you attempt calling them, they just won't come. Most of the guys I have talked to about hunting without a guide have told me that they track packs for over a month before season so that they can be right on top of them when the time comes to put a particularly large hunk of fur in the dirt. Look for fresh sign; scat, tracks, sightings by farmers/ranchers, locate howling, etc.

It also seems that in a lot of areas that have new wolf populations, local landowners are typically pretty generous about giving at least temporary permission to hunters. "We've been tracking a pack for a month, it has moved onto your property, we'd love to come clear them out" seems to go over well, as not many locals are too thrilled about having wolves in their backyard.

I got my first tag this year. The late season started 9 days ago, but I haven't been able to get out yet.

What you were told about Elk isn't bad advice, but as was mentioned by Flags is also true. If the wolves aren't in the area, it doesn't matter how many Elk are around.

I intend to try a similar strategy, but may have an advantage that you don't, but maybe you do.

I intend to try and locate the whitetail yards, but also intend to locate the wolves before I hunt any given area. Here's the advantage I may have. My area received over 20 inches of snow last week, and I own a snowmobile. I also have access to hundreds of miles of state snowmobile trails, the closest one being just 1/2 of a mile from my home... I've also seen the greatest concentration of wolf sign I've ever seen in a small area on that very same trail about 1 1/2 miles from my home while ML hunting for deer.

This weekend I'll be out on the snowmobile cruising, looking for both wolf, and deer sign... When I find what I'm looking for, the hunt is on... Yup, I'll be enjoying two outdoor sports at the same time

This years quota here in MN. is 222 wolves, last years quota was almost twice that, and all the tags were filled.

Here's the update for the late season thus far here in MN.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/wolf/index.html

These are great ideas, guys. I appreciate it. Hopefully we can all put a tag on one this winter!

Eskimo wolf eradication:

"The Eskimos have always greatly prized the wolf. It's fur and meat are of great quality and the beast itself is both majestic and powerful. Killing a wolf was a nearly impossible endeavor without strong weapons, and yet the Eskimos found a way to do it. They did it not by force... in fact they never even touched the wolves. The wolves simply killed themselves.

An Eskimo would first sharpen a knife. They would then proceed to soak the knife in seal blood and then freeze it. Then they would dip it in again and freeze it once more. This covered the knife in layer upon layer of frozen blood. The knife soon resembled a Popsicle.

They would jam the knife's hilt into the snow where they thought wolves would be and left.

A hungry wolf takes a deep breath of the freezing Alaskan air. It smells something delicious. It's mouth starts watering as it tracks the scent. Fresh blood. The wolf eventually tracks the scent to the blood Popsicle. It begins to slowly lick it. It licks away layer after layer of blood until soon they reach down to just the knife. They cut their tongue, but they hardly notice. The freezing blood easily numbs the wolf's tongue. The wolf continues to lick at the knife, cutting itself more and more. Pretty soon, the wolf begins to feel weak from loss of blood.

Despite the obvious signs that the knife is harming it, the wolf continues to lick the knife. It ignores all of the negative signs. It feels that getting more blood from the knife would be the answer. Soon the wolf's mouth is so badly cut that blood starts pouring from it's wounds. The wolf's tongue starts to thaw as warm blood flows over it. The wolf is nothing short of ecstatic that they can taste more blood. It attacks the knife more vigorously and aggressively. It knows nothing but the taste of blood. The wolf will desperately continue to lick the knife until it collapses from blood loss and dies."