**** it, I got out smarted!

[rooster740]

So this morning I was on horse, with my lab as always following a bunch of wolves by sound. Visibility was about 200 -300 yards. And about 5 bunches of 25-100 elk were all balled up in several locations. Usually the elk are very spread out feeding, just scattered everywhere. I followed the sound of wolves for about 3 miles in open country. I was about 800 yards behind them, and I am sure they could see me, it was too windblown to see tracks. I thought they had beat me out of the country, so I turned up a creek and went about one mile to get some elevation, I broke out into a huge basin and went about 600 yards when the nasty mutts started to howl all around behind me. It was a weird short choppy howl. As I started to try and find them of course I noticed that I could only see 80 yards. The mutts would howl a normal howl, group by group one at a time in what sounded like three groups. I could just barely make out their movement, and my *** Leica range finder would only say 40 yards! I got to a knob and howled back. They all went silent. As I was trying to use super human powers to find the invisible mutts that were right there in front of me, my horse spooked behind me. I turned and at 80ish yards was a black (I would find out later by the track) 1.5 year old, when I saw it, I was sure it was a huge-normous 300 pounder. He was doing the wolf trot, just paralleling me and I could see him for only 40ish yards. After he went out of sight he made a woofy bark noise and all the wolves shut up. Not being able to see a darn thing in the blowing snow I sat there trying to see something for about 15 minutes. I am very impatient and was going crazy so I decided to start tracking the black wolf (which I found out later just made a big loop around me).
I got on my horse and rode 40 feet and several wolves went crazy barking and doing this weird short choppy low howl that I have never really heard before, and once again they were just out of sight!
I ran back down to my vantage point and never heard the wolves again, after I started to move back they shut up. After about 20 minutes the visibility went to over 800 yards and no wolves were around!
Being Christmas Eve at noon I vacated the A.O.
I am not sure what the heck the deal was but they did!
Has anyone ever had this type of experience?

 

[threejones]

I've had em do similiar things in really thick timber. I think that weird short yip/howl must be a warning to the rest of em that something ain't right. They'd do it till I'd move, stop, then start again once I'd stop. I didn't have any snow at the time to see if they'd been circling me, but it sounded like they were. It gave me the feeling that I wasn't the only one hunting... **** things!

 

[Broz]

I have a feeling you will return and the results will be different. Maybe a back up shooter along?

Jeff

 

[threejones]

I have a feeling you will return and the results will be different. Maybe a back up shooter along?

Jeff

+1 on that. They may be smart, but we have optics and high power rifles... and they don't.

 

[rooster740]

What I found intriguing is that, as I know what they were doing and interested in and did not resist being vocal, the fact that they all stayed just out of sight. Since it was snowy it just worked out that they were a lot closer then they would normally be. So if visibility was one mile would that have been the distance they stopped at? The reason I ask is I have see a lot less wolves this year but they are still here!

 

[Broz]

They are indeed being trained. Just like the coyotes I have missed at a mile. They will now run from a stopped truck as far as they can see.

Jeff

 

[Scot E]

Sounds to me like it is the sound coyotes or wolves will make when rival packs or individuals are in their territory. It may have been their response to your dog.

Scot E.

 

[Bravo 4]

I didn't have any snow at the time to see if they'd been circling me, but it sounded like they were. It gave me the feeling that I wasn't the only one hunting... **** things!

I have a feeling you will return and the results will be different. Maybe a back up shooter along?

Jeff

Yeah go with a backup shooter the next time you use yourself as bait!

 

[Pdvdh]

I haven't had any experience in AK with wolves hanging around so close to me when I used to run my trap lines. But the season is open 12 months a year hear. I think your wolves are still uneducated because the extreme predator (homo sapiens) have not been allowed to hunt them in your local until very recently.

I'd try to take advantage of this learning curve, because I fully expect them to get more cautious, canny, and difficult to harvest, as the hunting pressure is applied.

 

[rooster740]

Yeah go with a backup shooter the next time you use yourself as bait!

There could be 5 back-up shooters, but a person cannot kill what they cannot see.

The last wolf I killed, I had my dog with me, when I howled that nasty wolf mutt just came running at me and sat down 400ish yards away. On that day there was 4 bunches of wolves howling at me from different locations as I closed in. Just like yesterday it was a younger wolf that came in to investigate. The track of the close wolf yesterday was the same size as the one I killed last year.

So were the wolves checking me out, or the dog out, or did I coincidentally get in a situation where a stray wolf was in new country and I was in the middle of an actual stray wolf confrontation.

Just about every wolf that I personally know of being killed has been howled in. I believe that howling works because the wolves of that territory are coming in to kick some butt. I feel that the wolves are not coming in to say hello to a pack member, because they think the howl is one of their own.

As a side note when I get close enough to sit and listen to the wolf howling it is not like coyotes that clearly have certain howls, which repeatedly sound similar in tone and length, per type of howl.

Of course there will be the surprise attack wolf kill and the spot and stalk wolf kill, although I feel the spot and stalk wolf hunt is the hardest because they never stop travelling except to feast on a kill.

Given the wolf hunting is also taking place in Minnesota, I would like to hear if anybody stand hunts for wolves?
Since Oct. 15 I have spent at least part of a day, 5 days a week out there amongst em'. When I see them they are just covering ground and typically alone. Which is probably a juvenile wolf?

 

[Joe King]

So were the wolves checking me out, or the dog out, or did I coincidentally get in a situation where a stray wolf was in new country and I was in the middle of an actual stray wolf confrontation.

I think the Alpha is sending in the young/dumb ones to check you out. Think about it, does the Boss do the menial jobs or assign them to the most invaluable employee? On that angle I would try like hell to resist shoot the one that comes in and try to trick em into thinking it's ok for others to approach you'll know when the boss comes in. Shoot his @$$. Big job for sure.

 

[Scot E]

I think the Alpha is sending in the young/dumb ones to check you out. Think about it, does the Boss do the menial jobs or assign them to the most invaluable employee? On that angle I would try like hell to resist shoot the one that comes in and try to trick em into thinking it's ok for others to approach you'll know when the boss comes in. Shoot his @$$. Big job for sure.

There was a really good article that would back up a lot of what you are saying. The subject was more about biologists finding that it was the young wolves that did most of the hunting because they had the speed, energy and endurance to get the job done while the older ones herded and used their experience to find game and setup the chase. It was pretty interesting. I will post a link if I can find it.

I took it to mean that it may be best to shoot the young wolves because they are the main food providers during much of the year!

Scot E.

 

[rooster740]

I would love to see that article! Another 98 pound 1.5 year old wolf died today. On my friends ranch 10ish miles from where I last saw the wolves on the 24th. after we got done on our moon light coyote hunt he went to feed cows and found two wolves. he latter found a fresh deer kill. This is a group that started as three, that have been around all summer. A couple of weeks ago one female died, and today the second one a male got the air let out of him. The last one appears to be a pup by the track.
Good times

 

[Broz]

Good for you, and Thanks!! I was out until dark thirty last night glassing and calling. I am after a pack of 4 and they are being hard to find. Howls before dark only yielded coyotes to answer. Plenty of deer in this area, but the elk I was hoping to glass were not there. Not sure if they moved down or were ran out. Cat season is coming to a close. I will be after them more now.

Jeff