I have hunted the same area for 5 years. It is so remote that I have never seen a single hunter in the area. It has been a family secret and I have had great success in there with huge montana bulls each year. The last two years though, I have had nothing but disappointment in there. The largest bull disappeared from the herd and At first I thought another hunter had found my honey hole until I found the bulls carcass with nothing but wolf sign around. I already hated wolves but this has really aggravated me. In so many of my areas wolves have driven elk and moose out. Has anyone else experienced any of the same disappointment? Stuckintherut
Wolves are starting to move into our neck of the deer woods. Yes they are a vital part of nature but everything comes in moderation in my mind. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
that part is called "not in my back yard." Nature finds a balance. Man effs it up everytime. One nice thing about wolves - when they move in, coyotes move out.
Sorry I have coyote and wolf pictures 15 min apart not just once in a while it's common the last two years.
Hunh. Sorry I was going off what I read (I think Rinella said something to that effect) as I've never lived in wolf country. I would have said I've never hunted in wolf country as well but the neighboring property owner where I hunt in WI (Adams Co) got some on camera this year. Too small of a sample to make anything out of it; but last year we had a couple coyotes on camera (no wolves known to be in the area) and this year we had no coyotes.
way TOO MANY wolves in Mn. moose are all but gone, deer #'s are dimall and now i believe they are starting to prey on bear. cattle guys...watch out in coming years!!.
The moose were in a major decline well before the introduction of wolves. The deer #'s might also have to do with the excessive numbers of doe tags we have been liberally handing out over the past 10 years, and I can't comment on the bear with any certainty, but from my general knowledge wolves don't hunt bears too much. Going from handing out 5 doe tags in the northern areas of the state to 1 deer total shows that they should have changed the tag limits a long time ago. Oh and wolves definitely reduce coyote populations, which could help the pheasant, grouse, rabbit populations out a fair amount. Too many wolves might be a bad thing, but we are a long ways off from that population level.
Ha I apologize if I offended. I agree that wolves are going to affect the population some, that's not a question. I just think our deer/ moose herd wasn't exactly booming before wolves started coming in. I remember reading some research a couple years ago that was talking about the ticks and the heat affecting the moose populations in a pretty severe way. I hunt farther south, so I don't have first-hand experience with the wolves, I just don't foresee them having a devastating effect on the deer population. Especially if the DNR starts seeing some sense on the permit #'s.
it was my understanding that as of earlier this month a judge ruled wolves are to be put back on endangered list. NO hunting in any state. anyone know anything different?
come hunt with me in Illinois and you will see those dawgs! They killed my best chicken and I want revenge!
Haven't heard that, depends on the wolf and state I guess. In NM, the Mexican wolf has been around for several years (unfortunately) in the Gila and hunting continues on. Hunting has too much of a positive economic impact for a state's revenue stream. I think a judge would have a tough time justifying to stop hunting just to accommodate a "weed" in the wild. Of course, I have found that the world does not think the way I do sometimes, funny how that happens.
Areas change man. I have had several honey holes with bulls abounding in the past, only to have the dynamics of the area change. I have called in bulls with wolves howling 200 yards away, I have seen elk tracks on top of wolf tracks. Fire and water play big roles in elk areas as well as hunting pressure and predator prey dynamics. The elk may still be there, but using different areas and travel routes do to something unseen.