Sitka Re: Male or Female, shoot or don't shoot?

[JLS]

I'm pretty sure Teddy wouldn't be rolling over in his grave One of the first conservationist's ever once he saw and realized what was happening in his time and how bad it was.I thank him for all the lands everyone get access too because he single handy saved most of what we call wild lands today.
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/R/RO026.html
fun read on Teddy wolf hunting lol
     Now not to be disrespectful but to say real quick Wyoming has the best management plan for wolves  ? have you see Wyoming? Tell me how green is it? how much of it is being eroded due to over grazing ?(PROVEN RESEARCH/WITH DOCUMENTED FACTS). In my opinion  Wyoming has the worst wildlife management plan when it comes to wolves and predators and wildlife in general  .Now if you look at Montana the way they have been handling wolves for 20 plus years it is outstanding in my opinion. They have a blue print it is there it's just getting other states to follow that's the hard part.I don't see Washington ever getting over populated with wolves or Idaho(Sorry there well never be 1,000 plus dogs in Idaho Sitka). Since wolves hit there peaking point there going to go down than stabilize and not go up again so what your seeing now should remain for here on out "hopefully".
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/03/idaho-wolf-population-decreased-by-11-percent-in/

"Lil light reading for Idaho wolf population" Now if you want to take down the population you need to drop females only males well always be around to mate  females wont so as long as you take down females you can successfully take down a population.If it was me with my wolf tag I would aim for the females

Huh? Have you been to MT? Wolves suck here and really screw things up, management on them is terrible. Ive had to pass up on lion tracks with my hounds because of wolves, know a guy who's lost 6 hounds to wolves in two years. WY has the best system out there, shoot on site . Not like that isn't going on here in MT

You can shoot three a year, for almost seven months out of the year.  How many folks do you know who are running out of wolf tags?

[Houndhunter]

Hardly anyone, wolves dont just pop out and present themselves to be shot. I continually see tracks but have yet to see one. They need to be classified as non game animals so you can shoot on site anytime of the year. Even with a liberal season like that it would still not do much to the population.

[AspenBud]

Huh? Have you been to MT? Wolves suck here and really screw things up, management on them is terrible. Ive had to pass up on lion tracks with my hounds because of wolves, know a guy who's lost 6 hounds to wolves in two years.

Again, western states would do well to follow the Midwest's example and encourage people to report dog/wolf encounters when hunting so the information can be passed on to other hound and bird dog hunters.

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/wolf/dogdeps.html

[AspenBud]

  Since wolves hit there peaking point there going to go down than stabilize and not go up again so what your seeing now should remain for here on out "hopefully".
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/03/idaho-wolf-population-decreased-by-11-percent-in/

In the not too distant future Idaho will release the 2013 wolf population estimates and again this year the population has declined...with wolves being managed by the state I don't think any reasonable person can espouse any kind of doom and gloom scenario for elk hunting in Idaho.

Like I said, my bet is as Idaho gets closer to the 150 mark you can expect calls for reinstituting ESA protection to get much louder and will probably happen. The governor there thinks he's doing everyone a favor, but if (again, big if) trends continue he may cause a big headache for everyone. If you can wipe out a population of wolves that fast...

[jon.brown509]

   Ok i'm going to try not to miss anyone's questions. Yes I was living in Libby ,Ronan  Mt as well as walla walla wa,I hunt in Montana out side of Libby,as for taking down wolves you can't just walk out in the woods with a beer and expect to find one,if your out walking around and stumble on one your lucky if you can set up ambush sites you'll have great success ,My uncle with all  my cousins tag out with taking down wolves,The system is simple look at the collar chart readings available normally by internet  Than transfer to a topo map and grid out the area put out cameras and than get timing down with movement than set a ambush site and take a pack down as they enter it.Some other things are required "traps, and such" but if you put in the effort you well take down wolves pretty simple. Anyhow they enjoy it out there ,also tag out with elk and deer ever year as well lol 
 

[AspenBud]

   Ok i'm going to try not to miss anyone's questions. Yes I was living in Libby ,Ronan  Mt as well as walla walla wa,I hunt in Montana out side of Libby,as for taking down wolves you can't just walk out in the woods with a beer and expect to find one,if your out walking around and stumble on one your lucky if you can set up ambush sites you'll have great success ,My uncle with all  my cousins tag out with taking down wolves,The system is simple look at the collar chart readings available normally by internet  Than transfer to a topo map and grid out the area put out cameras and than get timing down with movement than set a ambush site and take a pack down as they enter it.Some other things are required "traps, and such" but if you put in the effort you well take down wolves pretty simple. Anyhow they enjoy it out there ,also tag out with elk and deer ever year as well lol 

I believe one of the first wolves killed in Wisconsin when their hunt started was by a couple that called some wolves in using a wounded rabbit call. The wolves walked in and they shot one.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/a-howling-success-for-boyd-man-b278u24-174688331.html

That said, I peruse other forums than this and I remember trappers and hunters in Michigan confidently saying they would fill the quota for the Michigan hunt. They fell short by almost half by the time the season closed.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12205-32569--,00.html?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

[deaner]

You seriously think that hunters are going to be able to sex wolves before they take a shot?
[/quote

maybe if they pet them first and tell them theyre pretty 

[AspenBud]

You seriously think that hunters are going to be able to sex wolves before they take a shot?

maybe if they pet them first and tell them theyre pretty 

If you look at the article I posted regarding the wolf hunter in Wisconsin...

"Nitz immediately began scouting public land near his home. He found what he was looking for in a clear-cut in Eau Claire County.

On Monday he set traps at midday and then returned to the site with Shelley in late afternoon.

At about 5 p.m. they surrounded themselves with branches in a blind on a high point in the clearing. They could see about 250 yards in each direction.

Nitz used a recording to emit a distressed rabbit call.

The first response came from a murder of crows. Then, just minutes later, the first wolf howled.

Over the next hour, the wolves moved closer. There was little wind, Nitz said, and the animals circled.

Most of the wolves were to the northeast of the blind. But at about 6:15, a wolf howled very close, from the west.

Nitz turned around and saw a wolf standing broadside at 47 yards. He leveled his .243 rifle and squeezed off a shot."

There is hunting wolves and then there is hunting wolves. If you're hoping for a chance encounter I think you're right. Someone more serious at the game however might have a chance at picking what they want to shoot.

Regardless of how easy it is or is not to do, he has a point, shooting males will have much less of an affect than shooting females. Males don't give birth to multiple pups.

[bearpaw]

   Ok i'm going to try not to miss anyone's questions. Yes I was living in Libby ,Ronan  Mt as well as walla walla wa,I hunt in Montana out side of Libby,as for taking down wolves you can't just walk out in the woods with a beer and expect to find one,if your out walking around and stumble on one your lucky if you can set up ambush sites you'll have great success ,My uncle with all  my cousins tag out with taking down wolves,The system is simple look at the collar chart readings available normally by internet  Than transfer to a topo map and grid out the area put out cameras and than get timing down with movement than set a ambush site and take a pack down as they enter it.Some other things are required "traps, and such" but if you put in the effort you well take down wolves pretty simple. Anyhow they enjoy it out there ,also tag out with elk and deer ever year as well lol 

Sounds like a good way to hunt them, you mention "collar chart readings", are you suggesting that a person can look up recent wolf movements online?

[bearpaw]

Yeah I should have know better lol most of the hunters would just drop the first fuzzy wolf like creature they find lol 
  But if you could get a good glass on them and look for the lil kicks that the female has over the male it becomes fairly easy to spot the difference between the 2.
 
 but land and wildlife management  are going hand in hand ,bearpaw there's a really neat read once i find the link i'll send it to you on efforts to get Wyoming back to a decent system just because  hunters are happy doesn't mean everyone else is which is one good reason Why Montana has the upper hand on there blueprint

We'll have to agree to disagree on WY management. Most hunters, ranchers, and rural residents I know believe WY has by far the best plan (Shoot on sight in the 80% of the state to keep wolves confined to the park and wilderness where they belong!".

I would like to know more about reliably sexing wolves. I don't understand what you were talking about "look for the lil kicks that the female has over the male". Not sure what you meant by that?

[jon.brown509]

Yes you can
"http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01502/ ,,,,,, http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/reporting/sightings.html ,,,,,, http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/.... http://nwsportsmanmag.com/wolf-news/the-daily-howler-1-22-13-edition/...... http://www.google.com/imgres?client=firefox-a&hs=7ov&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1440&bih=781&tbm=isch&tbnid=1-p9FuAUlrPdWM%3A&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnwsportsmanmag.com%2Fwolf-news%2Fthe-daily-howler-wa-wolf-killed-in-bc-new-activity-area-found-in-ne-or-edition%2F&docid=RDLkIS6bgnIN-M&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnwsportsmanmag.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F10%2Fwolf-map-550x427.jpg&w=550&h=427&ei=lHH7UpKoF8rCyQHD_YHgCg&zoom=1&ved=0CLcBEIQcMB4&iact=rc&dur=646&page=2&start=25&ndsp=30

 Try to get maps of every year normally in the wolf reports ,than use every  available sight and  start to do some over lay with the years you can find possible den spots main hunting areas ect, because wolves are extremely territorial you well see patterns quickly,than bring them to scale over lay them on a earth map now remember to do this by grid squares so you can be accurate in every square,
and to tell the sex is learning the lil things they do ear moves , leg kicking ,stance, tail movement like watching male and feamale dogs of certain breeds you end up seeing lil things they do ? does that make much sense ?   

[AspenBud]

One thing that I've noticed about this topic here. It focuses a lot on politics and not much on how to actually hunt and even trap wolves let alone anything about wolf behavior. Now that I think about that I've never seen that here before.