Some wolf calling experience odds and ends: A guide friend called wolves successfully in northern BC with a closed reed jack rabbit distress call. When unsure what sound to use, jack rabbit distress is the one for me, anywhere in N. America for any predator. An open reed call allows a person to produce an extremely wide variety of sounds with one call, from whimpers to howls to bird, rabbit and fawn distress, moose, deer and other mating calls and grunts. Jackrabbit distress sounds similar to hare, fawn, bear cub and likely other distressed animals.
I have called wolves with jackrabbit distress type sound from both closed and open reed hand calls, and had a grizzly come when attempting to call a wolf with my best guess at caribou calf distress (which I have never heard!) In northern BC I had recurring problem with grizzlies coming in so quit trying to call wolves with prey sound. Plenty of caribou where I was calling.
I've had wolves howl in reply immediately to recorded sounds of wolf howls, using Wildlife Tech and Minaska electronic calls. They never came closer but would howl in reply. The Minaska sound is apparently a big male from Alaska, and a pack (that appeared to be a female with near adult young) would howl in reply but rapidly head farther away.
In your tundra situation with need for compactness, I would primarily use hand calls for prey and canine puppy sounds, plus do some howling with my voice to locate. IMO exact sound is the least critical of calling factors and anything that sounds like possibly prey in distress will work.
In grizz country I set up where no bear can get to my back unseen, even if it is less ideal for a calling stand. Or have a partner at your back. So far, all grizzlies that have come to my hand calls have backed off once I stood up in the open and they discovered that a human was at the source of the sounds.
Am envious of your hunt and wish you the best of success and fun. Tell us about the wolf calling when you get back.
