Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Wolves => Topic started by: jstone on May 19, 2021, 10:04:24 AM
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Have you ever hunted in wolf country by yourself? Slept the night and had you ever had issues with the wolves? Coming into camp while sleeping? What did or do you do to keep them out of camp at night?
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I've hunted / camped by myself in Idaho with wolves around and have not had any issues with them. I've gotten up in the morning and found scat on the road or trail just above camp but have never found where they had come within 100 yds or so of my tent. But wolves being wolves that does not mean they have not come closer, I just did not pick up their sign. I always keep a loaded weapon close at hand no matter the season. Every wolf I have encountered while out in the woods was not wasting any time getting away from me as soon as possible (I believe the folks in Idaho have them trained to avoid humans pretty well). I think normal precautions would serve anyone well when going into these areas either alone or with someone else. I would be more concerned if I were doing solo activities in grizzly country.
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Not in my experience. Ive heard them at night, during a hunt, etc and never had an issue.
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There was some gal treed by wolves around Twisp I think. We talked about on here. There was a lot of hoodoo on if the Sheriff could rescue her or not. I think it came out she was around a active den site. :dunno:
I have laid in bed at night and could hear wolves howl up around Glass Creek but never had any issues with them.
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One time hunting the Idaho/montana boarder we had a pack come within a few feet of our wall tent, we might have been antagonizing them earlier in the night by howling. :chuckle: They don't worry me much but they did surround my dad one time elk hunting, he was cow calling. Freaked him out pretty good. I would also be way more worried hunting/ camping in grizz country, did that in 18 in Wyoming backcountry. That is not cool! We slept with our pistols under our pillows.
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One time hunting the Idaho/montana boarder we had a pack come within a few feet of our wall tent, we might have been antagonizing them earlier in the night by howling. :chuckle: They don't worry me much but they did surround my dad one time elk hunting, he was cow calling. Freaked him out pretty good. I would also be way more worried hunting/ camping in grizz country, did that in 18 in Wyoming backcountry. That is not cool! We slept with our pistols under our pillows.
Pistol???
I sleep with a pistol at home. In camp I cuddle a KSG :tup:
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Had them around while hunting the late rifle whitetail season last year near chewelah. Didn’t get a look at any, but lots of new track every day(we had about 4” of snow the first night of our trip).
I got my deer the 3rd day and drug it back to camp the last night we were there(6th day) I woke up around midnight to some shuffling outside but it was too dark to see. When we got up in the morning there were fresh wolf tracks circling our trucks and the remains of my deer(hide and bones). Oddly enough they didn’t take anything off the bone pile while we were there.
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A good friend of mine shot one about 5 years ago in NE washington because the pack had him surrounded and wouldn’t leave. He called Washington Department of Financing Wolves and told them, it was in the newspaper and *censored*
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Never a issue, more worried about black bears and food smells put away than wolves
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I was on a semi guided blacktail hunt on Vancouver Island and got surrounded by a pack. My guide split off from me to get his truck. Wanted me to continue down a skid road until it crossed the main line and wait until he arrived. It was an easy jaunt until I came upon a thicket of little alders, and it was thick. Unslung my rifle just to get through, about 5 feet into the thick stuff I heard growling on my right. Then it was on all sides, must have been 4 or 5 in all. And me with a bolt gun that I could not lower or swing. The growling and snaping was getting louder and closer, thinking my tush was grass the guide honked the horn and off they went.
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wolves in camp itself is a very low concern, way below bears.
They only times I've had encounters with wolves they kept a curious but elusive distance from me.
That will change when/if I stumble into a denning site, rendezvous site area with pups, or a kill site they want to run me out of.
I think those are the 3 major keys to a tense wolf encounter.
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My friend and sometime hunting partner had a pack come into his camp. He came out of tent guns a blazing :chuckle :chuckle: I had 6 come into my elk calls and only had my bow but I was able to arrow one of the wolves. These encounters were early in the days of being able to hunt wolves. Today Idaho wolves are extremely skittish around people. Idaho wolves have been hunted and trapped enough where I hunt they are running when I see them if I see them at all. I still hear and see plenty of sign but I rarely actually see them anymore.
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Didn't they get aggressive and follow/surround hirshey during the high buck? I seem to remember a thread on that.
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I’ve been visited, harassed, followed, hunted, probed, threatened, ignored, and ran from. I’ve called in, stumbled onto, jumped, watched from a distance, interrupted, confronted and as recent as two days ago was in mortal danger because of wolves. Probably more stories than could be put in a novel and certainly more face to face time with them than the average biologist that I know of. So far it’s all ended well. One of these days it won’t.
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My friend and sometime hunting partner had a pack come into his camp. He came out of tent guns a blazing :chuckle :chuckle: I had 6 come into my elk calls and only had my bow but I was able to arrow one of the wolves. These encounters were early in the days of being able to hunt wolves. Today Idaho wolves are extremely skittish around people. Idaho wolves have been hunted and trapped enough where I hunt they are running when I see them if I see them at all. I still hear and see plenty of sign but I rarely actually see them anymore.
My experience as well.
