Wolf Hunting

[Snowwalker]

I have not seen a wolf yet that could get up after a 22 250 to the ribs .it is a fine round for wolf .Dutch

.223 out to 100 yards with 55 or 60 grains does it too. The bush is thick up where I hunt. If your shooting over 75 yards it's over water or down a logging road.

30-06 will hit like oden's hammer.

[jweese]

Just an update. Did some more hunting this weekend and was shocked at how fast the wolves start coming in to a coyote call. I saw no yotes, but managed to miss two shots on two different wolves - they came in within 10 minutes of starting to call.

Yesterday morning I hit our sand pit about 5am, checked the wind (or lack there of) and got set up and camouflaged. I set my caller up only about 50 feet into the pit in front of me (our pit is about 200 yards across), sat down and smoked a cigar and waited for legal light.

Once legal light hit I started calling. Within 10 minutes, low and behold a big black wolf appeared on the far side of the pit. He skirted back into the tree line out of sight and came out again 30 seconds later about 50 feet to the right, however he quickly ducked back into the trees. 20 seconds later he popped out again and I took my shoot and hit just below his feet.

Exciting stuff! Man, he was a big boy too - could be the excitement and the adrenalin, but he had to be 900 feet tall and 400 lbs! (obviously, that's a joke, but damn he was big!).

I let things settle for the rest of the day and hit the sand pit again about an hour before last light and again within minutes I knew something was there - the birds stopped chirping and everything got eerily silent, I also had this feeling like I was being watched from all directions - finally a dark grey wolf poked his head out, again from the other side of the sand pit. I didn't hesitate and I took my shot and missed, even after aiming a bit high.

I'll spend this coming weekend burning through some shells before bear season to get this gun sighted in properly - I thought I had it tuned great last year for deer season and was on the button at 100, 200, and even 300 yards. I think it's either been knocked around during the summer, or maybe I've gone cross eyed. It could also be the same reason my father stopped using it 20 years ago and gave it to me - he always said he could never get it sighted in properly.

Anyways - lots of fun and I learned that when yote hunting in wolf country, the wolves come running.

[Snowwalker]

Try to find a large stuffed toy dog, or get a coyote decoy. The flat ones should work but a full body will be more effective.

The wolves HATE any canine in there area.

[jweese]

Try to find a large stuffed toy dog, or get a coyote decoy. The flat ones should work but a full body will be more effective.

The wolves HATE any canine in there area.

Good to know, and I have the perfect idea for a decoy then.

I could tell they hated it, I was shocked at how fast they came in - here I was, yote hunting and the wolves showed up. Good to know for sure. Think I'll just do it that way, then if the yotes DO show up - they get a shot too.

Although I didn't actually hit anything, it's certainly a different level of excitement compared to deer hunting for sure.

[trimmer21]

I think you are mistaken...

from the hunting regs summary...


A person hunting small game may not carry or use a rifle of greater calibre than a .275-calibre rifle, except a muzzle-loading gun, in the geographic areas of Brant, Chatham-Kent, Durham, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Halton, Hamilton, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxford, Peel, Perth, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington or York".

Nope,he's not hunting in any of these specified zones.

His camp is in 63A, this zone is core eastern ontario rifle country for deer, no restrictions on rifle size.
The township is Lennox and Addington (I know, we had a camp down the road from him)
This is not in a restricted rifle zone.

jweese - since it is July the hides will be very little use anyway. Wolves are much bigger then coyotes and coyotes will die with a 30-06 shot, use the 30-06, no use wounding a big wolf because you brought a 22-250 and not something bigger. In Northern Ontario they suggest 243 as a minimum for wolves.

Good luck

Yep,what he said. There's no problem using any big bore rifle in this area. Ditch the 12ga and haul out the big medicine.

[Splaker]

Denbigh.. isn't that SE of Algonquin? Is that not part of that protected zone for eastern wolves? If it is SE of Algonquin, it's pretty interesting that you're seeing a big black wolf.. Just read a great study that came out in 2013 (Brent Paterson, Trent U). The study mapped the occurrence of the bigger, grey wolves that you normally see further north. As expected, the greys that did show up in their study were further north - near Loring/Parry Sound district. The other three zones studied, Muskoka, Algonquin proper and QE Park area, had a mix of hybrids and eastern wolves with very little grey wolf genetics... Algonquin had the "purest" eastern wolf pop probably b/c they are entirely protected there...outside the park, the wolves are more vulnerable to hunters so the pop is more hybridized and coyote influenced.. You sure it's not a big black coyote?

[jweese]

Denbigh.. isn't that SE of Algonquin? Is that not part of that protected zone for eastern wolves? If it is SE of Algonquin, it's pretty interesting that you're seeing a big black wolf.. Just read a great study that came out in 2013 (Brent Paterson, Trent U). The study mapped the occurrence of the bigger, grey wolves that you normally see further north. As expected, the greys that did show up in their study were further north - near Loring/Parry Sound district. The other three zones studied, Muskoka, Algonquin proper and QE Park area, had a mix of hybrids and eastern wolves with very little grey wolf genetics... Algonquin had the "purest" eastern wolf pop probably b/c they are entirely protected there...outside the park, the wolves are more vulnerable to hunters so the pop is more hybridized and coyote influenced.. You sure it's not a big black coyote?

Good points and a good question.

I've hunted yotes before, locally (Quinte region) and this animal that has been seen by me on several occasions and a few of the locals is quite large. From the glimpses I've seen, I'd hazzard at least 30-35 inches at the shoulders and probably 75-100 lbs. The fellow that it approached a few weeks ago said it seemed larger than a German Shepherd to him, but much wider.

I should have mentioned the dark grey one that I saw looked like he had a bit of brown/tan patches on him too, and he was a bit smaller than the large black wolf. Perhaps we're dealing with two different species? Perhaps a dog/hybrid (is that even possible?))?

I'm not sure, if I ever down it, or even just SEE it again I'll try to snap a photo. We started seeing it around mid-winter (I think I had posted about it before as well). It is brave and has approached a few people around our camp but always stays a distance away. Typically, at night.

The last time it was seen at night was when my brother-in-law and his family were staying at the camp, it was late at night and they were enjoying a campfire - it appeared at the edge of the "fire light" and when my brother-in-law got up to scare it, it ran away. That's when one of the locals decided to go down the hill to his car and get his shotgun, he then reported the dog approached him at his car door, when he reached inside and grabbed the gun it ran. It turns out, my teenage nephew was "howling like a wolf" about 15 minutes before it appeared.

[rippin_355]

It depends where your camp is. In southern Ontario,you'll be restricted to .270 or smaller,but,the open season is year round.

That only depends if your municipality requires it. I'm in southern Ontario and can shoot whatever I like at them. If I was to see one that is!

[trimmer21]

That only depends if your municipality requires it. I'm in southern Ontario and can shoot whatever I like at them. If I was to see one that is!

I think someone else established the area and wolves can be hunted with big bore rifles in that specific area. Splaker raises a good question,though,as to where exactly that hunting is being done. The village of Denbigh is smack dab on the border between WMU61 to the south where they can be hunted without restriction and WMU 57-58 where Wolf tags are needed and only one may be taken.
Extreme care must be taken to not inadvertently cross the boundary without a Wolf Tag.

[Splaker]

You should set up a trail cam too... maybe bait it? Would be cool to see what this thing is!

One thing is fir sure; the wolves of Central Ontario are definitely mutts of some sort! There's definitely lots of yote genes in there. The report I read basically concluded that C. Ontario seems to be a large transition zone b/w the big timber wolves of the north and eastern yotes and "red" wolf of Algonquin... so, in theory, you could see any three or a mix of each.

Have any of you seen the wolf mount at the Wolf's Den near Barrie? It's a big black wolf that was apparently shot near the Minesing Swamp.. The thing is huge and looks like it could have been shot in Alberta or Alaska! Beautiful mount.