doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com This has gotta stop !!!

Spring 2008 I was running one of my dogs at a NAVHDA test event near Milaca, MN. 6 or 8 of us were standing around waiting for our turn when a gal pointed and said "whose dog is that?". We all looked a couple hundred yards to the other end of the field adjacent to the bird field... a large animal was crossing from the timber on one side to the other. It was significantly larger (by at least 2 times) than any of the dogs we were running in the same cover. When it was out of sight we all looked at each other and said "wolf!". Milaca is in the central part of the state, well south of the "expected" wolf range.

A few years back my son and I were walking out a logging road past sundown after a successful grouse hunt in northern MN. A wolf howled close behind us... I will never forget that sound and the sensation of the hair standing up on the back of my neck. We walked out the last half mile looking back more than forward. It was a good experience, but then we weren't running any dogs at the time.

No other actual sightings for me, but several amongst friends and family, mainly deer streaking by the stand with wolf or wolves not far behind. It's amazing to come across a fresh kill site... ground cover totally trampled in a 10 yard diameter, stripped bare bones and deer hair everywhere, every other bit gone. If the wolves are howling when you are sitting around the fire at night in deer camp chances of seeing a deer the next day are slim.

Bryan

Talking about wolves,

I just heard them howling against the mountain behind the house, tonight. Four or five voices...
My sister spotted two today in the backyard around 11 AM. They were coming down a hill about 100 yards behind the house when my lab and griff noticed them. They started barking towards them in a fierce race. The wolves stopped in their tracks and turned around slowly and nonchalantly clearing the area. My 10 year old lab kept barking on their tracks, the 1 year old griff went into the kennel as soon as she smelled their stink.
They say wolves will not attack living people, but I know I will carry a gun of some sorts any time I get in the woods...

Think about this ? My brother today talked to a friend that has a brother living in Calumet,in the Keewenaw Peninsula in the UP of Michigan. This guy placed a trail camera on a wolf den and has recorded 41 fawns brought back to the den to feed the pups. Just reporting.

Next the wolves will be getting CWD.

Wolves do attack humans and it is becoming more common.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...ved=0CCwQ1QIoAQ

There seems to be a reason why our ancestors did a lot of things but alas a lot of these things are no longer adheared to. I.E. the CONSTITUTION. I would think that the eradication of wolves had a reason and during the time they sought to do it the population was far less... Now the tree huggers and do-gooders want to bring them back. When they run out of wild things to hunt, they will take livestock and God forbid people. I live in Iowa where the deer are very plentiful, we have few predators, but now with the rumor mill flying about our DNR releasing mountain lions, we seem to have some, similar scenario. There have been several killed and the media spins it as "released exotic pets" I know if I see one and have a gun well you know the rest.

You are right about the call. We have a pack of coyotes here on our IL/WI-state-line farm and they whoop it up considerably. On occasion we have called them in while soaking in our hot tub. The trick is to make a wine glass howl by rubbing a wet finger around the rim. They sometimes answer back with a wolf-like howl that can momentarily send shivers, even in the 104 degree water...but they can't hold a note, and the howl disintegrates into a bunch of yipping and yapping. Too bad. What we need here is one Minong-pack lone wolf to give us some decent night-time serenades and, incidentally, get rid of the pheasant-eatin' coyotes.

As an aside, methinks that the coyotes cannot handle turkeys in numbers. On the way to the bank the other day our resident herd of turkeys was in their usual corn field pecking through the snow. I stopped and counted at least 110, any error being an under-count given that two birds close together at 200- to 300-yards may have been mistaken as one. It could be that the turkeys have driven our pheasants away.

Investigation continues. EDM

Ed, we wonder the same thing about turkeys and our collapsed quail population here in Georgia. Baby quail look just like fuzzy little bugs; a perfect beak-full for the omnivorous big bird...Geo

Good thread topic. You want to see what you're in for on proposing predator control, get onto some Alaskan websites and track our press and such up here. Despite control being proven to work, the green crowd spend a LOT of money on press stating otherwise. As long as coyotes and wolves are allowed to grow in population, prey species populations will continue to decline, period. You either have to take matters into your own hands despite what F&Feathers says or get used to declining deer, moose, etc populations. It's that simple. There is an excellent article in a recent Outdoor life on coyotes depleting fawn deer populations during the birthing season. Research showed that 25% of the meat in a coyotes stomach during that period is fawn. That's a lot. Coyote hunting has to become a very popular pastime regardless of the rules...

Geno from St. Petersburg: I'm going to see your beautiful city and the Urals someday.... not sure when. Have worked in Mongolia and Kamchatka; your area is next...

I think you're right about the turkeys Ed and sorry I missed you this summer. I know they eat mice and such; a fuzzy little bird would like a nice meal to a turkey.

This year in Idaho, The fish and game department sold over 26,000 wolf tags. As of last Monday Idaho hunters had killed 132 wolves. There is discussion of extending the season in some area's of the state where quota's have not been met.
The gentlemen in this story will go on trial next month in North Idaho. The outcome should be interesting.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34587362/ns/local_news-spokane_wa/

David