Wolves

[Big Grey Wolf]

If you read the detailed "Wolf Management Plan" for Alberta the biologists recommended a balanced wolf population around 4000. However now most estimates are population is around 7000 with high in summer then dropping through winter. Something needs to be done to bring them back into balance.

[pointer]

Originally Posted by nube

Even if they offered $500 a wolf they still would be saving money from what it costs doing it from a plane! If it was $500 a wolf I think more guys would give it a go also.

In my opinion you could hit them for the love of the outdoors and trapping/hunting instead of making everything into a pay check. I don’t got any in my area but if I did the last thing I would want is compensation for doing something I love to do.

[sage 13]

Originally Posted by pointer

In my opinion you could hit them for the love of the outdoors and trapping/hunting instead of making everything into a pay check. I don’t got any in my area but if I did the last thing I would want is compensation for doing something I love to do.

Unfortunately that's what many do, they try to turn everything into a job/paycheck. If you don't want to do it then don't.

[crazyfish]

Originally Posted by sage 13

Unfortunately that's what many do, they try to turn everything into a job/paycheck. If you don't want to do it then don't.

The reality is .... trapping is a business/ Job, and must be treated that way. The reality is that it's usually a money losing endeavor to trap wolves at today's fur prices. Like any business you have to look at your costs and return on investment and make wise choices to be able to continue to run your business.
As the government looks at trapping as a business and as a necessary part of keeping the numbers of critters in check and keeping a sustainable number yearly. If trapping is considered to be a "hobby" then the public will have a far tougher time allowing governments to continue to allow us to trap.

Almost every trapper I've met loves what they do and enjoys and embraces the outdoors far more than the average Joe . There is some serious dedication to be out in the wilds when it's brutal cold in the winter and most don't want to leave the warm confines of the house. There is always a few less motivated people in all walks of society , please don't generalize and call all trappers lazy or just holding on for a big payout ! Thanks

[nube]

Originally Posted by crazyfish

The reality is .... trapping is a business/ Job, and must be treated that way. The reality is that it's usually a money losing endeavor to trap wolves at today's fur prices. Like any business you have to look at your costs and return on investment and make wise choices to be able to continue to run your business.
As the government looks at trapping as a business and as a necessary part of keeping the numbers of critters in check and keeping a sustainable number yearly. If trapping is considered to be a "hobby" then the public will have a far tougher time allowing governments to continue to allow us to trap.

Almost every trapper I've met loves what they do and enjoys and embraces the outdoors far more than the average Joe . There is some serious dedication to be out in the wilds when it's brutal cold in the winter and most don't want to leave the warm confines of the house. There is always a few less motivated people in all walks of society , please don't generalize and call all trappers lazy or just holding on for a big payout ! Thanks

You nailed it!
Ya I trap for fun all the time. There is some money in some of it and others it is a waste of time. I will always hang a few snares for wolves but if the Gov't wants me to get serious again and kill a bunch then it is going to cost them because I am not doing it to loose money like I did last year.
If you want results it takes a lot more work than people realise when it comes to wolves. It's only fun for so long and then it's a job and you have to run it like a business plain and simple.

[Grizzly Adams]

Then there's guys like me. I love hunting wolves, it's about all I do anymore, cause I love the challenge, it's an uphill battle with a quarry, intelligent and difficult to come to grips with. Way more demanding than ungulates.

Grizz

[nube]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Then there's guys like me. I love hunting wolves, it's about all I do anymore, cause I love the challenge, it's an uphill battle with a quarry, intelligent and difficult to come to grips with. Way more demanding than ungulates.

Grizz

You probably live in an area that you can hunt them out your back do tho right? It would be easier for sure taking a good run at them if I only had to drive half hr or so to bait.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by nube

You probably live in an area that you can hunt them out your back do tho right? It would be easier for sure taking a good run at them if I only had to drive half hr or so to bait.

Yes, not far to go. Closest one I bagged was about 5 miles SE of Bergen. Never used to be this way till about 10 years ago. Guy in Sundre apparently got 4 in the Nitchee valley.

Grizz

[KegRiver]

I see some hunters are still not aware that government personnel have been running a wolf poisoning program for a number of years now.


https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...bou-population

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...ribou-recovery

I've hunted and trapped wolves. It's not anywhere near as simple as some folks seem think it is.

It's fine to want every hunter to shoot as many wolves as possible but I suspect that the majority of hunters out there are already doing what they can to kill as many Wolves as they can. Or they live and hunt outside of Wolf habitat.

I know several people who live and hunt in Wolf territory and I know most if not all have shot Wolves and will shoot more. I've shot and trapped a few myself. Key word being, a few.

In all the years I've hunted and trapped this area I've only seen a few dozen Wolves and of those times less then half a dozen of those sightings offered the opportunity to kill one.

Wolves are most active after legal hunting hours, they have huge home ranges and they are far smarter then the smartest dog.

Calling can work, I've even had them come to a Moose call. But even if they do come in there is no guarantee they'll offer an opportunity for a shot.

I know two of the best wolf hunters in the province. Both are outfitters who specialize in guiding Wolf hunts. One is an AO member, the other used to be. I've seen both return from more then one wolf hunt empty handed.

If these two gents come home empty handed from a Wolf hunt there isn't much chance a novice will Bag one unless he or she gets very lucky.

And no I don't have any insight into how to reduce Wolf numbers other then to let nature take it's course.
The last time that happened, (to Wolves ) it pretty much wiped out all Wolves, Fox Fisher, and Marten in the northern half of the province.
What it did to other species I have no idea, but I bet it wasn't good.

There may be one possible solution, however I suspect it may be thirty years too late for that.

[West O'5]

I'll gladly shoot every wolf I can get my crosshairs on.....reality is,I've seen exactly 2 with a gun in my hand in 7 years of hunting in Alberta,seen a couple dozen while oilfield and log truckin.....3 this week alone in fact log haulin around Slave Lake.
One that I "almost" got a crack at near Wolf Lake ironically,I got on him with the scope and he disappeared running across a cutblock just a millisecond before I touched one off.The other was last year. while bowhunting moose mid-Sept, Swan Hills,walked right into one at 20 yards,got the Rossi Ranch Hand .45 unslung off my back and managed to get one into him(gutshot I think??)...tracked him for a few hundred yards til dark thirty then had to give up with a mile of 10yr old aspen jungle between me and my truck.I only walked 100 yards back towards truck when the whole pack lit up bawling all around me,6 or 7 of the bass turds some within 200m of me I'm sure.I dunno if they were in mourning for their dead buddy or gathering the troops to seek vengeance on my sorry buttocks,but it was creepy AF and a hunting moment I'll remember for life.

[Albertawoodshunter]

I shot my first wolf last fall. It was a beast. Weighed 140lbs. 8ft long from tip of nose to tip of tail and 67.5 inches tip of left paw to tip of right paw. I shot it at only 15-20 yards in front of me. Looking forward to trying to catch up with the white one it was with when I shot it . I saw 6 wolves last hunting season but could only get one. Will be trying for another this year.
Happy hunting everyone.