Wolves really do scare them off. How bout that?

[North Idaho Stickbow]

I’ve seen plenty of wolf sign before and heard the stories, but I’ve never encountered one or been able to directly blame one for my lack of success, until now.

I had some promising leads on elk yesterday with some great sign and sightings and plans of attack for this morning. That changed last night. Holy crap: the howling. I’ve never experienced it, but it was a chorus that went on for hours. Today: crickets. The woods are literally empty. It’s crazy.

 

[Ross]

Welcome to the real world of wolves thankfully I’m seeing some good killing on a wolf pack in north Idaho 7 started the season down to 4 and likely a few more die from the guys after them. Good luck finding elk to chase that are not being harassed by the wolves. I will say the cash is nice for the guys killing wolves if members of f4wm for wolf management

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Well, I can point those fellas to a great spot right up here lol.

 

[Ross]

Send me a pm they are having fun killing them and one guys is a serious mountain beast

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Send me a pm they are having fun killing them and one guys is a serious mountain beast

PM’d. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on the mountain. Go get em. I’m pretty sure they totally screwed my hunt up here.

 

[Customweld]

I’ve seen plenty of wolf sign before and heard the stories, but I’ve never encountered one or been able to directly blame one for my lack of success, until now.

I had some promising leads on elk yesterday with some great sign and sightings and plans of attack for this morning. That changed last night. Holy crap: the howling. I’ve never experienced it, but it was a chorus that went on for hours. Today: crickets. The woods are literally empty. It’s crazy.

I had never really been impacted by them until a couple of years ago, hunting a late cow tag with my wife. The wolves followed a big migrating herd . Through out the whole week hunting, they had elk scattered from hell to breakfast! We’d put a small herd to bed at night, ready to hit ‘em in the morning and those wolves would be in there sometime in the night. Rotten bastards.

 

[sneaky]

The Nez Perce are going to screw Colorado too it looks like. The wolf brokers.

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[snowymtnwolf]

Elk are known to adapt and not be as vocal. Possibly stick with it. They might have shut up (or moved) but it’s worth looking into

Good luck


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[North Idaho Stickbow]

Elk are known to adapt and not be as vocal. Possibly stick with it. They might have shut up (or moved) but it’s worth looking into

Good luck


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They’re around, I found one good trail of fresh sign yesterday and the smell was strong. However; it’s also September 19th and I have yet to hear a bugle, so I set up a bear bait Sunday evening and it’s already getting smashed. I went ahead and switched gears to full bear mode.

 

[ElkNut1]

Nothing new with the wolves interaction here. We deal with it & find the elk! Sure it's a challenge but once you locate them again or others you'll find enough bugling, don't give up too easy, elk hunting is supposed to be tough! (grin)

I hunt similar country I find I need to call more not less, you'll find them, get creative in your bull sounds more than anything once elk are located & your best results will be once they're at their destination with bedding areas being the best! Feeding areas work as well. If they're in transition then not so much! Good luck!

ElkNut

 

[jgilber5]

We had a bit of this too. Had the elk pinned all week, but one night had a lone wolf howling for about an hour after dark. Woods went silent for 2-3 days. Elk were still there but not saying a word

 

[Beendare]

Wolves howling in a drainage is like having sheep in there, don’t waste your time

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

I’m giving one more day today, then I’m shifting over to that bear, because he has eaten half my bait in two days!!

It’s Just so eerie how quiet the woods have become since that howling. I haven’t even seen a deer. It’s as silent as death out here.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

No way, totally fake news. Our politicians and CPW commissioners in Colorado told us that introducing wolves would lead to a healthier and more vibrant elk herd. It is also going to cure CWD. They said it so it must be true. ……..Sarcasm.

 

[philson208]

couple years ago, I bugled as sun was about to come up. The entire basin lit up with a wolf pack that went on for about an hour.... I hiked 10 miles through country that was on fire with the rut the previous day. I never heard a bugle that day. Checking some wallows and bedding areas I found still steaming poop. the elk didn't necessarily leave, they just went silent and moved into deeper cover. That same area this spring I found four dead bulls all within earshot of each other, and zero elk sheds or elk in the entire basin. wolves wreak havoc on the ungulates in big winters. I hunt very near to where they reintroduced wolves in my arear in the 90's and have watched their numbers multiply over the years. They definitely don't help with elk hunting but the elk numbers have also increased over the same spread of time in my area.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Nothing new with the wolves interaction here. We deal with it & find the elk! Sure it's a challenge but once you locate them again or others you'll find enough bugling, don't give up too easy, elk hunting is supposed to be tough! (grin)

I hunt similar country I find I need to call more not less, you'll find them, get creative in your bull sounds more than anything once elk are located & your best results will be once they're at their destination with bedding areas being the best! Feeding areas work as well. If they're in transition then not so much! Good luck!

ElkNut

I have to really say thank you for this. I took this advice today and just took a shot at a beautiful bull. I type this as i wait for the dust to settle. I don’t know yet if I hit him or not. His harem hasn’t moved a muscle so I don’t dare go look for the arrow yet (thank goodness for a quiet bow).

 

[ElkNut1]

Sir, that's a very good sign, odds are you just filled your elk tag! I've seen that exact situation a few times where the cows hung around waiting for their sleeping king to wake up! (grin) Good work sir! Now get after those bears!!!!

ElkNut

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Sir, that's a very good sign, odds are you just filled your elk tag! I've seen that exact situation a few times where the cows hung around waiting for their sleeping king to wake up! (grin) Good work sir! Now get after those bears!!!!

ElkNut

Sadly, it didn’t turn out that way *sigh*. It was a really awkward position, uphill shot. It looked like I center punched him right through the bush he was standing in, but when I went up to see, my heart fell out of my butt. No blood whatsoever, and no arrow to be found. I missed him over his back and buried my arrow in the dirt somewhere. It’s depressing because that would have been the bull of a lifetime and I would have gotten it done solo.

Regardless; your advice was spot on sir. I went in aggressive and it paid off in spades. I owe you a steak dinner if you’re ever up in the panhandle (wish it was elk steak, but maybe next time).

 

[ElkNut1]

Sorry man, been there! Misses suck but wounding & not finding is worse. Keep your chin up & Thanks!

P.S. Did you get him in range through calling? I assume you did being you hunt a lot of the country I'm generally in although different zones.

ElkNut

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Sorry man, been there! Misses suck but wounding & not finding is worse. Keep your chin up & Thanks!

P.S. Did you get him in range through calling? I assume you did being you hunt a lot of the country I'm generally in although different zones.

ElkNut

I did. It’s super thick and heavy here. Like a pine tree jungle.

It’s funny, because everything you eluded to happened lol. I basically trolled the mountain bugling where I’ve encountered them many times over the years. After some low bugling, I got a low response and I caught them at the end of their feeding time. From there, I kept up the calling to keep track of them as they moved to the bedding area. I always at least got a cow call back. The wind was perfect; blowing sideways and uphill across the hill and straight into my face.

I dogged them for about an hour loudly and aggressively. They finally planted in a heavy alder thicket like they always do. My usual self wanted to stop 80 yards out and try to wait them out to ambush or something, but I told myself “it’s the last day you’re camping here, don’t wuss out”, so I kept up the aggression and went to probably 25 yards uphill/downwind from where I figured he was bedded.

From there he didn’t want to talk back as much, but I kept ramping up the bugles anyway until I was lip bawling him to death. He had enough and finally came out downhill right where in thought he would, but wrapped himself up in the alders and raked and stomped everything in sight, leaving me no shot.

So I lip-bawled him again while he was too preoccupied to see me.

That set him off again, he circled back in the alders and decided to come around me from uphill, which put me in a crappy position with the wind and how I was kneeling. He showed himself and stood in a bush locked right on to me. I ended up twisting my body 180 and pulling my bow back and holding it for at least two minutes straight, no joke.

I was hoping he’d look away. I don’t know why, because it’s not like he was moving or going to outrun my arrow. Anyway; I made all the right decisions it seems right up until the shot. I should have released way earlier, and not fretted about him looking at me or the bush he was standing in.

I learn valuable lessons in the elk woods every year, and I think I learned more from this one than I have in a while.