Jcs271
Well-known member
The forecast this morning was for a very serious storm front to blow in. It was due to hit around noon with lots of snow, high winds and temps dropping to below zero.
Perfect weather to try and locate predators wanting to feed before the storm
I left the house an hour before daylight with extra layers of fleece and thermal underwear in an effort to maintain a comfortable 98.6 degrees.
I made a few stops to howl into some drainages that occasionally hold wolves, but heard no responses. My ultimate plan was to be in a small wet weather lake bed right at daylight. This place and the large valley beyond is a good place to call. When I parked, I gave a few soft howls but got no reply. I then hiked about 1/2 mile before dropping down a small trail to the lake bed. I have not been here in at least a year so I was very surprised to see a lot of frozen swampy grass and some larger areas of water that were frozen over. I quickly realized that beavers had moved in and the area was already filling with water (It will be a lake by next spring).
I followed a path along the edge that took me to a spot where I could see fairly well. The pond was directly in front of me with some brush and alders at about 90 yards and then heavy timber beyond that.
It was just starting to get light so I took out my favorite ironwood hand call (from Robert Patrick at Rare Earth Calls) and started to make some very slow and soft fawn distress calls. I was standing in some small alders since it was to wet to comfortably sit. I blew 3-4 times then scanned to my left. As I started looking back to my right there was a black wolf facing me at about 95 yards. I had my rifle barrel resting on a small branch and it was already pointed in that general direction. Since I had the wind in my face, I gave a very short bleat hoping to bring the wolf a little closer and possibly position it for a broadside shot.
It worked, the wolf took a few steps forward, stumbled once when it broke through some thin ice then stopped to look my way again. It was now at about 90 yards and slightly quartering towards me. I centered the red dot reticle of my 1-4X Leupold VXR scope on its chest and touched off the shot. I thought I saw the wolf fall and I clearly heard the thump of the 7.62X39 bullet but I could no longer see the animal due to the tall grasses. Instantly the valley erupted with the howls of the pack that was apparently in the tree line just behind the black wolf. I quickly tried to make some distress sounds on the chance that another one might venture into view but they were already heading away from me.
My finger is pointing at the spot where the wolf fell.
I gathered my backpack and started making my way over to what I hoped would be a dead wolf. I have been through this ground a few times in the past but with the recent beaver flooding I was quickly busting through the inch thick ice and into water halfway up my (apparently not really waterproof) gaitors. A few more steps and I dropped through past my knees. This was getting worse and even though it was 20 degrees, I was on a mission to locate and recover that wolf. I always use a hiking staff and that is the only thing that kept me upright while breaking through the ice and waiting for my boot to hit bottom. I was shocked when the water started to be thigh high and I could see it would get deeper before I could get to where I needed to go.
I spent several minutes backing out through my trail which looked like it had been cleared by an ice breaker. When I got back to solid ground, I was soaked, my new Whites hunting boots were literally full of water and I wasn't really sure what to do next.
It took me another 20 minutes to slog along the edge of the pond and work my way to the other side. Then I still had to work my way out to where I would hopefully find a dead wolf. This time the water was only calf deep and I quickly found what I was looking for, my first black wolf! It was a large female and she was literally half submerged.
I had my drag strap ready and pulled her up towards firm ground where I could examine her and notch my tags. It was also a chance to take some pictures before trying to get her back to the trailhead.
I was starting to feel a serious chill and knew that I needed to get moving to build up some heat. The path I took getting there would have been miserable to retrace so I opted to pull her further downstream since the water seemed to be shallower in that direction. Even though I was now heading the "wrong" direction, I hoped it would be easier and drier. I pulled her about 150 yards through soggy tall reed grass before coming to what looked like a shallow little channel that was iced over. I pulled the wolf right up to the edge before I started across. My first few steps after breaking through the ice were in ankle to calf deep water. On my next step I did not hit bottom as I planned and literally started falling further forward. I managed to twist my staff sideways as it hit the ice and that stopped my forward motion. The pistol and knife on my belt were both underwater before I hit bottom. I was able to grab an alder branch and I pulled myself back out of that cold water faster than I went in to it! What a mess.
This little hole sure doesn't look like it goes from four inches to four feet deep does it?
Long story, short. I had to back out of there again and pull her another hundred yards "downstream" before I got all the way around and back to the spot where I originally took my shot.
By the time I got back to my trail, I was quite glad to have that soggy part of the hunt behind me. Here is a picture of the swamp as I was heading out to the trailhead.
Moments after I took this picture I started hearing a lone wolf howling from an area across the pond. I left her there on the trail and slipped back down to see if I could work him in. I gave a number of whimpers and soft howls hoping that he would come to investigate but he never appeared. He was on the move and every time he howled he was closer to being straight across from me. The wind was picking up and I am confident that he caught my scent because the woods suddenly went totally silent.
I dragged the wolf back to my truck and with the heater blasting, smiled all the way home.
This was truly an amazing day! JCS
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