Why kill a Wolf ?

[tufferthandug]

Why kill a wolf? It's not easy. Granted they're easy to shoot at, but it's hard to find one.

I've smoked two, and missed two. The first was the biggest male of the pack, maybe the Alpha. I say maybe because everyone that shoots a wolf says it was the Alpha. Last year I shot my second, a bitch. She was the last of a few that hung around after I first spotted them.

You never have very long to get a shot off. If you do though, and you connect the excitement lasts long after the wolf is dead. While you sit there and skin the fugger the rest of the pack sits in the trees a couple hundred yards away and howls. Usually they are spread out all around you. I've tried to pursue the pack after shooting but had no luck. They usually answer back every time you howl, but they won't come in.

 

[FLIPPER]

Most of all, it would be FUN, that's why.

I'd like to line up a stringer of wolf hides in my den, all different colors and sizes. Much better than shooting them in the ass and watching them limp off to be eaten by the rest of their pack.

LMAO


But I do agree...if we had them here, I would hunt/kill them.

 

[baltz526]

i awoke at 3:11 this morning with this topic on my mind. there are a lot of pressures on our sport of hunting. deterating habitat, urban growth and all it brings, massive money donations to antihunting groups, massive money donations to antihabitat improvement groups, goverment red tape designed to save office jobs and remove field workers when budgets are tight, atv's, protecting predators from hunting with effective management tools, and then there is the wolf! in the upper midwest they have over 3050 counted wolves, where there should be less than 200 (in my opinion as a hunter). in idaho they have over 600 where there should be 50 (in my opinion as a hunter) wyoming and montana again has hundreds more than they should ( in my opinion as a hunter) since the wolf issue is not going to go away, the effect of this massive over population of wolves in the available habitat, is we hunters are going to have our population culled. this wolf population spread is going to kill our sport and is going to be the main cause, of the loss of all we hunters put back into the game we support. this issue will be the straw that broke the camels back. wolves are to hunting what daming the columbia has been to native fish runs on the columbia. we hunter have become the endangered spieces in the north west states! get used to it, it was a sad day in history, when the wolf was put in the place of being the top predator, over humans. it is just against human nature to be a prey speicies, but that is what we are becoming. the urbanization of the world is the root cause of this.
__________________
OHA LIFE MEMBER, LAPINE OREGON. the hunt begins. http://www.oregonhunters.org/ click on application to print

 

[Ridge Runner]

Look what happened to California and the deer herds there with the Mountain lion listing. Good example...

 

[MarvB]

What deer herds......

 

[Ridge Runner]

Sad isn't it Marv.. I remember hunting back before we even had all the zones.. Used to be one coastal tag and one inland. Would hunt Lake county then head to modoc and mono. Those were the days. Kill the kittys and the wolves.

 

[MarvB]

Go to the Modoc now Ridge and hunt the rims and you'll likelysee more lion tracks than you do deer tracks...even the DFG Bio's up in that region want action but doubt it will ever happen.

Speaking of the Modoc...heelerdog you out there??

 

[MarvB]

Hey Ridge speaking of lions did you see this article?

No Backing Off
As encounters with mountain lions rise, a former game warden offers some advice.
By Marek Warszawski / The Fresno Bee03/14/07 03

While hiking in the mountains, you hear a rustling sound coming from a nearby thicket. You turn your head expecting to see a deer, but something else emerges from the underbrush. It's a mountain lion, and it's headed in your direction.

What should you do?

If Terry Hodges was with you, he'd stare the mountain lion right in the eye. He'd shout at the animal and raise his arms above his head. He'd identify any nearby sticks or rocks that could be used as weapons in case it decided to attack.

"Rule number one is don't run -- you don't want the lion thinking you're its prey," Hodges said. "Rule number two is stay upright. Raise your arms; or if you're wearing a jacket, open it up. The third rule is to act aggressively. Stomp your feet and shout at it."

When it comes to mountain lions, Hodges has more than his share of experience. During 28 years as a California game warden, most of it in Butte County, he watched them go from a nuisance to a legitimate threat to the state's hikers, runners and mountain bikers.

The author of four books chronicling his experiences as a game warden, Hodges is one of the featured speakers at the Central Valley Sportsmen's Boat, RV and Outdoor Living Show. The show begins its annual three-day run Friday at the Fresno Fairgrounds.

"When I first came to Butte County in '76, I was getting one mountain lion call a year," Hodges said. "By the mid- to late-'90s, I was getting one mountain lion call a day. It's a problem that's not just going to go away."

Although mountain lion attacks on humans are rare, there is evidence to suggest an upward trend.

From 1890 to 1990, there were only five verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California. Since 1990, there have been 11, including one in June 2004 near Johnsondale in Tulare County. Six of the 16 attacks were fatal.

Ironically, 1990 is the year California voters passed Proposition 117, a ballot initiative that made mountain lions a "protected species." Why mountain lions need such a designation remains a mystery, considering they are a top-of-the-food-chain predator whose numbers are abundant.

California law has prohibited mountain lion hunting since 1972, although residents can get special permits to shoot one if it threatens people or property. Hodges believes it's time for a policy shift.

"We have a law based on sentiment and not science, and that's absurd," Hodges said. "Mountain lions should be managed like any other game animal. Now their population is out of control, and we can't do anything about it."

There are an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions in California, and more than half the state is considered their habitat. Although mountain lions generally follow the migration patterns of deer, their primary food source, they are known to wander into foothill communities. There even have been sightings along the San Joaquin River corridor near Highway 41.

"They don't normally like to be around people," said Doug Bowman, a Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist. "But when the population is big like it is now, there are lions that get pushed out, looking for a home range. They might end up close to a town, and we'll get a call."

Truth be told, most mountain lion-human encounters in California end up worse for the animal. From 1994 to 2006, an average of 111 mountain lions were killed annually, according to the DFG.

Hodges believes the actual number to be significantly higher.

"People get tired of lions watching their kids go to school or go through their backyards, so they kill them," he said. "Up in lion country, the phrase they use is, 'Shoot, shovel and shut up.'

"People are breaking the law because they can't risk having lions near their families."

Hodges has plenty of mountain lion stories in his arsenal, some of which he'll recount during his appearance at the Fresno sports show.

His main advice for people venturing into mountain lion territory: Don't go out alone.

"It's a different world than the one we experienced 20 years ago," Hodges said. "Now there are animals up there that will hurt you."

I'd love to be in the running for 100-200 permits a year!