An expanse of mountains, deep snow, and feed. So how to narrow it down?
How do you figure locations to hunt wolves in the thick of winter?
I've only been actively hunting wolves a couple years, close on a couple occasions though still far away from cracking one.
NW MT is thick timber. Typical setting, dropped off by friend w/ snowmobile then I snowshoe in to an area about 2.5 miles where I've found with wolves and stayed at the most, two nights though my very limited experience, it's very hit or miss seeing/hearing. I don't like time wasted and most especially in deep snow settings.
The pack gear weight on snowshoes in deep snow has its moments of pure... "WTF am I doing!?" Haha! The camp portion has become a quick learning curve... As @neffa3 mentioned in the thread about deep snow camping, the silence at night is pretty awesome! Even more so w/ the sound of short wolf barks and occasional howls. That overcomes the frustrated, "WTF..." hiking thoughts.
My main area is a frozen lake and a mostly frozen layered stream as this has held my best opportunities for line of sight to actually shoot and heaviest tracked areas.
However, their territory is so vast, it seems more chance than strategically planned... much, much more then elk/deer hunting.
I figured if I focus on the past experience for elk, moose areas and tracks, that keeps me somewhat dialed in on wolves though it seems to be an absolute timing luck issue.
Imagine if I had more time, I might get a better feel for their timeframe as it seems they route their territory in a circle, or so it seems. One aspect I'm amazed with is their ability to stay above the snow enough to roam around! My shoes sink in sometimes to my knee in the soft stuff!
So, what's the best way to dial in on wolves during winter?
How do you figure locations to hunt wolves in the thick of winter?
I've only been actively hunting wolves a couple years, close on a couple occasions though still far away from cracking one.
NW MT is thick timber. Typical setting, dropped off by friend w/ snowmobile then I snowshoe in to an area about 2.5 miles where I've found with wolves and stayed at the most, two nights though my very limited experience, it's very hit or miss seeing/hearing. I don't like time wasted and most especially in deep snow settings.
The pack gear weight on snowshoes in deep snow has its moments of pure... "WTF am I doing!?" Haha! The camp portion has become a quick learning curve... As @neffa3 mentioned in the thread about deep snow camping, the silence at night is pretty awesome! Even more so w/ the sound of short wolf barks and occasional howls. That overcomes the frustrated, "WTF..." hiking thoughts.
My main area is a frozen lake and a mostly frozen layered stream as this has held my best opportunities for line of sight to actually shoot and heaviest tracked areas.
However, their territory is so vast, it seems more chance than strategically planned... much, much more then elk/deer hunting.
I figured if I focus on the past experience for elk, moose areas and tracks, that keeps me somewhat dialed in on wolves though it seems to be an absolute timing luck issue.
Imagine if I had more time, I might get a better feel for their timeframe as it seems they route their territory in a circle, or so it seems. One aspect I'm amazed with is their ability to stay above the snow enough to roam around! My shoes sink in sometimes to my knee in the soft stuff!
So, what's the best way to dial in on wolves during winter?
