Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Wolf Problems....How bad is it?

Whats happened here is opportunists have seized on the moment and used the reduction in game to reduce resident hunters harvest on pretty much all game animals, preferring to give it to the Indians who are worse than the wolves.
I have attended seminars put on by the "wolf lovers" and its nothing short of a big lie, we dont need wolves for any reason and would suggest wolf lovers to watch a video on wolves killing ungulates.

well that was an ignorant statement

"moose seemed to do just fine"
What planet are you on? Moose are not "fine" in MN.

Brad tends to indulge in liberal thoughts....so such statements are to be expected by him....

No schitt...moose were the first thing to go here, and in YNP.

Not to hard to figure out why the moose went first... number one they aren't the brightest bulb.... two they tend to winter in deeper snow... the wolves can run on top.

The first time a moose see's a wolf his brain is thinking "coyote" nothing to worry about....

The few moose I see now are up very high, like the tops of mountains... so it appears they are adapting.

Moose also tend to be loners, except of course cows with a calf or two, and as a result they're more susceptible to wolf predation.

Do some of you really not see that the Wolf intro is but an arm of the Deep State Swamp ?

From here it looks to be the opening salvo in the push to minimise hunting and the popularity of firearms.

But who knows, maybe wolves really are cuddly and wholesome and not really the mongrel creatures I think they are.

Call it what you will but the goal is obvious...for the predators to do population control on the game, and make all those nasty old hunters stay home cause we don't need them anymore.

Wolves were reintroduced under the obligation of the Endangered Species Act. Funny thing is the non native wolf they brought here killed the last few of the original native wolf populations. I think it is more a case of do gooders and the laws of unintended consequences.

seeing more elk the last few years over here....paradise valley...…..bob

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no schidt…..bob

In Oregon we can’t legally hunt them, yet....AK, MT, WY and ID have hunting seasons for them...Has that helped reduce and manage wolf numbers or are the wolves protected boundaries so large, you rarely see any while hunting the small areas open for taking a wolf?
😎

Ifurbar…….to be honest the 20,000 elk was probably to much for carrying capacity anyway.....but the wolves got busy in a hurry.

the ranches around here are where a lot of elk hang out.....a lot....also in my 30 years here.....some places let you hunt....but not that many.

have seen quite a few elk riding in pickups this year......lot of deer in the valley also......bob

There's so many theories, thoughts and misinformation out there...I have no idea how to make heads or tails of it all.

I do think this map of Idaho's elk objectives does paint a picture....as the areas below objective are close to where the reintroduction in '95 occurred and where the packs are still largely concentrated.



I also have it on good authority that IDFG lowered their elk number objectives somewhat recently....so areas that are now meeting objectives were below objective just a few years ago...why they did that can be theorized to fit both "sides" of the argument, I guess.

As law abiding hunters, we are allowed to hunt animals, that are deemed surplus....to the overall game population. Wolves hunt year round and literally "eat" into these surplus numbers. This ratio changes from year to year, but the constant remains.......human hunters are managed due to population trends, wolves are not.

I moved to Idaho in 1995, the same year the first wolves were introduced, and things have changed greatly because of them, especially after 2000, when the wolf numbers were high enough to really impact moose, elk, and deer populations.

I have a copy of the 1995 hunting regs, from when I moved to Idaho, that I keep in my truck. When people say things haven't changed that much, I let them review the old regs, and have them compare "then" vs "now", in their favorite area, for their favorite game animal. That ALWAYS leave them quiet and pondering the changes that have occurred, without further discussion. It's amazing how quickly we forget how "things were", pre wolf introduction.

Andy3

I agree Bob, hopefully things will find a balance and improve.... not many people trapping and hunting predators anymore, so I have limited expectations.
As far as hunting access that is another whole can of worms.... think I will sit that discussion out...

Most all of ID and MT have no areas closed to hunting wolf during their seasons (other than national parks and the like)...though some areas have quotas. The vast majority of WY classifies wolves as predators, and can be shot at any time of the year in any number. WY does have a few areas where they're classified as a game animal where a tag is needed and both a season and a quota is in place.

That said they're tough to hunt and I have seen no indication that those shot by sport hunters or trapped (or aerial gunned/poisoned) has had any overall effect. When the gov does take an entire pack out I am sure it does alleviate the pressure on deer/elk/moose/cattle, but only until another pack moves in to that area.

Beav, my corner of the state has no boundaries and I can buy up to 5 wolf tags. Filling them is the trick. A few savvy trappers limit out, but my best guess you could count them on one hand.