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

I read a thread on another forum where the OP put forth the idea that deer and elk populations in Montana won’t be able to recover from the increasing wolf population.

The thread had a lot of first hand accounts of the devastation viewed at kill sites of wild game, as well as cattle becoming a targeted food source while grazing abroad.

What’s really going on with the federal government and Fish & Game in areas they have been released?
From the sounds of it, other states like Oregon that did a wolf release, have already experienced devastating game animal reductions. In Oregon within 3 years of introduction some of our most sought after hunting units near the Idaho borders for deer and elk have been hurt really bad.

This is no doubt an emotional topic...I’m a pretty active and vocal member for hunting and fishing in my state and local coastal area. And I know from experience, challenging the Fed’s and ODF&G on their intentions to make changes that we as hunters/fishermen know will result in colossal failure, are met with “Thank you for your input and concerns” Then they go ahead and do exactly what they wanted to do.

What’s going on in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah? Is the Western States big game hunting about to become ruined?

😎

Beaver I was just talking to a friend that hunted the Northside unit over east for elk with a large party. He said there were no elk in the unit, period. The entire party left four days before season end. He found 8 elk bone piles. I've been hunting my whole life and I would say I average a deer or elk bone pile one a year. One in their party saw a wolf.

I think this will be increasingly common in Oregon. Why we put up with this incompetent (at best) or under-handedly deceptive (most likely) wildlife management agency in Oregon is a mystery.

Rifle, wolf, shovel..... Doesn't really seem this complicated

It can be very bad. We are going through our own wolf problems where I am at. It really changes things.

Beaver,

To be clear, I wish their were no wolves in Idaho....none.

Having said that, the area we hunt is supposedly overrun with wolves too...and we went 4/4 in an OTC unit on bulls again this year. Second year in a row we’ve done so I’ll add.

Cougars take more game than wolves in Idaho, and no one ever even mentions them. Emotions play a huge role in all of this imho.

Your welcome to disagree with everything I’ve said of course.

Dave

The wolves have eaten up ALL the big game in Montana. There's no reason for any non-residents to spend the exorbitant money we charge for licences.

I understand they have also killed and eaten all the children.

I was taught that it was shoot shovel and shut up.....and it works when enough folks engage in it.

Dave, no disagreement since I really don’t know. Wolves haven’t hit my hunting grounds, yet...Our Coug population has skyrocketed from essentially none to a thriving head count in the last 25 years since no use of dogs was made a law. But, I haven’t noticed a decrease on the game from cougars. 😎

This I have also heard from personal friends who’ve pulled tags several times over the years in these units. They have all said the game animals are gone by comparison to years past...This is part of the reason I’m asking for information. 😎

No you tell us after the fact.

The last 20 years have been bad. But there is a balance beginning to happen. Wolves were introduced into a buffet of elk here, where some of the best elk hunting in the world used to be. The wolf population swelled due to unlimited food source. It didn’t take long to eat 13,000 elk, only a few years really. When there was no food source left, the wolves starved and killed each other over territory. Today packs are smaller and more spread out here. I have not seen any wolf sign this hunting season when normally I would not be able to avoid it. There are more elk than I have seen in past years, and 6 bulls were killed in Taylor Fork opening week.

Too late...😎

My 2 brothers and nephew hunted the Snake River unit, They seen wolves. My nephew killed a 7x6 bull

Better in theory than reality... it aint that easy

We have seen a marked decrease in our deer population here in the last 10-15 years. Where we would see 100 deer in one 15 acre alfalfa field at night, we see maybe 12. Elk down by half.
Now as to the reason. I see wolf sign on the place daily. I have also found cougar kills caches numbering in the dozens in the reprod around my place. I have grail cam pics of female cats with triplets full grown. They are eating good.
I would blame all three major predators for the decline
Have seen many unweaned fawns in the back of a pickup. And their does laying on top.

Beav,

I used to hunt North East of Slough creek , ground zero for the initial wolf reintroduction... well it didn't take long to make elk hunting not worth the effort there. The N. Yellowstone herd went from 20k plus to estimated 4k today.

I spent a couple of days in that part of the park this summer and didn't see an elk the entire time, not counting the lawn elk in Mammoth,

Back in the day the I delivered supplies to dude ranches surrounding Yellowstone and they told me in private the elk were almost gone.

The biggest impact has been on the moose population... wasn't uncommon to see a moose in every drainage... they are few and far between these days.

Just up the road from me a drainage was said to have the densest moose population in the state... I hunt it often and haven't seen a moose yet.

Every year the F&G does a hunter survey and the first thing they ask me is did you spot any moose, second question did you spot a wolf?

We used to be able to shoot several whitetail in my area, now only one, a buck. I have spent 5 days hunting around home and seen a handful of whitetail does and one mule deer, zero elk, no elk tracks or droppings either.

The elk and deer seemed to have moved into the valleys close to people, the hills are practically bare.

This summer I have seen seven bears and one lion, the most ever.... had a pack of wolves in the yard the other day, my dog howls and barks ... when she howled the wolves lit up.. it was eery....

A few years ago I hunted 24 days total including several nights back packing in and saw two cow elk the entire season.

Last year I hunted 30 miles back in the Bob Marshall, traveled 10 to 20 miles a day by horse and saw 1 elk 1 Mt.goat, 1 grizzly, 1 mule deer and a handful of whitetails in 7 days.

The people I talk to that used to kill elk every year can't seem to find them , the old spots don't hold elk anymore.

If you pull up the F&G map of wolf packs my locale is loaded with them..... last year I located an elk herd put them to bed for the night and returned at first light... no elk, wolf tracks everywhere in the fresh snow.

Wolves are just part of the decline... bears , lions etc.. are at all time highs. Also rich libs buying ranches and not allowing hunting has created "safe spaces" for elk herds....

In the recent past if I posted such things I would get ridicules as being a lousy hunter.... I was a better hunter before wolves arrived...

I'm about sick and tired of our ODFW myself!!!! We have wolves up here now too. That's north central near the gorge. ODFW has their heads so far up their azzes that their teeth are brown...

The shut-up part is the hardest for most.

I have noticed much the same progression here in NW Wyoming also, and the elk that have adapted seem like hardier survivors, and some really nice bulls are showing up on the meat poles and in the panniers.