Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What caliber for wolf hunting?

I may have missed a similar posting, I apologize if so. For those of you fortunate enough to live where you can hunt wolves what cartridge/rifle do you use. I have seen several articles about the size of some of these critters and just wonder how tough they are to put down. We have them in Michigan and a hunting season has eluded us a couple of times now. The wolves here are of common size getting up to and around the 125 lb mark for males. Obviously the average coyote setup probably won't do and one would need the average deer rifle instead.

I was curious about this myself. I would think, because I do not know, that either a 6mm or 6mm/224 would be an awesome choice.

I have used a 22-250 and 243 for predator hunting and always found them to be plenty for animals up to wolve size but to destructive on smaller furbearers. I shot mostly 45-55gr expanding bullets in the 22-250 and 85gr sierra HPBT gamekings in the 243. THey both worked very well.

I just had a long conversation with a guy today that spends his winters out chasing wolves and other predators in northeastern alaska, He uses a 243 WSSM shooting 80gr hornady FMJ @ 3400fps. This is the best combination he has ever come up with. He just got back from 7 weeks out hunting. He got several wolves 3 lynx and a few coyotes. Pretty tough conditions, hundreds of miles on a snow machine, and just as many climbing and stalking mountains, with temps down to -60 wind chills. Its a hard way to make a few dollars.

I would think that any 243 or 6mm Rem would make just as good a fur round. I have been thinking about trying out some 90gr banded solids in my 25/06, that ought to make a good one for fur hunting. Having something that won't blow up a fox or lynx would be nice.

I think a .243 or a 25.06 would be damn near perfect.
I killed two along the Gakona River in Alaska back in 1998 with my wife's .270.
Both bang flops.

i hunted wolf with a Kimber Montana in .223 with 62 TSX. diddn't punch my tag though. next chance to hunt wolf will be met with fairly fresh .264 Win build. (SS 700, McM ADL Classic, Brux 1-8", Leupold 3.5-10x)

Anything from a .243 on up would work perfectly fine for wolf and deer sized game.

I like to keep things simple and currently only use 2 centerfire rifles for all my hunting..

My old Win M70 30-06 is used for everything from varmints through elk and moose size game and my Win M70 375 H&H is used for stuff that might like to bite.

If I was hunting wolf no doubt I'd carry a 30-06, especially when you consider that you might encounter some larger mean tempered critters during the hunt.

Lot's of good choices out there for different size game, but I've come to the conclusion that if I can't handle any game animal with either a 30-06 or 375 H&H I have a real problem.

For me it is not so much a case of having the "right" cartridge, rather it is what I can shoot very well.

My rationale is that wolves are not that big, they move pretty fast, and they are kind of spooky (around here anyway). For these reasons something I can shoot well is very important as the shots may be long and/or moving.

Currently my Model 70 338wm is what I am most comfortable with so that is my "wolf" rifle.

I have read a thread or three on this topic -one thread from a couple of years ago struck me as strange.
Most guys commenting were from alaska and for the most part they recommended 223's and 22-250 for wolf.That thread has stuck in my mind for a while because those cartridges seem light for the job to me.
Although with todays quality bullets you can get a lot of smack out of smaller calibers.
Just saying.
I don't shoot rifles larger than a 25-06 nearly as well as do smaller ,.

belt fed 50 bmg,with a nightforce scope

Timber wolf not Air Wolf

Never hunted wolf but maybe the 257 weatherby?

brinky- is there a season in michigan? i have a .243 but i think i would take my 6.5-284.

A feller in our hunting party this fall killed one. They do succumb to a 7mm RM.

I would use a 458 Mag just to make sure they were VERY DEAD!!!

From my limited experience in hunting wolves in Canada I have used the 270 with 130 grain NP and 264 with 140 NP....I would think any caliber of 25 or bigger would be more than adaquate..

I've got a good buddy from high school who "made it" in life... he is an LEO in Alaska with a FIL who has ALL the toys any hunter would need/want for enjoying life in that area! His main hunting rig is a 300 WM and his "varmint" (read: wolf) rifle is an AR-10. Not sure what loads he runs in that one, but you know you're in some awesome country when your varmint rifle is what most people consider to be a big game cartridge!

I know he has rolled several with that... and what fun!

Nope not yet. The ANTIs keep hanging things up in court.

I don't think caliber or cartridge matter as much as having a fast handling rifle. The few times I've hunted wolves I've had another tag in my pocket so the caliber choice was based on that. I've seen WAY more moving wolves than ones standing and waiting to be shot. They're slippery bastids once they been hunted much.