Wolves Shadow Wisconsin Bowhunter

[Ward / Texas]

Amen to Night Wing's post.  Coyotes are bad enough in parts of Texas.  If legal it would be nice to carry a sidearm when tracking down game in wolf country.

[Roy Steele]

Get a pistol and carry it.

[beetlebailey1977]

Glad they are not down here.  That is spooky.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

You don't need a permit to carry a handgun openly. It's a Freedom Guaranteed By The Constitution of the United States.........The Right To Bear Arms...period.
Get a side arm at least .40 cal or larger, get a nice holster for it, and carry it!
If I were hunting in wolf country, I would not leave home without it. Even though most states regs say you cannot carry a bow and a firearm at the same time, there's still a matter of protecting yourself, and the point is......how much is that regulation going to mean to you if your ripped to shreds? I'll take my chances carrying a sidearm and then fight it in court if they want to push the issue with a fine or otherwise.
And just for the record....I'm a Legal Beagle, but I won't take chances with my life if there's a way to even the odds.

I carry my 10mm from time to time around here, not because of wolves (cause we don't have any) or even coyotes, but stray dogs that are now wild. People dump them out and they revert back to their wild instincts, then have pups that are wild, and you know where I'm going with this.
I've seen them, my neighbor has seen them, and I've had a big white one up close and personal to my blind numerous times. I just haven't got a chance to put that one down yet, but he's at the top of my To Do List.
I've also had them stand just far enough away to be out of range, and bark and growl at me while I'm leaving my hunting spot and headed back home. That's an eerie feeling when it's nearly complete dark, no flashlight, and no firearm....only a bow that won't do you any good if you can't see.

BTW Precurve- I'm glad your boy is ok, and very happy that he didn't let it deter him from doing what he loves to do, and also the decision to go afield this time a little more protected. That experience would have made most guys quit the sport for good.  

[LP Kelley]

I have a home in Oneida county and a cottage on a lake in Vilas county.

A few years back when I first saw a wolf in the woods and I heard them howl during the night, it was a cool experience. But now their population has exploded. Sadly they seeem to have lost their natural fear of human beings and that's what makes them dangerous. Right now it's the loss of horses cows sheep pets etc. I don't want to get into the depredation of the deer. But I'm afraid it's only inevitable that something much worse will happen.

Now there is a common saying around here, 'shoot shovel and shutup'.

LP

[jhg]

Building the mythology one brick at a time

 This reminds me of the fear around killer bees.

 Something to be aware of and watch out for certainly.

But the sky is not falling and the world is not flat. Wolves are what they are. But you have a better chance of getting hit by lightening than being attacked by them. Mtn lions, moose. wild dogs, falling through the ice. These will get you before a wolf ever does.
I agree that a season on them is becoming necessary. But I don't plan on wearing a bite proof ballistic vest any time soon.
Things change. Change with it or grind your teeth into powder stressing about what you can't change back. Thats life. Bend with it or break.
 
I'm not directing this at anyone but at the idea we need to fear wolves or hate them. Understand them and act accordingly, yes, Be smart in the woods, yes. Take management into our own hands? No. Ignore the laws that manage game for all of us to enjoy? No.
This issue will work itself out within the rules we all live within. We are, after all, a nation of laws.

Joshua, aware, but not buying into the fear/hatred.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

All it will take is for a pack of wolves to eat an anti hunting activists child and then you will be able to hunt them all you want.

I'm not saying its funny someone should get attacked but It's funny how people will change their perspective after an extreme event. The truth is We live in a reactionary world. Nothing will happen until something happens. (dogs dont count)

I once met an extremist anti-hunter who changed her tone when $10,000 worth of shrubbery was eaten.  Be patient and smart, you'll get your season.

I agree 100% with Joshua!

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Joshua, please don't take this the wrong way because I'm not being hateful or disrespectful toward you or anybody else.

I just want to reply to your statements for the sake of clarity.....I don't hate wolves at all.

I think they are beautiful animals, but so are bears, and so are alligators and sharks. All magnificent creatures and at the top of their predatory food chain....I simply have to admire that and respect that, but on the other hand it still doesn't change the fact that you don't turn your back on them because they aren't your local bully Rottweiler down at the end of the street.
Respect them....absolutely....fear them...depends on how close.....hate them...absolutely not.

But I dang sure wouldn't go wading around in the bayous of Louisiana armed only with a stick, or into bear country with a switch, nor swim in shark infested waters wearing a suit that mimics a seal either. There's a reason why you often see guides with rifles backing up a bowhunter in the Yukon who has set out to kill a bear with bow and arrow.

There's also a fine line between fear, respect, and downright stupidity that I don't intend to cross.
And about the 3 S's statement, I don't agree that is the answer. I wouldn't set out to kill a wolf just out of hatred or malice. Only if I was confronted and had no choice or thought I was about to be attacked would I kill one unless I had a tag to legally take one. Otherwise it would just be a few warning shots in the general direction of the pack to send them running in the opposite direction away from me, but I would always be packing heat just in case.

I'm glad we don't have them in Missouri because I rather enjoy being the largest predator in my neck of the woods, and I'll save the wolf viewing with remote in hand and animal planet or Discovery Channel on the boob tube.    

[Bonebuster]

The odds of getting struck by lightning ARE much greater than being attacked by wolves...unless you happen to be hiking back to your cabin in the dark, and find yourself within fifteen yards of a group of them.(commonly known as a pack) With a pack of eight wolves, 15 yards away, I`m betting your odds of getting attacked are much greater than getting struck by lightning. At a point somewhere along the way, these wolves have LEARNED that humans are not a threat. They have become BAD wolves, because good wolves would change their course for the evening, just by crossing a human beings scent.

I have never seen a wild wolf. I HAVE seen their tracks, and heard them howl.

I want wolves to thrive in healthy numbers wherever there is enough ground to support them without their presence causing problems. The fact is, they ARE causing problems, and it is getting worse quickly...because the LAW is protecting them to the point of them BECOMING a problem. {The LAW has allowed them to become a problem.} My tax dollars pay for their protection, and my tax dollars sometimes pay for damage they cause. I guess thats the law.

Just because something is LEGAL, it does not mean it is right...and vice-versa.

[seabass]

thank God he's ok.i don't know what i would do in that situation.that would rattle anyone i know.good luck to you fellas,steve  

[Rebel Yelp]

That's pretty wild. Most of the stories I hear are about the comeback of the Mountain Lion.

I hunt Upstate NY and Northern VA. I hear rumors about Moutian Lions caught on trail cams. Seen the photos even. I believe they are true.

[Bill Tell]

I have come across wolves in the wild many times in the lower 48.  I have been lucky to see these animals.

My first wild wolf sighting was in 1988.  When this wolf saw me it took off so fast I never even saw its face.  This was a true wild wolf.  Not one that was re-introduced into the wild.  I then saw one again in '95 and again as soon as it knew what I was it took off.  

Shortly after this the first wolves were let loose in Yellowstone.  Now, one can watch them from the road and their cars.

Of all wolf encounters I have had in MN the wolves don't leave or have fear of man.  I think that all of the handling done by men and women eradicated this fear.

If you truly want to have the wolf wild and back to the original creature then it needs to be hunted in support of conservation.
This will alone give it back to it's true nature of canis lupis and thus achieving the ultimate success story in animal management.

Ask those who want to protect the wolf if they want a wolf as a true wolf in the wild or merely a shadow of itself who sees man as a creature that will enable.  If they want the true wolf back then they need to allow hunting of this animal so that it can achieve its complete freedom.  A freedom were there is no connection to man for support.

[RM81]

That gave me chills just reading it.  There's really not much you could do in a situation like that.  Glad to hear of the outcome.

[DV of WI]

I lived in Eagle River for 3 years and never saw a wolf while hunting in that area. In 04 while hunting turkeys in the Black River area I saw a set running deer. While leaving in Wausau and fising the Rib River on the west side of town ther was sign of them all over the sand bars on the river. I geuss WI DNR is lucky they don't need alot of hunter success to manage the deer herd.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Ron told me the other day that a pack has moved into an old bear den at ShewHaven. 400 yards from my stand in the pines.....yippee.

[koops4]

I have hunted in the western part of the UP a couple of times and have heard wolves howling at night and in the first hour of day light.  It is an awesome and yet intimidating sound.  My uncle has seen wolves on his property in the UP and knows of atleast three packs in the area.  It makes you a "little" jumpy walking to your stand in the morning and leaving your stand at night knowing they are out and about.

[hunt it]

There is nothing good about wolves in your hunting area period. Beautiful creatures they are, but they will eat/kill everything in sight given time and numbers if not controlled. Only good wolf is a .... ....
 

[cacciatore]

Well done,hunt it.

[Zradix]

Not trying to turn this into a legislative post but....

This is an exact example why I think anyone should be able to carry a side arm while bow hunting.

In my state, Michigan, you can't unless you have a concealed weapon permit.

I could carry a handgun in the woods any other time of year..just not bow hunting..go figure.

Glad your Son is ok.

[smoke1953]

Actually there is a pack in Black River Falls area, the bear bluff pack, that they have been worried about because it has become to cozy with humans and there are plans by the Feds to trap them as I just read in "Wisconsin Outdoor News."