Best rifle for shooting Wolves

Gibbs505

Gibbs505

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Terrace BC
With all this talk about wolves and their impact on Moose and deer populations, I am wondering about a suitable rifle.
Currently, the lightest rifles I have would be a 303, sporterised and a FN Mauser in 7 mag.

What would you suggest?

PS not a poll, but just wondering. Would a 22.250 be a better choice, not worried about the pelts!
 
If you are not worried about the hide, use whatever you can shoot the best with.
 
22-250 would be a suitable choice, so would a 243, 257 roberts, 260, 6.5x55, 260 whatever. If you are not looking to save the hides then the 25 or 26 cals would be a better choice imho. Are you looking to buy a rifle to just shoot wolves , or wolves and other predators, or wolves and maybe deer? What distances are you looking at, what sight options? I am quite certain that the 303 has killed more than one wolf in it's day if that's what you want to use it'll do.
 
If you are not concerned with pelts--load up some 120's in the 7 mag and have at 'em.

If you want a new rifle specifically for 'yotes/wolves something in the 6mm, 6.5mm range would be pretty good although the 22-250 has no flies on it either.

I am using a 260 rem with 85 gr hp's right now--hope to introduce a few 'yotes to it over the xmas hollidays.

44Bore
 
You are obviously just looking for an excuse to buy another rifle. So here's the good news: You know that one you are thinking of? That'd be a great rifle for you, for hunting wolves. Merry Christmas to yourself.
 
KK1 said:
Naw i'd proble actualy go with somthing close to a .223. Just f'ing around :D
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I had a friend at one time who killed one with a 17Rem at over 300 yards.
Didn't drop him, but slowed hin up enough for a second killing shot.
Anything from .223 up will do, depending on the ranges.
I'd likley use something mid-range, from 250 savage up to 6.5X55.
Bullet selection is important however..
sullijr shot one with a 7mag and a Barnes 100 grainer IIRC, the bullet went in "Texas heart shot" style and ranged down, lodging in the paw!

Cat
 
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"...talk about wolves and their impact on..." Wolves eating deer and moose is normal. The unnecessary fear of wolves is why they were hunted to near extinction. If you're just shooting them for no reason, you're violating the B.C. hunting regs.
 
Wow

What a wide variation of opinions! Why shoot wolves? Because at times like these when wolves are well above their normal level of population, they are extremely hard on their animals of prey; moose, caribou, deer and goats, in particular. They could easily exterminate pockets of game in some places, until they run out of a good food supply and die off themselves.
Why shoot them until they are exterminated? Ha, ha, ha, ha! An army couldn't do it!!!
Against the BC game laws to just leave a dead wolf? Please show me where that is in the BC game regulations.
I have shot wolves with both a 30-06 and a 270. The fellow that said the gun you have in your hands at the time you see a wolf, is the right gun, had it right! But, they are tough. I wouldn't deliberately hunt them with anything under a 243 and if I were going hunting them tomorrow I would leave my 243 at home and take the 270. If you are like me you will take a looong shot at them, if you get the chance, because unless they are at a kill, you are unlikely to get closer.
Bear in mind in all of this I am talking about wild wolves, that have never lived in a city, or became habituated to people. Those kind of wolves are entirely different to genuine, wild wolves.
 
I lived in Terrace for a year, and in Smithers for three years. Spent a LOT of time in the outdoors up there, and never saw no wolves. Lots of bears, lots and LOTS of bears, lotsa moose [ including one that wandered into my car port in Smithers and scared the $hit out of me and my German Shepherd dog ... who was pretending to be a wolf for that few minutes ], but I ain't never seen no wolves up that way. Seen one wolf on Vancouver Island once, and one in Northern Sakatchewan, once. So, from my personal experience, and from what I've read elsewhere, wild wolves are few and far between, and deserve to be protected, not slaughtered for "sport".

I find it hard to believe that there is hard scientific evidence that the wolves are doing all that much damage to the deer and moose, that we need to ruthlessly slaughter them again. Now as for bears, a while back, when we hunted moose in Northern Saskatchewan they gave us two free bear tags for each moose tag, because they had HARD EVIDENCE that nine out of ten tagged moose calves were killed their first year by bears. So, in those circumstances, killing / culling bears had a legitimate conservation justification.

Using your argument that wolves are hard on the moose around Terrace, last I heard there were dozens, perhaps huindreds of mosse killed by the Trains ... many of them running towards the trains, rather than AWAY.

SO MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE OUT THERE STANDING ON THE TRACKS AND SHOOTING AT THE TRAINS???

Now that would be a true test of your sportsmanship.
For that merry sport you might find that even the .50 Cal wasn't enough ... but then a real man deserves a real challenge.

IMHO, hunting is different than simply killing. If you are shooting predators for a sound conservation reason, go for it. But otherwise, if you don't want the pelts, and can't eat the meat, then you are simply a killer, not a hunter.
If you want a true challenge, join the army, and go out and hunt something more challenging ... like another person with a gun.

PS: I may be biased here ... I am probably one of the few people on this board who has actually been sniffed and licked by a real live wolf. This experience has convinced me that they aren't the BIG BAG wolf of legend.
BAH HUMBUG!!
LAZ 1
 
Ive never seen a cougar in the wild, nor have I ever seen a baby pigeon, but i know both exist and in an abundance so what makes you think that just because you haven't seen any they are in short supply???????????

Up north wolves will move into a valley and totally wipe it out and then move on to another, so unless you happen to hit the same valley they are in you won't see them, they certainly won't be trying to get your attention.
 
PS: I may be biased here ... I am probably one of the few people on this board who has actually been sniffed and licked by a real live wolf. This experience has convinced me that they aren't the BIG BAG wolf of legend.
BAH HUMBUG!!
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Tell us what it's really like in Disney & Mowatt's world...:evil:


If I was to pick a rifle from the vault strictly for wolf shooting, I'd grab the .270 WSM as it's got the range and power to KILL WOLVES as far as I can nail 'em :D
 
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Big Bore,
take a look at a few of my other postings before you call me a TROLL. Just because I disagree with your need to go out and KILL something , does not make me a troll ... merely someone who disagrees with you.... or in your mind, are they the same thing?

If you want to change my opinion, post some SCIENTIFIC evidence about Wolf predation increase, and maybe I'll listen. If anyone can prove that wolves have become so bad up North that they need to be culled to protect the predator /prey balance, why then I might be conviced to change my opinion.

Until then ...name calling went out with the seventh grade. Real men support their opinions with facts ... give me some or STFU.
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sunray;1837019If you're just shooting them for no reason said:
More ignorant statements...

Anyone with a BC hunting licence may legally kill 3 wolves per season, no tags required.

There is no requirement to remove the meat.
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Brambles,
I have seen a few cougar in the wild, although they are rare. And facts show that a LOT more people are attacked by cougars than by wolves, especially where I live. Here, on Fantasy Island, BC, we get cougar tracks on a trail about 100 yds from my house. MY 110 lb German Shepherd [ and the five other BIG German Shepherds that live on my block ] dont seem to impress the cats enough to make them leave their chosen habitat.

And I have seen a baby pigeon too.

But I still say, there are not enough wolves out there to justify another widespread wolf slaughter. Perhaps there might be pockets where local conditions favor the wolf over the prey right now, but that is no justification for another great wolf slaughter.

PS: if you had ever looked into the eyes of a LIVE wolf, as i have, you might have a LOT more respect for them
LAZ 1
 
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