My three day wolf/cougar Hunt.

Outcast

Outcast

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Location
One stop from 100 acres with a house in the middle
I’ll start off by saying...I didn’t find what I was looking for, well I did but didn’t get a shot.

Took off early Monday for my planned 2-3 hunt. I started planning this a month or so ago but wouldn’t ya know it, the weather turned and man did it snow, blow.. and chilly. Day 1 not so bad as the sky’s were clear, but day 2 was colder -15 at the 2000 foot mark and the wind it was likely closer to -20...-22. Not much different on day 3 which was really a half day.

Southern Vancouver Island somewhere between Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan. Flying solo and camping out in the truck. I couldn’t drive any further due to the inclines, and it’s one of those places you don’t want to roll your truck.. 100-150 drops on the side of the road. My actual first choice was closed off due to logging, so I made the detour to Plan B.

Once I got set up I still had a 2km hike into my hunting area, a foot of snow and steep. Once I managed to get in and set a blind it wasn’t too bad. The blind was pretty good, a couple trees with two logs on each side actually worked very well and provided a good field of view.

275 yards to to top of the ridge to the left
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325 yards to break in the trees to the right
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Field of view from tree line to tree line was about 400 yards wide. Things were good until the heavy snow which dropped decent visibility to 150 yards.

Good semi comfortable place to sit for a few days
The BCL102 sitting and waiting.
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Me trying to stay warm and focused
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Day 2 towards the end of the day I saw some movement at the top of the ridge line about 250+ yards but it disappeared as quickly as I saw it, the wind was all over the place and I’m thinking my scent was picked up and that was the end of that.
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I was running my electric call going between Howels and fawn distress. This was primarily A wolf hunt but I had my cougar tag I was hoping to punch. As much as I didn’t get a good crack at anything, it was good to get out and see what gear I need to upgrade. Sorry folks, not as exciting as some with the money shot at the end... but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Plenty of deer around though. Next time.
 
It was a good time...had the chance to test out some new gear. Going to go back up in the spring and put out some trail cams. Lots of deer around, little buggers even came around my camp on the first night and checked me out. It always amazes me how they can walk on the snow and not punch through. And the terrain they navigate is truly amazing. Definitely much easier to get up to the top without the snow. It's always good to get away from everything for a couple days.
 
Thanks for the post, it is good to see your part of the world. As you said, it is hunting not shopping.

As someone who has an interest in wolf hunting but no experience I would like to ask what was behind you? Could wolves, or any other predator for that matter, circle behind to get your scent?
Dave
 
don't need a tag for Sqwatches down here, thought Canada would be the same?

nice report, however , you should avoid opening your hunt report as you did..... I almost turned off back to the hunting forum as soon as I read it... was glad too see some nice photos though as I went through.
 
d4dave1 said:
Thanks for the post, it is good to see your part of the world. As you said, it is hunting not shopping.

As someone who has an interest in wolf hunting but no experience I would like to ask what was behind you? Could wolves, or any other predator for that matter, circle behind to get your scent?
Dave
Click to expand...

I try and have something at my back, in this case I had a small hill and downed timber which would have made it more difficult for a wolf or cougar to get in behind me to be a danger. As for circling behind and picking up my scent, it’s nearly impossible to prevent that unless you have a lake or cliff as your back. Having said that you can’t ever predict with any certainty that what your looking for is coming from any specific direction.

Where I was set up the wind typically comes up over the mountains, down the valley right into my face. But with the weather the way it was the wind changed directions so much that staying in a perfect spot was impossible. My electric call was 50 yards in front of me so as to not draw them too close while they are working the sound. If alone, just try and have something at your back or you’ll have a sore neck looking behind you all the time..not to mention having the hair on the back of your neck standing on end every time you hear a branch crack.

Wolves and cougars are very tuned in to their environment and anything which makes their warning bells go off will make them bail. In my case I’m sure I had at least one wolf coming in but with the wind all over the place and blowing hard spooked him well out to 250 yards. As soon as he picked that up he was gone.

Good luck with your predator hunting... just be patient and limit your movement.
 
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