Was I being hunted?

boonerbuck

boonerbuck

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South Cariboo, B.C.
This may be just a case of wolves being curious but there seemed to be alot of hungery wolves and very little moose around on our hunt.

This years bull moose hunt had me packing my bow due to not drawing a permit in the area we usually put in. I also was unsuccessful at drawing goat and grizz. The archery season was during the rut so I figured my chances were pretty good. I called out 5 bulls last year at the same time and 2 stood broadside at bow range, one I took with my rifle.

I have a spot in this area that is a gated off wood lot that they horse log in. There usually a group of moose in there rutting along with some deer and bears wolves etc. As I hiked in and called in the first small cut I noticed no fresh moose sign. Odd I thought. There were plenty of wolf tracks though. I wasn’t too worried because the better cuts were up higher. Before I got off the skidder trail to the road going in, I jumped a wolf at 10 yards. He put the brakes on right in front of me. I was wearing 3D Leafy Wear with a mask and he obviously had no clue what I was. I fumbled to quickly get an arrow out of my quiver and it tried to bolt. I let out a soft bull grunt and it stopped again and gave me the head to toe look a couple of times before finally locking onto my eyes. He then trotted off. Immediately after he was gone, another came into view in the same spot at 10 yards (I was at a T in the trail). I had an arrow nocked but still was trying to get my release aid attached. He hesitated and then bolted. I then was at full draw as another bolted by. No time for a shot. I grunted a couple of times and then peeked around the bush and seen a smaller black one turn and bolt back the way he came. I looked the other way and the first 3 were milling around at about 100 yards watching me. I stepped back and hoped the little black bastard would try a sneak by and catch up with the rest of the pack.

I waited about 30 seconds before I noticed a wolf sitting on a game trail straight ahead watching me. There was bush in the way so I didn’t think I was going to get a clean shot. He vanished but to where I don’t know. The other 4 wolves were now out of sight.

I waited a few more minutes grinning. This was quite the experience. I’ve never been this close to live wolves in the wild and I nearly took one with my bow. From my experience, it’s all but done. Wolves are pretty slippery so I went back to my moose hunt. I walked up the next skidder trail about 60 yards and I heard something beside me. One of those damn wolves was following me, or was it one I hadn’t seen yet? I looked in my quiver and counted what I already knew, 3 arrows. At this point I came to realize that these wolves still had no idea I was human. This camo works really well and I’ve had deer bed all around me before while I sat out in the open in front of a spotting scope. I’m also making moose sounds. I have no transportation because I was dropped off. I decided to finally let these guys know I was human and took off my mask and gave him a holler. Just then, another one on the other side of me runs off. I’m actually being surrounded. I went from being suspicious to very concerned. The one that I could see never even looked concerned. He just stepped out of sight without making a sound. He was looking at me with his head very low. I decided it was time to walk out of there and return the next day with a rifle. I neither saw nor heard them on my way out and when I returned, their tracks were all over mine all the way out to the cable. We never saw them neither.

Our whole trip we heard wolves night and day. The moose hunting was the worst it had been in years. I’ll be back for a deer rut hunt. There will be no leaves on the trees. I hope to thin a few out.
 
My mom used to live up in Kapuskasing in northern Ontario, they used to go out on the snow machines after school and on a few occasions had wolves follow them, never as close as you but never the less "stalking". I would be a little concerned if they did not take off when they knew what you were but I think this is weird for wolves in the fall. I know of wolves packing up and stalking people on snowshoes in the winter when all the other food is gone but this seems early for that.
 
What makes them curious? Hunger? I sounded like moose and didnt look human.

I wonder if I arrowed one while I had a half dozen at 10 to 20 yards and they still didnt know I was human, what their reaction would be? Only three arrows could have me in a knife fight pretty quick and it wasnt even welfare day. :mrgreen:
 
There is a common misconception that wolves do not attack people... It happened in Ontario to a grouse hunter in the 80's... He defended himself with bird shot.. he ran out of shells if I remember the story correctly... It was reported in Ontario Out of Doors Magazine I think.
I have some advice for you ... shoot every wolf you see :idea:
Here is a link to some very interesting facts...
http://www.natureswolves.com/human/aws_wolfattacks.htm
 
Had them come at me while elk hunting
calling in some thick bush when all a sudden what i thought was a elk herd as only heard them to thick - there was one to my right and left- not far would say 10-15 feet - but to thick to see them so i kept calling thinking the bull should answer any minute when all a sudden in front of me a black wolf comes running right at me- i stood up as was nealing and yelled but kept coming in fast- shot from the hip as no time to pull up gun - he was at 5 yards when i shot and coming at me and would not stop when yelled- when i shot he turned and the noise to my right and left of me whch were wolves also ran - ruined my morning hunt :D
 
I have some advice for you ... shoot every wolf you see
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Very good advice. I don't think wolves should be trifled with.

Another reason to have a firearm as "back-up" when bowhunting in a wilderness area. (Oh, that brings up that whole "handguns for the protection of life" thing, doesn't it?)

Add a bit of stress to the situation and the fingers don't work as well as they should... Were you being hunted? I think the wolves thought they were going to have moose for dinner.

Running into a camo'd-up bowhunter was clearly not what they were expecting, but who's to say how they perceive the situation. You may well have been a decent substitute for moose on the menu.

So, the list of "things that bite back" include: black bears, Grizzly, cougars and wolves. Anything else?
 
So, the list of "things that bite back" include: black bears, Grizzly, cougars and wolves. Anything else?
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Anything with horns should be taken seriously in November... I have been beat up by an immature whitetail while bow hunting and using scents... seriously :oops: ... and you can get killed by a buck in the rut. :idea:
 
To say kill every wolf you see bothers me a bit. Every animal out there has the right to exist and they are needed just like hunters are to maintain a proper balance. Don't get me wrong I would shoot a wolf and if confronted with the problem of destruction of livestock or personal safety I would not thing twice. I see this as turning into an extermination plan, if that is the case lets get rid of bears too they could potentially hurt you.
 
BIGREDD said:
There is a common misconception that wolves do not attack people... It happened in Ontario to a grouse hunter in the 80's... He defended himself with bird shot.. he ran out of shells if I remember the story correctly... It was reported in Ontario Out of Doors Magazine I think.
I have some advice for you ... shoot every wolf you see :idea:
Here is a link to some very interesting facts...
http://www.natureswolves.com/human/aws_wolfattacks.htm
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well at least shotguns make good clubs lol.
shoot every wolf....................Damn rights!!!!.
talk to ya all later
Riley
 
Well shooting every wolf you see is my policy, as long as there is a season and the bag limit is obeyed. Some places in BC there is no bag limit and others its 10. Some places its all year too. Yotes close and wolf don't. :mrgreen:

Another reason to have a firearm as "back-up" when bowhunting in a wilderness area. (Oh, that brings up that whole "handguns for the protection of life" thing, doesn't it?)
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I was going to bring this up too. I'm way more worried about the numerous very large grizzlies in this area. 1000 pounders are not uncommon here and this basicly is where the "Phantom of Hungry Hill" was. A 357 on my hip would be comforting while bow hunting thats for sure. :shock:
 
I would only shoot a wolf if it was endangering me or livestock. Every wolf that I ever encountered ran off "With the fear of God in his eyes". They can be quite curious too, so can deer. I had a deer follow me (about 100 yards behind). I did a complete 2 mile circle and when I got to the start of my trail, you could see where the deer even bedded down on my tracks!!!!

A Healthy wolf would avoid you at all costs.

I have some advice for you ... shoot every wolf you see
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I disagree with BigRedd. Wolves do not poise any more danger than any other animal unless cornered. I feel that people watch too much #### on TV and are afraid of the boogie man. Only the freak occurrances make the news. Howling wolves are just communicating.

BTW if the wolves really wanted to kill you, they would have never farted around for so long. I watched a wolf pack take down a deer on a lake in the winter.... swift, quiet and coordinated. You would have been pummelled and never saw it coming. You may have killed one but the rest would have ripped you to pieces. :shock:

There are so few wolf attacks in North American history compared to how many people explore the wild every day of the year. You have way more probability of getting attacked by a bear.

To say kill every wolf you see bothers me a bit. Every animal out there has the right to exist and they are needed just like hunters are to maintain a proper balance. Don't get me wrong I would shoot a wolf and if confronted with the problem of destruction of livestock or personal safety I would not thing twice. I see this as turning into an extermination plan, if that is the case lets get rid of bears too they could potentially hurt you.
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x2

That's just my $0.02 worth. :lol:
 
Every wolf that I ever encountered ran off "With the fear of God in his eyes".
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Your comments are fair enough. However, I personally think that the fear of humans is best kept reinforced when wolf-human encounters happen. Any type of "predatory" behavior (i.e stalking, lack of fear, failure to flee) from a wolf, bear or cougar tells you that you are of interest to the animal.

I've always held the view that when you step out of your vehicle in a wilderness area you become part of the food chain. People are free to ignore that fact at their own peril.
 
Hey

If cougar's, and bears attack people, who's to say a wolf wouldn't? Or any other predator for that matter. Another example is coyotes. Im still gonna pack heat when I go out into the woods. I havent been attacked, but you just never know. :shock:

Maybe i have been playing too much Cabela's dangerous hunts on the X-Box :lol:
 
A Healthy wolf would avoid you at all costs.
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I'm sure that lady bio they killed in a pen here in Ont a couple years ago, would disagree with you :shock:
I personally have been followed in the dark by a pack coming as close as 50' :?
I know of at least one other in the area had the same thing happen.
A neighbour trapper that used to live right next to me shot one with a handgun, he said it was laying behind a log beside the trail waiting to jump something, he figured it would have been him, I donno I wasn't there, but I follow REDDs advice, I only shoot the ones I see :wink:
 
Wolves don't always run from humans. I've heard first and second hand of incidents with wolves in Spatzizi last year. One gent I know personally.

He was parked on the railway grade glassing and the wolves inched their way to his truck. He though it was the coolest thing. They didn't even care that his window was open and his head was out watching. He then yelled them off because one grabbed a loose piece of trim on his rear fender and ripped it off. They scattered but returned. He shot at them and they scattered for good.

He told a fellow about it the same day and the gent said he had to shoot a couple who were stalking another hunter without him knowing in the same area.

The last two years I've seen more wolves and wolf sign than ever. At one time wolves killed humans in Europe very often. Once they're numbers get really high and the circumstances are right, it may not be such a far fetched thought here.

I do not believe in exterminating them though. The cattle ranchers put a lot of work into that a long time ago. It was greedy thinking. These same people are responsible for also wiping out other game with their diseases, fences and extermination of ungulates simply because of competition for grazing and water.

The eco system survived before we were here. I think kept in balance, the west can be a game paradise again and we can all enjoy it. I couldn't imagine not sharing central BC with the wolves. Even if I bag my limit though, I doubt its going to do anything but help the balance. 8)
 
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