My dad and a few of his buddies have killed a few near Brighton(2h? east of Toronto), one time when I was there we saw one across the street from their cabin and it was freaking huge. Rangefinder put it at around 250 yards but we just had bows lol 
Wolves in Southern Ontario?
- Thread starter tactical870
- Start date
I love wolves .... after the very first of the quite a few, close range .. 'hairy' .. eye locks,... I could not shoot one just because.
Been tracking and listening to the same pack for over twenty years now. After a while you get to know what is going on. When that "made a kill" wolfpacksong comes of a midnight ... I raise a toast to 'em with a smile.
Been tracking and listening to the same pack for over twenty years now. After a while you get to know what is going on. When that "made a kill" wolfpacksong comes of a midnight ... I raise a toast to 'em with a smile.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Southern Ontario I would henge my betting money on Coy-Dog. My buddies shoot a lot of them in the Fort Erie area and at a glance the colour and size appear wolfish but up close and in hand the differences are easily seen. Want to see what real Timber Wolves look like and get a good size reference google KapRiver Outfitters. Buddy of mine owns it. He specializes in guided Wolf hunts in winter. He has some amazing photos of Wolves taken by his hunters.
- Location
- Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
There are definitely wolves in southern Ontario, but I have found that a lot of people have trouble differentiating between wolves and coyotes, myself included.
"The eastern coyote, found throughout much of southern Ontario and agricultural areas in the north, is a hybrid between the smaller western coyote and the eastern wolf. Adult females weigh an average of 13 to 16 kilograms, while males' average weight varies between 16 and 18 kilograms. "
Some are much larger - one was shot near Lindsay that was weighed at something like 60 pounds.
The grey wolves in Ontario typically weigh 25-30 kg. They are not the big fellows people think.
There are overlaps in size and appearance (due to hybridizing) that can make it very difficult to positively ID a large canid.
I suspect that most southern Ontario "wolves" are actually larger coyotes that carry wolf genes.
Given that wolves are generally very wary of humans (people who research them rarely see them in the wild - even though it is their full time job to study them) and population densities are very low, seeing a real wolf in the wild in Ontario is a rare privilege.
If you want to see wolves up close, I'd suggest a visit to the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve. They have a Grey Wolf pack that can be viewed from a building with one way mirror windows. Fascinating ......
http://www.haliburtonforest.com/wolf.html
"The eastern coyote, found throughout much of southern Ontario and agricultural areas in the north, is a hybrid between the smaller western coyote and the eastern wolf. Adult females weigh an average of 13 to 16 kilograms, while males' average weight varies between 16 and 18 kilograms. "
Some are much larger - one was shot near Lindsay that was weighed at something like 60 pounds.
The grey wolves in Ontario typically weigh 25-30 kg. They are not the big fellows people think.
There are overlaps in size and appearance (due to hybridizing) that can make it very difficult to positively ID a large canid.
I suspect that most southern Ontario "wolves" are actually larger coyotes that carry wolf genes.
Given that wolves are generally very wary of humans (people who research them rarely see them in the wild - even though it is their full time job to study them) and population densities are very low, seeing a real wolf in the wild in Ontario is a rare privilege.
If you want to see wolves up close, I'd suggest a visit to the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve. They have a Grey Wolf pack that can be viewed from a building with one way mirror windows. Fascinating ......
http://www.haliburtonforest.com/wolf.html
your talking about the pics at the wolfs den? I've seen them too. That is 100% wolf, no coywolf, big coyote, half dog bull#### on that one IMO.
Northwestern Ontario has lots of wolves this year! And I mean lots! The wolf tracks I've seen in the slashes are outnumbering the deer and moose tracks 5:1. I have my tag for one, but non have slipped up while I was around to blast em.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Here is the real deal, taken at Kap River Outfitter's. These are true Grey or Timber Wolves. These are not 25-30KG Hybrid Dog/Coyote crosses as found in Southern Ontario. The average size of these is around 85 pounds in the young females and up to 100 pounds in the mature adult females. Many of the males taken on his hunts weigh in excess of 100 pounds with many pushing the scales to 120-125. Some of you may even recognise the guy in the last photo from his show Relentless Pursuit. He filmed a couple episodes at my buddies operation. These are some nice prime Wolves.
A couple years back I almost ran into 6 wolves on my way to the Anchaster Gun Show. It was about 7 or so in the morning. They ran right in front of the truck and I had a good look at them. They def where not a cross cause they where the size of a german sheppard dog.
Again this week I saw what I think could be the same Pack with 11 animals and one was a silvery/grey almost blue. They are huge and of course beautiful to see and now I keep a camera with me.
Also a trapper in Smithville has seen wolves (4) about 2 months ago. People should not be fooled. They are around but because of their shy nature they tend to avoid people.
Again this week I saw what I think could be the same Pack with 11 animals and one was a silvery/grey almost blue. They are huge and of course beautiful to see and now I keep a camera with me.
Also a trapper in Smithville has seen wolves (4) about 2 months ago. People should not be fooled. They are around but because of their shy nature they tend to avoid people.
Wolves in sw ont?
I live in North Middlesex and see coyotes all the time. Grey, 30-35 lb at best. This week I came across an animal feeding on a fresh deer kill. It was dk brown/black, with lighter brown patches, and sitting on his haunches, his head would have been at my waist level. I only saw him for about four seconds before he bolted. Yesterday my neighbour described seeing two at the back of his field, with the same description. This animal was much larger than a coyote, guessing 50-60 lbs. and had a solid wide chest. Wolf or coy dog?
A call to MNR told me there are no wolves in sw ontario, but there may be coy dogs. This is also the MNR that says there are no cougars in sw ont either...right?)
Seeing as it is deer season, regs say I can't use anything with more than 400 ft/lb energy, or any shot larger than 2. I'm sure not hunting wolves with a .22!!!
I've got a 5mm mag with 379 ft/lb, but I don't think that is nearly heavy enough.
So the question is do I get a .223 or a .243? Maximum shot would likely be 150 yds or less.
Would like to get some input from people who know more about this than I (which is most people).
I live in North Middlesex and see coyotes all the time. Grey, 30-35 lb at best. This week I came across an animal feeding on a fresh deer kill. It was dk brown/black, with lighter brown patches, and sitting on his haunches, his head would have been at my waist level. I only saw him for about four seconds before he bolted. Yesterday my neighbour described seeing two at the back of his field, with the same description. This animal was much larger than a coyote, guessing 50-60 lbs. and had a solid wide chest. Wolf or coy dog?
A call to MNR told me there are no wolves in sw ontario, but there may be coy dogs. This is also the MNR that says there are no cougars in sw ont either...right?)
Seeing as it is deer season, regs say I can't use anything with more than 400 ft/lb energy, or any shot larger than 2. I'm sure not hunting wolves with a .22!!!
I've got a 5mm mag with 379 ft/lb, but I don't think that is nearly heavy enough.
So the question is do I get a .223 or a .243? Maximum shot would likely be 150 yds or less.
Would like to get some input from people who know more about this than I (which is most people).
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I pack a machete for times like this.. Course I never see anything so I only get to read about other people seeing wolves and stuff
I hate that attitude, it's one thing to want to hunt a wolf and another to think you need to try and kill everything you see that's a predator too. pharoah2 said it very well, if you see one, you're lucky and they aren't going to bother you. I've been very fortunate to see many wolves in my job, a large pack just a few weeks ago as well when I landed at a site. Helicopters move fast enough you get there before they spook or know what's going on.
Nothing wrong with hunting them, but the mindset and promotion of killing any wolf you encounter however you can (good luck with that machete) is incredibly ignorant and takes us right back to the turn of the last century when many animals were damn near eradicated by mindless yokels with the same kill it whenever you see it mentality. I know you're new to hunting, and I absolutely hate seeing guys new to the sport espousing opinions like that, as they're viral.
Biggunners
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- MOSTLY LOSTED
I guess you need to stick around Alberta , Ardent
dsly is talking about South Ontario and we are suffering from these in big way. Loosing stock to family dogs to tons of deer/ calf / any thing they can hands on . So no offense but don't force your coyote opinion on anyone if you are not a hunter - Biggs
dsly is talking about South Ontario and we are suffering from these in big way. Loosing stock to family dogs to tons of deer/ calf / any thing they can hands on . So no offense but don't force your coyote opinion on anyone if you are not a hunter - Biggs
Back to the question please?
Don't get me wrong, I love a good discussion but could someone take a minute to answer the question about what gun I need?
From that picture, maybe a .270??? That wolf is far bigger than what i saw, which was maybe 60 lbs. In SW Ont we are limited to under .275 calibre.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good discussion
but could someone take a minute to answer the question about what gun I need?From that picture, maybe a .270??? That wolf is far bigger than what i saw, which was maybe 60 lbs. In SW Ont we are limited to under .275 calibre.
Live and let live....BUT...
What Ardent says may make sense in the wilderness, but this is highly populated SW Ontario. I live less than one km from the main street of a village of 1000, within the village limits. We have 80 acres of brush with a river running through it. I've seen many coyotes, grey, 35 lbs, and they're usually on the other side of the river. I've been a small game hunter for 42 years, and only shoot what I eat. Over the last ten years, I've watched the coyote population explode. These larger animals (60 lbs at least) are new this year, and they are on my side of the river. The alphas have been marking territory with large piles of scat, three piles this week within 200 feet of my house, the last one less than 50 feet from my back door. That's too close for comfort. The Ontario govt paid out $1.7 million to farmers/ranchers for coyote/wolf kills of livestock in 2009/2010. And this doesn't account for the missing pets. And let's not forget the jogger killed by coyotes in Nova Scotia last summer.
I fear for my family, my neighbour's kids, and our animals. If the coyotes/wolves stay in the woods, fine, but when they start coming this close to the houses, they're living on borrowed time. Their last deer kill was 200 yards from my back door. What's scary are the coy dogs, which are large, and have little fear of humans, and there are quite a few of these around too.
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'Promoting world peace....one well-placed shot at a time.'
What Ardent says may make sense in the wilderness, but this is highly populated SW Ontario. I live less than one km from the main street of a village of 1000, within the village limits. We have 80 acres of brush with a river running through it. I've seen many coyotes, grey, 35 lbs, and they're usually on the other side of the river. I've been a small game hunter for 42 years, and only shoot what I eat. Over the last ten years, I've watched the coyote population explode. These larger animals (60 lbs at least) are new this year, and they are on my side of the river. The alphas have been marking territory with large piles of scat, three piles this week within 200 feet of my house, the last one less than 50 feet from my back door. That's too close for comfort. The Ontario govt paid out $1.7 million to farmers/ranchers for coyote/wolf kills of livestock in 2009/2010. And this doesn't account for the missing pets. And let's not forget the jogger killed by coyotes in Nova Scotia last summer.
I fear for my family, my neighbour's kids, and our animals. If the coyotes/wolves stay in the woods, fine, but when they start coming this close to the houses, they're living on borrowed time. Their last deer kill was 200 yards from my back door. What's scary are the coy dogs, which are large, and have little fear of humans, and there are quite a few of these around too.
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'Promoting world peace....one well-placed shot at a time.'
Biggunners
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- MOSTLY LOSTED
.223 to .270 WSM anything goes , just read hunting manual and may be carry one with you when hunting yotes. Mostly CO's doubt that you are poaching deer with rifle.No shooting across or from the road , no loaded in vehicle and watch what's beyond the target - Biggs
