Montana hunt '09

[FTTPOW]

I returned from a Montana elk hunt just after Thanksgiving. For 2 weeks the hunting was good, the finding was poor. I was lucky to see the 3 cows that I saw in those 2 weeks. I went for 7 days without even SEEING an elk track. The problem? Wolves.

We saw wolf tracks. We heard wolves howling. When we did find elk tracks, the wolf tracks were there as well. Hunting season may be over for those that bought a license, but hunting season isn't over for the elk.

The quota for wolf hunting was met with just less than 2 weeks left in the general rifle season. It's a good thing I didn't attempt to waist my $350 for a non resident wolf tag.

The residents out there are beside themselves. They can see what's happening to the elk herd, yet politics are preventing the appropriate action. Most are willing to take the risk of taking matters into their own hands, I'm sure some already have. Most fear that the damage may already be done and that it will take up to a generation to bring the elk back to former levels. That's only if there was a solution to the wolf problem now, and there isn't.

Did anyone else run into this problem this year?

 

[SoJo]

in two areas we hunted in Idaho it was clear that the wolf population made elk hunting difficult. we were fortunate enough to get some weather in that brought some elk back into one of the areas we hunted and people started getting shots. Near our camp (2-3miles down the road) someone had shot a wolf and took the head and hide, but left the paws on the animal. My nephew found right by a creek -- I'm trying to get the photo he took from his cell phone. When I get it I'll post the picture. I am surprised that the hunter didn't also take the paws as part of the hide.

 

[rwlittle]

fttpow

what area were you hunting?

I will be in unit 700 next year. Similar thing here in Cali. in regards to the deer population since they banned mountain lion hunting.

Just follow the SSS rule.

 

[DAWG]

The wolves not only take some, they change game habits. The elk don't go in the open meadows as much and stay in the thicker timber and are tougher to hunt. So you get lower numbers and a tougher quarry to hunt, making it seem even worse. Guess we are stuck with them now, they are not going to allow anything more than regulated wolf hunting, not bounties and other methods you would need

 

[#1Predator]

I've talked with big game guides from Helena & Deer Lodge as well as Dillon and several from Cody, Wyoming. Most of them have become fishing guides. Many of them "hunt" elk antlers in the winter time. They use snowmobiles & dogs to find the antlers under the snow. If you get a chance, stop by the fly fishing shop on Meridian Ave. in Cody. He's got several sets of 5x5, 6x6, & 6x7 elk antlers for sale (it's legal in Montana). One guide found 7 bull elk killed in the same spot. According to the guide, all signs pointed to wolves as the killers of the elk. At $100 to $200 a piece, he had quite a day. Wolves - coming to a state near you! :skeered:

 

[FTTPOW]

rwlittle, I was in the Cabinet Mountains region in the northwest corner of the state. We covered quite a bit of territory to try to find elk and no wolves, but we couldn't get away from the wolves. They've covered the area completely.
I'm pretty sure that SSS is being practiced, but I don't think it will be enough to have much impact. They sure were allowed to ruin a good thing.