We have all dreamed of going on a once in a lifetime hunt. For some it is big game, others its Argentina for waterfowl, for me, it was a Wolf Hunt using Coyote Tactics in a state that legally allows it. Prairie Ghost and I discussed this idea over some cold PBR's in Montana a few years ago and decided 2011 was going to be the year for the trip. Last January we each blocked off 2 weeks of vacation to take a trip either of us will forget. In addition to taking time off, I mortgaged my house, cashed in a life insurance policy, and sold off my deer mounts (kidding) to make sure I could afford the fuel expense to the northland. While I wont reveal our destination, you can probably narrow it down by looking at a map and throwing a dart somewhere north of the 45th parallel. The trip would end up happening because we were going to travel with an experienced wolf hunting friend, and an amateur rifleman known as my dad. Without these two guys in tow, the adventure probably would not have happened.
The first day we arrived we opted to get a lay of the land by dumping the ARGO in a remote logging road and driving as far into the woods as we could to attempt a few calling sets. The snow was DEEP. It was probably the deepest I have ever hunted in. We did a few sets and didnt see any wolves. The snowshoes were probably the most important gear item on this day. On day two we tried a new area and had similar results as day one. Day 3 we changed strategy a bit a began using more Coyote Tactics in locating the wolves. About 1:30 pm in the afternoon on Day 3 we located an area which we felt had wolves nearby. This set did not require the ARGO, but we had to walk into the Forest in order to find a spot to sit. One thing different about predator calling in unknown dense timber is you are basically "hoping" you find a clear area inside to setup and shoot. I would say if we had a 30 yard gap we were lucky. As we settled in on this set, I positioned myself about 40 yards off Prairie Ghosts Left Side as he was the center of attention with the call. My hope was to catch something slipping in from behind him. It worked, sorta. As PG laid into his call, I heard a "kink" in his rythym about 5 minutes in followed by a single shot. As the shot echoed through the valley, he followed up with more calling. I was unable to see him, but assumed he had a Wolf down. We as a group discussed what would happen if one of us shot a wolf during the sequence and how to handle it; do we get up and give eachother highfives, or remain seated and continue the set- we decided to stay in cover and executed the plan. As my mind wandered with excitement for what was surely a kill by PG, I noticed a brown object sneaking towards me about 5 minutes after the first shot, it was a wolf at 31 yards to my 90 degree left side. My heart started to race like it had a million times before on Coyote Setups. My rifle was not in line with the wolf, and I had to pick it up out of the snow and rotate my body hard left. I placed the cross hairs of my 6.5mm .284 Rifle Scope on her vitals and jerked the hell out of the trigger. It was not textbook shooting but I did hit her square. She tossed and tumbled and ran about 10 steps. After I shot, the group gathered around me and began telling eachother what happened. Turns out the "kink" I heard in PG's calling sequence was him jumping up after 2 wolves damn near jumped in his lap from behind a blindspot in front of him. Aparently the wolves were so close to him they bolted before he could lay a bullet into them. Thank god he kept calling, or I never would have killed this one. It really was a cool sight. The only bummer was we did not get it on camera. I had been toting my heavy duty Sony HD Camera and Tripod throughout the whole trip, but the camera operator was off line from where the wolves had approached and couldnt re-align when they arrived. What we are still confused about was whether the wolf I killed was a different one, or the wolf PG saw that left, and then came back.
Our trip was about halfway over and the next few days were hit and miss. We always seemed to be a few steps behind them in our tracking and locating. The very last stand of the night we all split up and tried to hail marry it. I ended up calling in 2 wolves to 39 yards and completely blowing it. I had a big brown one leaping through cattails with a black one behind him when I told my dad to make the shot. I had not lined up on the wolf yet when I made the decision to tell him to take it, I just figured it was a chip shot and how could he miss. He fired and missed, yup, at 39 yards. I tried to shoot but saw nothing in my scope as they disappeared into the timber. Apparently he shot over the wolves head. He was so upset and till this day I still dont know what went wrong with my judgement to make such a foolish mistake. I know personally I will never call the shot until I am centered and square on ready to back him up.
Anyways, the trip was fun, but expensive. We each probably spent $2k on food and fuel. My pelt was supposedly in rough shape from some tree sap or other sticky residue that made it inconsistent so I am waiting to hear from taxidermist if I can salvage it. The wolf I killed was a female weighing around 90 lbs.
OVerall a fun trip and I am trying to get PG to sign on again next year.
Enjoy the pics.




