First wolf hunt in Alaska

R

rek_told

New member
Hey guys. I've been living in Alaska for almost 2 years now and want to try hunting for the first time. I really enjoy being outdoors and hiking/backpacking so I'm really only tacking on the hunting idea as something I can do for the continued reasons of enjoying the outdoors. Mostly, I just want to have fun "hunting" something and I'm not too worried if I never see anything.

However, I'd like to think I'm even in a rough general area of where I might find something. I don't have room in my house to store meat so I'm leaning towards a fur/predator animal. I'd really like to go in search of a wolf. I'm well experienced in backwoods camping and I've got the gear I need to stay safe and warm. I'm based out of Anchorage but I don't have any snow machines so I'll just be hiking off a road somewhere.

Do any of you have a rough area I could spend a few days at that might produce a wolf? If I'm there the whole time camping and reading and hiking I won't have a bad time either way.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Wolves are at the top of the food chain under us. They are smarter than about any animal you can think of. However, if you are in an area that has wolves you have as good a chance as anyone. What are you shooting? Do you have any calls and what are they? I don't know anythin about wolves on the Kenai nor where they would be and when. But any place that is moosey will have wolves. Including up the Matanuska River. . I reccomend augmenting your wolf hunting with coyote hunting/calling. One thing you will find out about Alaska is its about as empty a place for game as you can imagine. Until they are close to where you are. Do you have snowshoes? . The Alaskan and Ojibwamodels give the best flotation. On the coastal range the modern aluminum shoes work ok but in the Interior where the snow is dry and fluffy sugar snow. The longest shoes you can get are what work the best. . This year we don't have much snow and the aluminum shoes with their crampon should work well.
If you do get into a pack of wolves, don't be surprised if all the sudden there is 6 or more right in front of you. [beeep] it is rare, it does happen. Just be ready to smoke em all. There's plenty more where they came from.
 
Look for sign. A lot of times you can hear them howl if they are close enough. Also after the spring thaw if you are calling beware, sometimes a bear will sneak in to take a look. Good luck and don't give up easy.
 
I've got a Model 700 I'll be using. I don't have any calls but I figure I'll get a couple distress calls before I go out. I'll look into coyote calling as well - is there a better chance in getting one of those?

I've got snowshoes but no snow machine so it's just hiking range I'll be traveling in. Probably nothing more than 10 miles off the road. I'll check into the Matanuska area. Any other good locations?
 
Well, Alaska is a pretty big place. There are wolves from Portland Canal to the Beaufort Sea. Distress calls can work but howls, the right howl at the right time work very well. Also , coyote howls can work very well as wolves HATE coyotes and will come to kill them if they are boisterous enough to mouth off in a wolves territory. . What caliber is your rifle. If you haven't noticed most all of us are riflemen and its important. [beeep] I know of wolves being killed with many different rounds from 22 LR up. For serious wolf shooting the 243 is kindof a minimum. But it does work well. The 25/06 is outstanding as are many other rounds. It is of utmost importance to be a very good field shot. Shooting sticks work well. What scope do you have on your rifle? Wood or synthetic stock? . 400 yard shots are not uncommon when wolf hunting. . I myself would pass up a 10' brown bear if I spotted a wolf within range. For me, I know where and when to find all the brown bear I'll ever want to kill. But wolves are the most elusive animal in Alaska. You've really set the bar quite high for.yourself.
 
Yes there is a much better chance of getting coyotes than wolves. About the only predator harder to get than a wolf is a wolverine. The benefit of coyote hunting. Other than killing coyots is, its very good training for wolf hunting. Wolves are usually not all that eager to part with their hide.
 
Thanks for the advice gumboot. I agree with what you've said and what I've been reading over the past several days. Maybe a wolf is a bit ambitious for my first hunt. I think I'll repurpose this first hunt as a coyote hunt instead. Like I said, I'm more interested in the experience of the actual hunt and the net result is not as critical. If I have a greater chance of luring in a coyote that seems like it would be more fun.

Alright, so this means I'll be taking my ar15 out with me to find some coyotes. Is the Matanuska river still a good place to track out or are there better places to camp out and have a good chance of finding some coyotes?
 
I don't know if the river is froze. Haven't been to town in 6 months. I pretty much hate town !!!!! Coyots will be where there's food so you'll need to find where that is. In the Interior we r just starting back up from a huge rabbit die off so there aren't a lot of predators around. But they are coming back. You'll just have to go out and see what's what and where. That will get you plenty of hiking in.
 
Ya kinda gotta prove up before guys give you more specific advice on where to go.

Where ya from? How much experience do u have on frozen ( maybe) rivers.
Ect. Ect. Ect. And answer questions already asked.
 
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Yeah, I'm not really trying to get into anyone's secret spots but I want a rough idea of where I could have a better than 0% chance. Like I said, I've never done any hunting before at all but I don't want to go out with someone - I like being alone out in the woods. I've got snowshoes but no animal calls. I figure I'll pick some rabbit calls up before I head out next week. I've got a synthetic stock and 3-9 scope.

I'm from NC - so until I moved up here I had no experience in cold weather trekking but plenty of camping/hiking. Since I've been up here I've got some cold weather camping in. No frozen rivers though.
 
Rivers are dangerous. Frozen rivers much more so. The flowing water under the ice rises and falls. Sometimes leaving only a couple inches of ice under the snow. Its hard for a guy in Anchorage to find a hand to help him learn all the stuff to avoid to stay alive and with all your body parts still attached .
Best advice I can give is do a bunch of driving . Park in the turnouts and shoe out looking for sign. Where you find rabbit sign u will also find predator sign.. Where u find predator sign is a goodplace to call. You can find pocket places not too far from Anchorage. Where ever there is food there will be predators if they haven't all been trapped or shot.out. and where ever there are concentrations of moose you will find wolf sign. The Kenai and the Mat valley have high concentrations of moose. Some places the wolves follow the caribou herds. But not much for caribou around The Bowl. No bou around here either this winter. Worst year for bou I've ever seen. .
I reccomend you get a Primos Little Dog set of calls.
Snowshoe Hare is pitched about half way between a cotton tail and a jack rabbit. Jacks are low pitch cottons are high pitch. Get some Randy Anderson videos. Especially Mastering The Art. [beeep] he is down south. A coyot is a coyot. You can learn a lot from them.
 
And work on your field position rifle shooting . Get so anything inside 300 yards is not a problem hitting it in a short period of time. If your going to be camping, make yourself a soup can rocket stove. Lots of YouTube vids on how to. You won't have to worry about running out of fuel. And pump up stoves are a pain in cold weather.
 
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Thanks - will be picking those up this week and give it a shot in some turnoffs. I'll report back if I see anything. Maybe I can at least find a rabbit?!
 
Don't shoot any rabbits. !!! We need everyone that will live thru the winter to make lots of baby bunnies that way more predator pups and kits will live thru their first year.
 


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