Can anyone suggest a calling sequence for wolves? Will be hunting in NW Ontario ... season is open year round. Lots of bears and bobcats here, too. Have an electronic call with doe, rabbits, birds, etc. in distress. Was also able to pick up a few wolf howls and bear growls from the internet. Should I mix up the predator noises with the distress calls? Don't know of anybody that has tried calls. I have been, camping, hunting, and fishing in this region for 20 years and have never heard wolves howling, but I am here mostly in the spring through fall. Local oufitters get lots of wolves on the ice with bait in winter and I've seen roadkills, so I know they are there. Any advice is appreciated. Pretty exciting stuff, I just know when I turn on that caller, something nasty is going to come poking around!!
Wolf Hunting
- Thread starter scotchie1
- Start date
nd coyote killer
New member
i'm tring to set something up to go in march this year or next year. My calling partner has called in and shot two up there while deer hunting. I would stick to the fawn in distress and try to find a howler that you can change to sound more like a wolf.
John/Alaska
New member
When targeting wolves the sequence that I use is a mixture of wolf howls and food calls. I start with a couple of howls (who's around types) then go quiet for a bit then do a food call (can be a fawn distress, etc.)for a short time then quiet a bit then a territorial howl. Then shut up. The time on the stand can be up to an hour or more. Too much calling will run off a wolf. That is why I say "targeting" them as they are a bit different to call. I use hand calls and a homemade howler.
Hunting wolf basics: First - Wolves are extremely territorial. They do not like any other ones in their area except their pack. Wolves love a fight.More wolves are killed by other wolves then anything else. They will come to see who the intruder is and they will generally come in real slow too as they want to know who is there in case they are out numbered, etc. Their slow approach can mean a long stand.
Secondly, wolves run their area in cycles. Around here their areas can be many miles and are about 5-7 days depending on pack. So figuring out the cycle is a must.
Also if they make you forget it they are gone. So getting into their area undetected is a must. Do not howl too much as that is a dead give away.
Hunting wolf basics: First - Wolves are extremely territorial. They do not like any other ones in their area except their pack. Wolves love a fight.More wolves are killed by other wolves then anything else. They will come to see who the intruder is and they will generally come in real slow too as they want to know who is there in case they are out numbered, etc. Their slow approach can mean a long stand.
Secondly, wolves run their area in cycles. Around here their areas can be many miles and are about 5-7 days depending on pack. So figuring out the cycle is a must.
Also if they make you forget it they are gone. So getting into their area undetected is a must. Do not howl too much as that is a dead give away.
Hi John,
Thanks for the great advice on wolves. Gave it a try last weekend. About 2 PM on Saturday while scouting around, we found a nice group of fresh tracks crossing creek beds about a quarter mile apart. They appeared to be hunting beavers. The tracks had to be less than 4 hours old because it had rained that morning. Judging by the track sizes, it appeared to be 4 or more individuals. Returned the next morning to the same area (when the wind was perfect) and went through a call sequence like you described. No luck. Didn't have enough time to move and set up again. Had a few more questions, though. Would they have moved out of the area that quickly? Maybe we disturbed them on the first day or getting into the area the next with the boat. We hunt a major shield lake/resevoir area and can use the lakeshore to funnel them or to figure out there ranges. Do you have experience with wolves crossing water, either as part of their cycle or to respond to a call? Have never heard of anyone seeing wolves in the lake during the day. (Deer and bears seem to have no problem with swimming.) Some of the tracks were kinda small so the pack must have included a few pups. Would that affect their enthusiasm for responding to howls? Again, I have never heard howling so maybe they are not so vocal around here. Also, can you describe, or point me to a recorded example of a "who's around" or "territorial" type howl? Not sure if my howls are communicating the right message. Just trying to whittle down the things I'm doing wrong for the next round ...
Thanks again.
Thanks for the great advice on wolves. Gave it a try last weekend. About 2 PM on Saturday while scouting around, we found a nice group of fresh tracks crossing creek beds about a quarter mile apart. They appeared to be hunting beavers. The tracks had to be less than 4 hours old because it had rained that morning. Judging by the track sizes, it appeared to be 4 or more individuals. Returned the next morning to the same area (when the wind was perfect) and went through a call sequence like you described. No luck. Didn't have enough time to move and set up again. Had a few more questions, though. Would they have moved out of the area that quickly? Maybe we disturbed them on the first day or getting into the area the next with the boat. We hunt a major shield lake/resevoir area and can use the lakeshore to funnel them or to figure out there ranges. Do you have experience with wolves crossing water, either as part of their cycle or to respond to a call? Have never heard of anyone seeing wolves in the lake during the day. (Deer and bears seem to have no problem with swimming.) Some of the tracks were kinda small so the pack must have included a few pups. Would that affect their enthusiasm for responding to howls? Again, I have never heard howling so maybe they are not so vocal around here. Also, can you describe, or point me to a recorded example of a "who's around" or "territorial" type howl? Not sure if my howls are communicating the right message. Just trying to whittle down the things I'm doing wrong for the next round ...
Thanks again.