Wolf affect on big buck movement? (With a story...)

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BuckyHunter13
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Wolf affect on big buck movement? (With a story...)

Unread postby BuckyHunter13 » Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:17 pm

Walking out to my spot Saturday, I started to think about differences between deer that live in wolf-populated areas. Do deer w/ wolves move more in daylight? Do they stick closer to people? Do they bed in repeat beds less consistently?

Coincidentally, my hunt Saturday evening gave me one more data point... I was hunting a new spot approx 1.25 miles from any road or cabin. There are a couple secluded stands of oaks surrounded by a 70 yard band of thicket, bordered by marsh to the north. I've hunted nearby before, but never this particular oak stand. I was kind of late getting to the spot I wanted to hunt, and just as I was getting ready to climb I had to . By that point I figured I was better off just hunting from the ground or I might spook deer while climbing. (I was not hunting a specific bed, but I've had bucks come out of bed from the marsh several times...)

I found a big multi-trunk oak and sat against it. After a half hour I caught movement out of the corner of my eye directly behind me. I looked and saw what at first I thought were deer. The movement didn't quite compute as deer, however. I looked closer and realized it was multiple (3, that I saw) wolves (less than 20 yards at this point). Unfortunately, my gun was in my pack 20 yards the other way, back by the tree I originally planned on climbing.

My thought process was then: I want my gun. I should take a video! Don't be a hero, get the gun.

I walked quickly toward my pack, looking back at the wolves a couple times. They didn't acknowledge me. I was trying to watch them, record a video, and get to my pack so I could grab my gun. I missed "record" so I didn't get a good video of them, but I did get one of what looked like this year's pup. (One of the others was easily to my waist at the shoulder, I'm 6'2".)

Last year during muzzleloader I saw enough tracks in the snow that I'm fairly confident I know of a primary "den" area, at least in winter. This was adjacent to me but about .5 miles away. Hunting this spot last year during muzzleloader I saw two good bucks hitting the acorns hard, so I almost have to think they're accustomed to the presence. Prior to that, I would say that any time I've seen wolf sign or heard them howling in the area, you may as well pack up and find a new spot.

What do you guys think? I plan to stay out of there for a while anyhow. It's got some great funnels that are prime for the rut and it's secluded enough that I saw one of those bucks leisurely feeding an hour before dark on opening day last year.

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Last edited by BuckyHunter13 on Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.


BuckyHunter13
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Re: Wolf affect on big buck movement? (With a story...)

Unread postby BuckyHunter13 » Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:27 pm

Funny enough, that morning my neighbor stopped over with his 4 and 5 year old grandsons. The one kept saying "I saw 4 wolves"... His grandpa was kind of smirking and brushing it off. I asked him "where?" to play along, and he mumbled for a minute before saying "by the mud." ... I told him I think I've seen them there, too.

After my encounter I was wondering if junior wasn't on to something. I stopped over again and we fleshed out his story (which did not change). He saw them while playing in his fort just inside the woods... There's a big mud hole there that they call Shrek's swamp... Haha. He went on to describe them (in little kid jibberish, complete with hand movements) as trotting single file to the northeast (funny enough, same general area I saw them...) He saw them Saturday morning. After talking to him, it sounds a lot more plausible. He and grandpa were going to check for tracks Sunday morning. I should hear more this weekend.

Guess that sort of answers whether deer are safer around people, since these wolves basically moved through an 80 acre parcel subdivided into 10 lots... And it's just now occurring to me that I saw a deer bedded literally within 20 yards of where they crossed when I was shining the woods Friday evening.

Anyhow, thanks for letting me put all those thoughts to paper. Hope to hear others' insights.

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BuckyHunter13
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Re: Wolf affect on big buck movement? (With a story...)

Unread postby BuckyHunter13 » Thu Oct 09, 2014 12:45 am

Anyone with experience hunting wolf territory?

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headgear
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Re: Wolf affect on big buck movement? (With a story...)

Unread postby headgear » Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:12 am

It plays a role for sure, I spend half my time hunting the heart of wolf country in northern mn and half on the fringe. The deer way up north are much more alert, even fawns act like mature deer at the first sign of anything out of the ordinary.

The bigger picture and movement in general it kind of depends, wolves have a huge home range but when they are in an area they will work it over pretty good. First you have to know if the wolves are in your area, 2nd know if its just one or two passing through or a pack hunting, that can play a huge role. Wolves passing through aren't much of a threat and the deer act accordingly. However if they are hunting they can blanket an area the deer will either bed down and not move for days or leave the area. When the move on it is general to bog or other wet stuff, wolves are like us and can't move very well in a wet environment.

Hunting the rut in northern mn it can be pretty random, it just depends on if the pack is in your area or 30 miles away. Some years we don't see a track or hear them howling. Other years just about everyone sees them and we are covered up in tracks.
BuckyHunter13
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Re: Wolf affect on big buck movement? (With a story...)

Unread postby BuckyHunter13 » Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:22 am

Thanks for sharing your experiences. This group was bunched up and moving with the wind at their backs, so I'm guessing they weren't hunting. We heard them quite frequently last year, around this time in particular. I wonder how cyclical their movement is. This movement wasn't that different from a buck scent-checking on a parallel trail type route, but I don't know enough about their hunting tactics to say if they were moving through or not. Who knows how many others I didn't see.

I plan to let this spot rest for a few weeks anyhow, but hopefully it's not a wack-a-mole situation where they show up under the next tree I'm in.

Thanks again!


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