TNHagies

That's a really cool deal there. I don't really have any desire to hunt wolf but given what they do to the deer and elk population, I would take every one I was allowed to kill.

Breechplug

That's too bad sabotloader, but even worse for the Wolf. I'd have shot him too, we dont have wolves but we have some darn big coyotes. Each year the (NYSRPA) new yourk state rifle and pistol association holds a 5 day coyote hunt and there's some big yotes taken here, some go 80-90lbs+
Check out this pick of the NYS record coyote, 115lbs.
(BP)

TNHagies

That is huge! You know it's bad when you start thinking you need to switch from 250g to 300g bullets just to hunt yotes

onetohunt

Man BP, are you sure that is a yote? That dog is huge!!

Breechplug

As far as I know it's the real deal. A few hunting seasons back I was a stander on a deer drive when I hear something comming, I was standing at the edge of some pines when here came a Coyote. I cocked back the hammer as the yote got closer, the closer he got the bigger he got. In fact he was so big I did'nt shoot him when he stopped broadside at 20yds. I said to myself, is this a yote?? No Way! he's too big, he's got to be someones dog.
Well you know yotes dont hang around for too long, I raised my scoped MLer on him again but I could'nt shoot, I did'nt want to shoot someone's pet. But I kept telling myself this is got to be a yote and the biggest one I ever saw, shoot!!!! I did'nt, I was'nt 100% sure it was'nt a dog and not a yote, the coyote had enough, turned and ran back at me.
As he passed by me at mear feet I quickly got on the walkie talkie and told the drivers a huge Coyote is headed your way, you guy's kicked him out to me. I heard a shot, then another.....
I thought for sure someone got him, I was a little disappointed that I did'nt take him and now one of my buddies did and will have the biggest coyote we've all ever seen.
I could'nt take the wondeing any longer and got back on the talkie, did you get him? I asked???? I heard NO.....then another NO.
When we regrouped all we did was talk about the size of that coyote, and my other 2 buddies who also saw him verified that indeed it was a coyote and not a dog. They never had good shots at him as he went by them fast, but he was close enough that they got a good look at him and said for sure he was a coyote and the biggest one they ever saw. We figured he went at least 100lbs.
I had some pics of his tracks in the snow on my computer but I could't find them, I must have deleted them. But boy was I upset that I did'nt take him when I had the perfect chance at 20yds, but then again I was'nt 100% sure at the time and that was ok knowing I made the right decesion at the time.
Now that our Archery Season has started and Rifle Season will kick off the 3'd Saturday in November there will be a bunch of Coyotes taken, I'll try and get some pics of some of the big ones and post em later. The only problem is a-lot of the time when we see the coyotes it's at sun up, just as the deer are starting to head back to bed, a-lot of the guy's will pass on them as to not spook the deer. Some will shoot though, it's a no win sitution sometime. Some guy's have shot them only to see a big buck run off that they did'nt see. Most of the yotes are taken during the day, they have lost all fear of humans and do as they please.
After deer season (Mid December) is when we all get serious about hunting coyotes, deer season has ended and then we still have the Itch, so we go after them No Good Buggers!
(BP)

UncleNorby

Heck, even the USFWS can't easily tell what these large canines really are. I recall a guy in Maine that was prosecuted for killing a "wolf" after he shot what he believed to be a large coyote. DNA testing was done, the whole deal. As I recall, the critter was a little of this and a little of that.

Any "coyote" that approaches even 75 lbs seems to me more wolf than coyote. Still, I say shoot them when you see them. Where I hunt, I hear of guys trying to recover archery deer after waiting a couple hours to trail, and finding that coyotes have already been feeding on the carcass.

Breechplug

Ya that's a big problem here during archery season and gun season. Someone shoots a deer and as most they dont go right in after it, they may wait 15-30 minutes and when they go looking for the deer it's already half eaten by coyotes.
There's a ton of THICK stuff where we hunt so it's not like most deer we shoot we see go down, sure we have a-lot of corn fields and such but there's a ton of Red Brush and that's where the deer usually bed and head right back into after the shot.
It's a tough call as to wait or go right after your deer here, many have lost there deer as they went in to fast after them, and like I said above, most times if you dont go right in after them you's wish you have because they coyotes are on them fast.
The worst is for Bow Hunters, gun hunters usually know they have there deer and the shot was good so in they go, there is the exception though when one's not sure how good of a shot they made and make the decesion to let the deer lay down and expire. Weather it be they leave it untill morning or a few hours, most times when you find your prize all you have good is the antlers to take home.
Bowhunter's lose more deer to this, because they are the ones who let the animal expire or make sure it's expired. They wait befor going after the animal, and do what's right by not kicking up the deer and have it run off into never never land. So they let em lay and pray!
I myself have lost 2 bid does to coyotes, both were shot clean through the lungs and I saw the shot and they ran off into the red brush. I climbed down, gathered myself, walked back to my truck as it was now dark, got what gear I needed and with in 15-20 minutes was on the deers trail.
When I got there on both occasions both does were alreay tore up by the coyotes, I was SICK!
So now weather it's the right thing to do or not, Im down out of my stand after the shot and on my deer befor they are. It's not unusuall to hear 15-20++ coyotes barking at sundown when were hunting, and that's just one group of them, there's another group off to the west, east and south doing the same. This may sound funny to some but on the way to and from my treestand I have a knife in my hands just in case I get surrounded by yotes, I dont want to get attacked by them.
Each year here there's many stories of hunters being stalked by yotes, have them surrounded in there stands and such, so Im really cautious. I know it sounds dangerous to carry a knife in the dark but I'll take my chances.
Then there's the Bears......
My Wife Connie totally Refuses to walk in or out of her stand without me by her side, and 99% of the time she now hunts with me out of our 2 man permanent stands.
(BP)

hubby11

This is interesting stuff. I did a search for "wolves in maine":

As U.S. wolf populations were decimated in the 19th century, the coyote took advantage of the absence of its greatest natural enemy by expanding its range north and east. As they did so, coyotes that roamed north of the Great Lakes came into contact and interbred with some of the remaining eastern wolves in Canada. These hybrids are known in Canada as Tweed wolves and live primarily in an area across southern Ontario. The wolf/coyote hybrids expanded their range, crossed the St. Lawrence River and reached Maine by the 1930’s. All coyotes in Maine and the rest of New England as well as New York are now more accurately referred to as “coywolves”. Coywolves now number in the thousands just in Maine alone, and they now occupy virtually all habitat from the southeast U.S. north and east to and including Newfoundland and southern Labrador. Their average size is larger than a coyote and smaller than an eastern wolf, although some coywolves are as large as eastern wolves.

The above was from a site that wants to reintroduce wolve to the Northeast, so take it with a grain of salt.

gregrn43

A very nice trophy sabotloader.

bucklessyooper

I agree with what Sabotloader posted about the wolves just following their noses and instinct.

In Michigan I think (and many Yoopers do) that the DNR bowed down to the insurance companies (too many deer too many claims) and reintroduced wolves.

As an avid / fanatical deer hunter it bothers me that an insurance company can bully government agencys enough to re-introduce such an efficient predator. Having hunted deer for over 20 years its funny in a sad way to look back on all those hunts.

Pre wolves I would hunt 3-5 days and see 6 or so deer watching trails and sitting for just a few hours per day and making a lot of rookie mistakes.

Post wolves I don't make as many mistakes, but hunt twice as long and 2-3 times as hard and see 3-4 deer a season.