Since many people have either never encountered wolves or are just now beginning to sense a new presence in the woods, while out hunting or even on your back forty... This article (copied verbatim) will bring you up to speed on just how clever the modern wolf is and give you a few facts (such as 20% larger brains) brandish. People love facts, they my be still spell bound but they love facts.
In the past five years there has been an explosion of opportunity for
hunting and trapping wolves across the U.S. First in the West, then in
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, the chance to take a wolf appeared
for the first time in nearly a century.
This has led to a hunger among outdoorsmen for information about how
to hunt and trap these amazing but wary canines. In this first of two
parts, I will examine strategies and techniques for trapping and snaring
wolves; in part two, I will cover hunting over bait and predator
calling.
The best way to learn how to catch a wolf is to look to those who
have been doing it. In Canada and Alaska, wolves have not had the
protection they’ve known in the Lower 48, and many hunters and trappers
have developed and refined techniques that have served them well.
Alberta’s Gordy Klassen is recognized as Canada’s premier wolf trapper.
He travels around Canada giving wolf-trapping seminars both privately
and for government animal control agencies. He offers what he calls a
college course in wolf trapping and hunting each year, and the week-long
event is booked well in advance.
I spoke with Gordy at length, and he offered some advice to first
time trappers. “Wolves are not hard to trap,” he says, “but you have to
do it by their rules.” A fox or coyote trapper might catch an animal and
soon have another in the same trap. Not so with wolves. “Their brain is
20 percent larger than a comparable-sized dog, and they learn very
quickly,” he says. “You have to realize that each time you catch one,
you are educating an entire pack.”
They figure things out very quickly, so you can’t make mistakes. You
rarely get more than one chance at a wolf. One of the keys to the
equation is scent control.
Clean Freak
Whether using traps or snares, Klassen is a self-confessed
scent-reduction fanatic. “You can’t fool a wolf’s nose,” he says, “so
you have to come as close to eliminating scent as possible and make your
set so appealing that it overcomes the fear of the remaining scent.”
He uses Scent Killer spray when he sets traps and never touches any
equipment with his bare hands. He is careful to never breathe on the
snare or trap and even chews spearmint gum to avoid the smell of his
breath in the area while constructing a set. “One drop of sweat will
ruin the whole deal,” he says, so he even uses sweat bands on his head
and arms when trapping in warm weather.
His equipment is clean and free from human scent or foreign odors. He
uses a product called Insta-Boil to boil the scent away from the
equipment and adds some pine, balsam or spruce to the mix to give the
equipment a natural smell.
When making a snare or trap set, Klassen uses a clean ground cloth to
stand or kneel on. Then when a catch is made, he uses a tarp to roll
the animal up and carries it out of the area. He says if there is any
blood in the area, other wolves may avoid it, so he shoots the wolf
behind the ear and then quickly rolls it onto the tarp to avoid blood on
the ground. Dragging the wolf out might offer the animals a clue as to
where it went, so that’s a no-no. Even in the winter when there is a
great deal of snow cover, the caught wolves are carried out of the area,
not dragged.
Tactics
The wolf’s amazing ability to smell is also his undoing. Wolves are
very attracted to the scent of any canine that is not a regular visitor
to their hunting area. Urine and feces from wolves outside their home
range is the best attractor possible if you can get it. Klassen says
many serious wolf trappers have set up exchanges where each collects
feces in sealed bags which they can trade to trappers from other areas.
These are then used for bait at wolf sets. The typical sets that
trappers use to catch the smaller canines also catch wolves. Fox and
coyote sets like dirtholes, flat sets and urine post sets all work.
Bait stations are one of the most effective ways to snare wolves.
When the going is tough, wolves will come to fresh bait and are
vulnerable to properly set snares around bait stations. But Klassen
doesn’t do things in the order that you might think. Rather than put out
a bait and surround it with snares as the trails develop, he chooses an
area for the bait and sets the snares first. He tries to anticipate the
wolves’ approach to the bait site and sets 20 to 30 snares around the
area in any possible trail. After a few days, any human scent that might
be on or immediately in the area of each snare has dissipated. He then
brings in the bait.
Snaring wolves in winter is made easier by deep snow. Wolves will
follow the path of least resistance, even if it is a snowmobile trail.
Setting snares in these trails and in places where he has shuffled his
feet to create a trail can be very effective. The same is true of game
trails, but snares must be used with great caution where other animals
are using the same trails.
A simple set that has accounted for a lot of wolves in the winter
involves nothing more than a paper cup with a couple of tiny holes in it
filled with urine and suspended so it slowly drips onto the ground.
Snares are set in foot-trails around the scent. You can add stool from
outside the area for extra appeal.
Location, Location, Location
Wolves spend the majority of their time on the fringes of their home
range. A wolf pack’s home range is well defined, but they do not
regularly cover every square inch of it. In fact, just the opposite is
true. Often people are confused by the issue of home ranges when it
comes to canines, since home ranges are usually defined by a certain
number of acres. The animals do not aimlessly wander all around in their
“home range.”
“Wolves spend 95 percent of their time on the fringes of their
territory,” Klassen says. “They like trails and roads and will follow
these. Power line cuts and rivers are also followed.” The edges of the
territory will be defined by such a feature, and the wolves make regular
trips along these boundaries. Lakeshores, cliffs, swamps and other
barriers that are difficult to cross often make up the edge of the
territory. Or it might be something like a logging road.
Once you find one of these areas, the sign will be abundant. Wolves
will leave droppings and urinate every couple hundred feet along the
boundaries of their territory. Tracks from regular use will be visible.
Of course, it stands to reason that these are the high-percentage places
to set your traps, and the time it takes to find these boundaries is
well worth the effort.
The Tools Of The Trade
Snares are made of either 1⁄8-inch or 3⁄32-inch galvanized aircraft
cable. Klassen primarily uses 3⁄32, 7×7 strand cable in 60-inch lengths.
He then adds a swivel and another 60 inches of cable that leads to the
anchor point. He is very specific about the particulars of his sets. He
makes the snare loop 19 inches in diameter and sets it 18 inches above
the ground. A plastic collar is used directly above the lock so the
snare is held firmly in place. A support wire is held firmly in this
collar.
He “loads” his snares by bending it with his fingers so it drops
quickly upon first contact. He claims most of his snares hit the wolf
right behind the ears and it’s lights out very shortly, because the
arteries that lead to the brain are affected. No blood to the brain
means the wolf basically goes to sleep within seconds.If the snare
misses slightly, the wolf might be alive for some time, collared like a
pet. But wolves have very sharp teeth and their jaws can exert 1,100
pounds of pressure on a snare cable. It might take some time, but it’s
possible the wolf could chew the cable in two. Klassen prevents that by
anchoring the snare high or to the ground, so the lock settles either on
the back of the wolf’s neck or the throat area, and he cannot get his
teeth onto the cable in either case.
The RAM Power Snare in the Wolfmaster model is used where no
anchoring is available. Klassen uses this setup exclusively where sign
shows that the wolves are crossing beaver dams, one of his favorite
places to snare them. This snare has a large spring that triggers when a
wolf enters the snare, quickly closing it.
Foothold traps used include the Bridger Broad, the Alaska #9 and the 76
LAY, which is his favorite because it is center swiveled and tough, and
it has offset jaws and strong springs. These big traps do not need pan
covers; they are big and strong and you can sift dirt or snow right over
the trap.
All traps are anchored solid; in no case is a drag or grapple used.
Wolves can be dangerous and you want to know exactly where it is.
Klassen uses long stakes, 3 feet long, made of 5⁄8-inch rebar. Long
chains with effective swiveling are important to holding these tough
predators.
Best Baits
Wolves love fresh, warm meat, of course, but they will not hesitate
to return to a kill or accept a free meal when it is available. This can
be their downfall. Any wild game or beef will work well for bait, but
wolves love beaver meat. It’s like crack cocaine to a wolf. “Wolves
would live on beaver meat 100 percent of the time if they could,”
Klassen states.
When you’re establishing bait stations, a local trapper who can
supply you with beaver carcasses can be an important part of your
wolf-trapping success. Beaver meat is dark red and rich with a strong
smell. Wolves are attracted to the smell of the meat and the associated
beaver castor, which calls in all canines with its powerful scent.
Wolf trapping has become accessible to many people for the first
time. It’s no secret that wolf hunting and trapping is controversial and
inflammatory in many circles. It pays to learn the specifics and do it
right each time. Each time a trapper makes a mistake it has the
potential to flame up into a very tough situation for trappers, hunters
and game departments to deal with. I trust this article will put you on
your way to trapping your first wolf effectively and humanely.
Klassen’s Wolf-Trapping School
Gordy Klassen does about 25 workshops per year travelling around
Canada to help trappers catch wolves more effectively and humanely. He
also does a 35-hour course over four days at his camp near DeBolt,
Alberta. A third option is a wilderness trapline experience, where you
spend time with Gordy on what he calls his Wilderness College. For more
information about these options, call (780) 957-3731 or email
info@trappergord.com. You can visit his website at
www.trappergord.com.
Source:
http://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/predator-hunting/tips-for-trapping-wolves-from-a-veteran-trapper/
