Do you blame wolves?

[Ben Lamb]

United We Stand Divided We Fail !

The wolf is here to stay let's just deal with it and manage them. I'm a fourth generation Montanan and have seen the rise and fall of wildlife in general and there habitat. If anyone has read the history of who brought the game back from the brink of extinction you would know it's far better to stand as one.

I think most of us stand united in that wolves are here to stay, and we need to manage them accordingly. There's no lack of unity there.

But just like elk season setting, etc - hunters should be vocal about how they feel wildlife should be managed. I think it's healthy to debate wolves, no matter which state you're from.

 

[THWAK1]

Yes, Montana, yes, Montana, yes.

Same answer for me!

But, I haven't eaten an elk tag in a long time...I just have to work harder for them in some areas than I used to.

Wolves, beware! After archery season, my .300 pushing 180 grainers in going to be itchin' to BARK!

 

[StrutNut]

Couple of things. First off, I think when fellow MN poster MN public mentioned 1/3 of the state I think he was referring to where the wolves are in MN. I do believe he is wrong with that as wolves have been spotted as far south as Elk River so they are now covering most of the state and still expanding.

Now - back to the original "intent" of this thread. I hope I can answer as I may not be "real" enough having only hunted out west once and got a nice cow on Public/DIY with archery gear

I do not blame any wolf, cat, bear or coyote for poor big game populations. I do blame mother nature a little bit, here in MN we had one heck of a bad winter a few years ago and that did not help the population at all.

I blame man. PETA type nuts that have major influence on politicians and general public, politicians and DNR/Game Fish and Parks for giving out too many tags/wrong tags and mismanaging the predators. Hunters that where slow to unite.

We created this mess. We and we alone. Nobody else to blame.

Where do we go from here? What we need is proper education of predator influence/management to the general population/politicians. Hunters like Ben and Randy have been great for that. We all owe them a big thanks. We need to better manage the allocation of tags to help the balance of species. The herds will come back in short order but only if we help.

 

[putm2sleep]

You are not under my skin. You got people up in arms based on your show which I believe was a bit over the top, that is my opinion as well as others as you can see.

I could go on about my opinion, but in the end it's your show and you can do what you want. I will always be here to point out MT has WAY fewer wolves and we don't cry and whine about it in MN. And yes, our elk and moose numbers are the same as far as I know and we have 5x as many wolves in 1/3 the area. Good try by the other member trying to twist the numbers, but now he just looks dumb.

I'm done responding to this...really...I will still post in ALL the wolf threads since that all you can all seem to talk about. I really don't get it.

I like the show, but this wolf thing has just turned a corner which you yourself have pushed and I personal think you are over hyping it. IMO. There are many reason that numbers are down and it's not just the wolf, but for some reason people seem to think that is the main reasons, I disagree and that is my opinion.

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Please do not post in all wolf threads, as I do not care to read your $hiat!

 

[BrowningBLR]

MN Public Hunter - I typically don't post but.... are you kidding me? Maybe you should take a page out of Randy's playbook, which is being proactive and helping the fight against the wolf problem and the improper prey/predator management tactics in his home state. Randy has done more than I have toward this fight, and I respect/admire him for that... people like Randy are helping secure the future of hunting/hunters, most of us on this site understand that.

I think you should be less concerned about the MT "minor" wolf problem and all the "whiny Montanans" but moreso with your "HUGE" MN wolf problem, get active and do something about it instead of claiming "I have it worse than you" and "whoa is me". When is the last time you even were even in MT, let along hunt here? Sure, you are entitled to your opinion, but that's all it is because you obviously are not educated on the facts behind the wolf management, or lackthereof for many years, in MT and you clearly haven't seen a damn thing first hand here.

You come onto this website, try to degrade sportsmen (Randy, along with others who responded to your post), tell us MTs problems are overhyped because you have it worse in MN and say that the show was "over the top".

Long story short... attacking people who are actively helping the sportsmen way of life is asinine.

 

[SWMontana1]

MN Public Hunter - I typically don't post but.... are you kidding me? Maybe you should take a page out of Randy's playbook, which is being proactive and helping the fight against the wolf problem and the improper prey/predator management tactics in his home state. Randy has done more than I have toward this fight, and I respect/admire him for that... people like Randy are helping secure the future of hunting/hunters, most of us on this site understand that.

I think you should be less concerned about the MT "minor" wolf problem and all the "whiny Montanans" but moreso with your "HUGE" MN wolf problem, get active and do something about it instead of claiming "I have it worse than you" and "whoa is me". When is the last time you even were even in MT, let along hunt here? Sure, you are entitled to your opinion, but that's all it is because you obviously are not educated on the facts behind the wolf management, or lackthereof for many years, in MT and you clearly haven't seen a damn thing first hand here.

You come onto this website, try to degrade sportsmen (Randy, along with others who responded to your post), tell us MTs problems are overhyped because you have it worse in MN and say that the show was "over the top".

Long story short... attacking people who are actively helping the sportsmen way of life is asinine.

+1.

 

[Selkirk]

Here, let me help you.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/search.php?searchid=183372

That's funny :hump:

 

[idelkhntr]

I don't blame the wolves. They have changed the way Elk behave a little, but certainly are not responsible for not filling my tag. I would have to blame the moon phase for the week I selected to take off more than anything else. My partner and I hiked our butts off and saw zero Elk carcasses half eaten by wolves. We did have some wolves responding to our calls, but they wouldn't come close enough for a kill shot. The Elk moved around a lot more than they normally do because of the wolves. Besides, it's my own fault for passing up shooting a few small bulls and cows early in the season.

 

[mtmuley]

Well, This really isn't the direction I figured this would go. I should have worded the title a bit different. I was looking for Montana input specifically to judge exactly how many guys really feel wolves prevent them from killing elk. I also see via the errornet some non-residents that have chosen not to hunt here because of the perception our elk are all but gone. It has been some good reading though. I'm all packed to head out for antelope, and the opener can't get here soon enough. mtmuley