I have lived in Minnesota and Idaho, in wolf country. Now wolf recovery efforts are underway in a half dozen states: Arizona, minnesota, montana, wyoming, idaho, nebraska?, others?

They will eventually get delisted, and placed as game animals. Then the politics will really blow up. what limits? seasons? methods of take?

We have seen the 3S management, as well as the coyote defense.

But get ready, because in two or three years when teh sigmoid growth curve takes off, even the feds and PETA will have to do an about face and admit that animals that take dogs off of chains in their front yards don't make good house pets.

So what is a good load for wolf hunting when its legal?

I'd suspect it would be something 25 to 30 caliber and from 120 to 150 grains.

I have killed one in B.C. and a couple in alberta while hunting other species.The 140gr partition out of my 7mmstw provided quick kills as well as exit holes that were not too big.I killed one with a 210 gr partition out of my 338x8mmremmag and the exit hole was quite small.Any cartridge suitable for deer would work well on a wolf hunt but I would use controlled expansion bullets if the pelts are to be used.

Dust off the ol' 270 with some 130gr Core-Lokts. That should do the trick, and would be economical to boot.

I've seen a 22-250 do the job real nice on a wolf about a 150 yards away. Head shot and would have made for a nice wall hanger.

I shot a number of wolves this winter with my 222 Rem. with 50gr. Nosler B.T.'s. It dropped all of them in thier tracks. I was able to wait for a perfect shot in these circumstances. The 22 centerfires will do the job but from other experiences that I have had with wolves the 224's are somewhat on the light side. Personally, I would recomend a 6mm or larger. A 243 with a 90 -100 grain bullet would be ideal.
I have recently had a rifle built for hunting wolves. It is a 25-284. It will double as a deer rifle.
Wolves can weigh as much as a whitetail deer. Calibers that are suitable for deer will be suitable for wolves.

Hope you get a chance to hunt them down there,
Daryl

Come to BC and hunt all the wolves you want

I've only had two opportunities to shoot a wolf in the last 5 years, and neither of them ended with a dead wolf. They are pretty smart.

Of course if you leave a dead horse in your yard, who knows what might turn up?

Good wolf load? Whatever size bullet I have in my gun at the time I see one.

Any deer caliber down to .223.

A frozen lake, snow coverd, a .223 semi auto with a 30 round mag, and a fast snow machine. Second choice, a black hawk helicopter with a loaded M-60 and belts of .308 stacked to the ceiling and a fresh snow. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

No mercy, seeing how the illegally intorduced wolf has all but wipped out our moose in some areas and knocking the crap out of the elk.

Jamiester
I would recommend a Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, or some other bonded core bullet, here is why. My wife and I have shot bobcats at close range [20&@50yds] with our 308's and 165 Bearclaws. There was no fragmentation of the bullet, thus the hides were not ripped to shreds. With this bullet you can use a big enough bore [243+] and high enough velocity to get a flat trajectory and still do minimum damage to the hide.