I will be going on a wolf hunt this coming winter in nothern Alberta..was wondering what to expect as far as weather conditions...range of shots and bullet/gun selection.

Weather.... well, that could be anything from +10 to -40 oC! From bright sunshine to raging blizzards! Take your pick. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

There are a lot of trees up North, some folks here can comment better than I can, but generally wolves don't hang around long and are very keen to stay away from you. Anything you can shoot quick, flat and accurate would do. A wolf is just a big dog, and doesn't need a tremendous amount of killing. A nice quick-to-the-shoulder .270 for example would be just fine.

Frans

A .270 or .25-06 would be just fine. A friend of mine shot a wolf a few years back. He was using a .375H&H (we were bear hunting) at about 40 yards. We tracked it for about 400 yards. From all the blood, he likely bled out, but had just enough life left in him to go a bit farther before collapsing. We never did manage to find that wolf. The bullet probably never expanded, so use a readily expanding bullet.

Thanks for the info..I will be hunting with savage Encounters outfitters. has anyone heard anything good or bad about them? I'll probably be taking along a .260 rem loaded with 125gr nosler partions that should do the trick. Also wondering what to bring along..white camo..etc.

Do they have heated blinds? You better hope so. Most likely they'll have you about 100-175 yards from a bait.

After talking with plenty of folks in Alberta while I was there bear hunting last month, I've heard that wolves come into a bait about every 3 days and it could be anytime of day, but mostly around 10-11am and then right before dark. You can't be nappin because they can still come in, piss around the bait to mark it, and trot off. Your shots, in many cases will have to be very quick, unless you catch them coming in to feed.

The guy that is making my wildcat bullets lives in Alberta and he popped a huge wolf on the 3rd or 4th day, but he was losing light and howled it in.

He figured, what the heck. Howled 2 long howls with his mouth, and within 2 minutes, had a black trot right to the bait. It was as if it was guarding it. 30 seconds later it was dead from his super long range magnum and his own bullet. Here is what he wrote in an email to me when he sent the picture:

"By the way , luck was not envolved with that wolf,it was stupidity.I sat 31
hours straight in 44 below weather before I killed him.I do believe that the
first one I saw was a bigger wolf.That photograph does the animal justice.So
does hanging him upside down like that,the hair on his back was 5-6 inches
long,so it makes them look a hell of alot bigger.The wolf only weighed about
120 lbs,had a huge head,but in reality are mostly legs. You southerners
better grow some hair on your ass to stay warm in a wolf blind!!! I think
next year I will pick the 3 fatest squaws I can find on the way there and
take them along for heat. THAT WAS COLD! Very tough to stay focused and
alert.Next to my mountain goat hunt,this was the most physical hunt I have
been on,the goat hunt entitled being caught in a blizzard on the mountain
and spending the night with no fire. But thats another story!"

I went to Savage Encounters website. I see the wolf fees. The hunt cost is reasonable, but their fee per animal is rather high IMO. You can buy your unlimited wolf license for about $23 Canadian and it covers any wolf you put down, so I'm told. That is what I did last month, so I don't get the whole $200 per animal or any trophy fee for the first, but hey, it's their outfit. I would never pay it.

Your gun should be fine though I doubt if you would need partitions. I shot a pretty big wolf this year with my 8mm rem mag loaded with partitions and it worked fine, though the 8mm pushes bullets a bit faster than the 260.

We were out just after fresh snow in January and it was -30 degrees celcius. Make sure you dress warm in layers. Once we started dragging that guy out it felt more like 10 above than -30 and it was nice to be able to shed some layers.

I howled it in with a few howls and that can be quite a rush as the wolf came in to only 75 or so yards away. I will definatly be hunting them again in the future.

Brett