LOBO WATCH

   Wolf Guns!

 

Thanks to the idiocy of our U.S. Department of the Interior and its U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, residents of the West are now faced with a menace that was eradicated nearly a hundred years ago - the gray wolf.  At the expense of about $1-million "per wolf" our extremely questionable Federal "wildlife professionals" released 66 gray wolves in the greater Yellowstone area back in 1996.  That's right, these geniuses spent some $66-million to reintroduce an apex predator that the residents of that region had realized a threat to their way of life way back before the turn of the 20th Century.  And those wolves were killed out for a reason - these aggressive predators do not fit well with humans, pets and livestock.  Nor were they conducive to conservation efforts during the early 1900s to restore the population of deer, elk, moose and other wildlife that had been pulled down to the brink of extinction, due to subsistence and market harvesting.

Of course, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did all of this at the insistence of even less knowledgeable environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club and the Defenders of Wildlife.  One stumbling block right at the start was "Where To Get The Wolves For The Reintroduction?"  Bounty and government hunters of the early 1900s simply did too good a job of eliminating the gray wolf.  There was not a ready supply of the "exact same wolf" that was native to the Northern Rockies - mainly Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  So, these brainiacs decided they would simply import wolves from the northern regions of Canada.  Now, these "wildlife experts" threw all caution to the wind...and brought in those Canadian wolves - without taking any consideration that the Canadian gray wolf, thanks to a million or so years of evolutionary process, is a bigger (much bigger) wolf than the so-called "timberwolves" that once roamed the mountains, valleys and plains of the upper western U.S. 

Typically, the adult native gray wolf of the Northern Rocky Mountain region would have weighed in at about 100 to 120 pounds.  On the other hand, a mature Canadian gray wolf can reach 140 to 150 pounds.  And it takes that much more "prey" to keep them fed. 

The wolf reintroduction fiasco is now costing Americans hundreds of millions of dollars - just so a few wolf lovers can rest easy in their homes at night (in L.A., in New York, in Boston, in Miami) knowing that the wolf has been reintroduced into country that most of these do gooders will never ever set foot in, or see - other than on Animal Planet, National Geographic television, or the Discovery Channel.

Canadian gray wolves are bigger than the original gray wolf of the Northern Rockies - transplanted wolves such as these are now wrecking havoc on wildlife populations.

It takes just 2 or 3 skilled 130- to 150-pound class killing machines to effectively pull down and kill a mature bull elk.  Wolves are now destroying western deer and elk herds.

The reintroduction of this evolutionary killing machine has also had another price tag.  Mature Canadian strain gray wolves, illogically transplanted into the U.S. are now making a serious impact on our "native" deer and elk herds. And, as suspected, our clueless U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to sit on its ass and do nothing.  Likewise, our wonder boy new President Obama is now showing his true colors, and has thrown an additional hurdle in front of  the game departments in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming that prevents them from effectively taking action and managing the now over abundant gray wolf.  Sorry guys, but we just don't have the luxury of "waiting to see" anything any longer.  Management of the gray wolf in the inter-mountain West was to begin once numbers reached 300.  We now have well over 2,000 wolves roaming Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  And they are decimating other "native" wildlife species - which cost American sportsmen billions over the past hundred years to get to the record numbers we "had" before the reappearance of the wolf. 

In Idaho, the elk herds in a number of regions have already been pulled down by nearly 30-percent - thanks entirely to wolf depredation.  And sickened by the carnage of wildlife populations that took so long to rebuild, some sportsmen have tired of all the governmental foot dragging...and they've taken the matter back into their own hands.  Dead wolves are beginning to show up with some regularity.

LOBO WATCH salutes those of you with the passion for our outdoors and the drive to maintain healthy deer and elk numbers to actually take charge of this situation, and who have the ability to...Shoot...Shovel...And Shut Up!

If you live in the now settled community known as the Northern Rockies, and like it or not, it is a settled community (fortunately with a few large wilderness areas still there for us to enjoy), it's probably only a matter of time before you have "your" run in with wolves.  LOBO WATCH recently heard from a group of residents in the Lolo Pass areas of western Montana, where Highway 12 crosses over into Idaho.  There, they are having problems with wolves, which have killed several area pet dogs, and have already made a serious dent in the deer and elk population.  Also, just the week before this was written, the Missoula, MT county animal control had a call from a rural home owner, who was complaining about a pack of wolves repeatedly running elk through his yard.  And this is only about 5 or 6 miles from downtown Missoula, a city of 70,000.

If you camp, hike, fish or simply enjoy the out-of-doors in the Northern Rockies in a manner that takes you away from any sort of settlement, you should seriously think about arming yourself.   Wolves are a true threat to you and your pets.  If you live in a rural inter-mountain area, and you keep any kind of livestock - horses, cattle or even llamas, some sort of firepower needs to be accessible at most all times.  Wolves that have grown not to fear man are extremely brazen, and will come right into yards and barn lots in broad daylight.  Allowing your children to wait for the school bus all alone at the end of the lane is no longer a wise choice.

Many pets, especially dogs, are lost to wolves each and every year.  Wolves will run down...catch ...kill...and devour just about every dog they can.  But, did you know that Federal law prohibits you from shooting a wolf or wolves that are attacking, or even those who have just killed your pet dog?  And a violation is punishable with a $100,000 fine and up to 5 years in the Federal clink?

Let me vow right here, right now.  The dog in the photo at left is my "Best Friend" Bob, a 2 1/2 year old black lab that goes just about everywhere I go.  He's not a pet, he is an integral part of "Our Family".  And I owe far more to this dog than I do to a Federal government that's out of control, is incapable of making intelligent decisions, and attempts to rule the citizens of this country through intimidation.  I will promise you that I will, without hesitation, shoot any and all wolves that even threaten to attack this dog - and no one will know but Bob and I...and Bob isn't talking.

This photo was taken in Fall 2008, on a trail well back into the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.  I came across wolf tracks several times...and always had my Ruger .44 Magnum "Super Blackhawk" revolver with me, conveniently tucked away in its shoulder holster.

If this were your pet, and you were hiking a back country or wilderness trail and suddenly found your pet under attack from wolves - would you shoot those wolves, despite the fact that to do so is a Federal offense?  Better yet, what would you use to defend your dog's life?

A .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum or .44 Magnum handgun can be a very effective self-defense arm - in the hands of an individual who takes the time to practice and to get to know how and where these guns shoot.  Often getting top accuracy also means experimenting with a variety of different brands of ammo and loads.  Not many non-hunting, non-shooting campers, hikers and fishermen will make that kind of effort.  As often as not, a much better choice of armament for your own self protection and the protection of your extended family, including your pets, would likely be a short-barreled pump or semi-auto 12-gauge shotgun - loaded with a stout charge of "00" buckshot.

With just a little practice, almost anyone can become reasonably proficient with one of these.  It's kind of just point and pull the trigger.  Most of the so-called "self defense" or "riot" shotguns come with an 18- to 20-inch barrel that is either cylinder bore (no choke) or maybe with a slight improved-cylinder choke.  Either way, at just 25 yards, these guns will throw a pattern of "00" buck about the size of a big screen TV!  And depending on whether the gun is chambered for and loaded with 2 3/4"...3"...or 3 1/2" shotshells, the loads could contain from 9 or 10 to as many as 18 or 19 of the large lead pieces of buckshot - which weigh right at 57 grains each.  And all you have to do is get 3...4...5 or more pieces of that shot into a wolf, and the attack is very likely over.  If not, with a good pump or semi-auto, you have a few more back up shots to finish the job.  But then, maybe you don't want to "finish the job".  A seriously wounded wolf will more than likely die anyway...away from the "scene".  Heck, the other wolves in the pack will probably finish him off and dine on "fillet of canis lupus".

If intervening in an attack on your dog, using a "00" buckshot loaded 12-gauge, be aware of where your pet is.  If a wolf has it pinned, shooting for the front of the wolf could result in shooting your own pet. If the wolf has your dog down, first go for the ass.  Dump a round of "00" buckshot into the rear haunches, and when the wolf lets go and spins around...smack it one more time with another round.  If more than one wolf is at the scene and participating in the attack, you might want to go for the second wolf first.  At the sound of the shot, the wolf that has your dog in its jaws will probably let go and either turn to face you or to run...offering a better shot.  It's kind of a two for one deal.

If and when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally "Craps And Gets Off The Pot" and allows the state wildlife agencies in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to properly manage wolf numbers to keep populations in balance with acceptable losses of other wildlife, most big game hunters already have rifles that can deliver a quick, clean and somewhat humane harvest of a wolf that could weigh up to 150 pounds.  With a well placed shot, just about any .270 Winchester, 7mm Remington Magnum, .30-06 Springfield, .300 Winchester Magnum, or similar caliber center-fire rifle can deliver a 130 to 180 grain bullet with the accuracy and energy to cleanly drop any wolf - even one out at 400 or so yards.

    If the stupidity of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service persists, and self-serving organizations like the Sierra Club, The Humane Society of the U.S., Defenders of Wildlife, Earth Justice and a few others continue to block efforts to control wolf numbers at more acceptable levels (most recently thanks to our new not-so-hard charging now President Obama), wolves are going to deplete deer and elk numbers to the point where it will take years for the population to recover.  Sportsmen who have grown tired of such atrocities and lack of leadership by those "in control" are now taking the matter in their own hands.  Wolves are beginning to bite the bullet - whether it's with Federal approval or not.  And with all the foot dragging to get wolf management under way, thousands of deer and elk are being killed by wolves each and every week.  (Not so humane, eh, Humane Society?)

Those who are taking care of this problem in their own way don't really care if they kill a wolf outright.  In fact, it's far better to only mortally wound the wolf, and let it get itself off the trail or out of the open and into a deep canyon or heavy cover, where it will be harder for Federal officials to ever know what happened to the animal.  If you are seriously considering joining the growing wolf militia to protect our native big game populations, forget the really big bore rifles.  A hyper velocity center-fire .22 shooting a 55- or 60-grain hollow-point or spire-point at 3,000 to 3,500 f.p.s. is the rifle to use.  One of those little pills, punched squarely into the paunch (guts) will deliver a delayed lethal blow - allowing that wolf to "disappear" under its own power, to lay down and die later.  But, again, that wolf probably won't go to waste.  Its comrades will likely turn on it, rip it apart and eat it - just like wolves do when killing deer and elk...or your pet dog "Buffy".

If all this talk about killing wolves disturbs you, then you must feel that wolves have priority over all other wildlife, the right of ranchers to raise cattle and sheep, and even the residents who call the Northern Rockies home.  War has been declared on the wolf.  The mission of LOBO WATCH is to see that the gray wolf is made more and more endangered, and fewer and fewer in number each and every day.  And if our Federal government cannot come up with a "recovery plan" to take care of this menace they have unleashed on the American West, sportsmen and landowners will do it for them.  Thank God, some already are. - Toby Bridges, LOBO WATCH

"Save An Elk Herd...Kill A Wolf!"

Copyright 2009 By Toby Bridges

Take Up Arms