Each year when hunting season arrives, I become as happy as a puppy in a room full of rubber balls. It is what I live for.  With just two years to go until my retirement, I dream of having September and October completely off.  If you think I hunt alot now, just wait until I can really hunt!

Bow season is upon us now, and it lasts until the end of September.  Then rifle season begins.  For folks in this area (southwest), deer opens first and runs from October 10 to the 24.  Next up is the bull elk hunt, and it runs from October 25 to November 3.  Check the regulations for your exact unit, which may have different dates.

I will be sharing my hunting stories as the season goes on,but I’d like to share a story about my wolf encounter from last year.  It was the third weekend of bow season, and I finally got a bull fired up.  He was bugling from around 100 yards away, and he would answer me each time I called him. 

When the bulls are ready to mate, it is called being in the rut.  The bulls fight other bulls for the right to mate with the cows, and they often times come in angry when you call them.  They thrash the brush with their antlers, bugle very loud, and even stomp the ground with their hooves. With only a sharp stick in your hands, it can be very un-nerving.  Most units in Idaho will only let you bow hunt during the rut, or the elk would be wiped out. There are some units in the middle of the wilderness that let you hunt with a rifle during the rut.  Wouldn’t that be a nice tag to have?  You’d also better have some horses, because those units require you to walk in.

Back to the wolf story. After a half hour or so, the bull started bugling oddly with a very short, irregular call.  It struck me as odd right away, and I was wondering why he wouldn’t come into me.  He continued having a strange bugle for the next hour. The next thing I heard was a long moan that was in a different spot.  It reminded me of my yellow lab, Cadi, who does that in the morning.

I bugled again and for the first time, there was no response.  Again, I heard the long moan.  I continued to listen and another moan soon filled the air.  Just then,another sound came from a different direction and I instantly recognized it:  a wolf howl. For the next 30 minutes I sat and listened as the wolves formed a semi-circle uphill from me.  They were howling from 4 or 5 different locations. I cow called and bugled, but the elk would never answer me again.  Instead, the wolves got closer and closer and I suddenly realized that I was calling them in!

I got my trusty .357 pistol out, which I carry for protection.  I will not shoot a wolf unless my life or my dog’s life is in danger. When the fish and game first said you could not shoot a wolf in the forest even if it is killing your dog, I wondered how many people would do that.  If they think I will just sit around and watch a wolf kill my dog, they can think again.  I wouldn’t hesitate one second to protect them or me, but to just go out and shoot a wolf is something I would never do.

The elk didn’t talk much last year and it makes me wonder if the introduction of wolves has started to change the behavior of the elk.  When they call, they tell the wolves where they are, so maybe they will begin to get quieter in the rut.  I certainly hope not.  Nothing is more fun than talking to elk and having them come within a few yards of you. I don’t particularly like the wolves in our forests, but it is what it is.

So stay tuned for more hunting stories, and let’s hope the next 2 months proceed very, very slowly. Like a kid in Disneyland, I never want the fun to end.