Ideal Wolf Hunting Rifle

[CRaTxn]

Maybe you LR hunters have thoughts on this you will share with us...but, I think the limiting factor for a WOLF RIFLE is the reality that sub-MOA or even 1/2 MOA accuracy on a kill zone about the size of two over lapping pie plates is NOT the key here. I see the key to be MOW...Minute Of Wind ; in that, at some point well inside a thousand yards the realistic expectation of Killing and not just Educating a wolf ... is weighting the crosswind cutting ability of a high BC VLD bullet more than flat trajectory. And the other reality we all seem to agree on is that chances are you might mi..mi..miss once or twice and fast followup shots where the shooter stays-in-the-gun/scope allows making corrections for wind drift (yeah, yeah deflection) up the odds of tipping the Balance of Nature a little for those underdog ungulates .
So all this Texan is mumbling about IS; something like a fast twist 6mm [6XC, the Alaskan gentleman's .243 / 6mmRem or even better Robert Whitley's 6mmSuperLR] or 6.5mmCM / 260Rem in an AR platform [where you can let fly those 600ish BC VLDs with fast recovery times aided by low recoil and self-loading actions...] = the Ideal Wolf Hunting Rifle.
Sometimes less is MORE !

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Well here's the way I look at it. I'm only interested in Minute of Wolf. I figure I have a 50/50 chance of dropping the critter if I even hit him. Any hit in the head, neck. shoulder, rib cage, or spine is going to put him down pretty quick. Any other hit may not put him down, but it will kill him, and that's not a bad thing, as I get a chance on another.

As far as educating goes, these wolves are already educated. There are a lot of guys out there chasing them. It's half skill and half luck. Spend enough time and learn the tricks and you'll get one.

OK, I'm really outta here! See ya next year!

 

[BCMAG2]

Some of the old boys in my small Idaho town say that XYLITOL is the weapon of choice for wolves. I've searched all the gun sites I can think of, and still can't find that brand of rifle or ammo.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I have not used them yet for hunting, but the reports I have read is that they tend to shred into shrapnel. Some pieces may exit and some not. I suppose a high velocity hit at close range might make a mess. in which case I might opt for a head shot.

Here's a thread on terminal performance...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/updated-10-29-terminal-performance-6-5mm-130gr-ceb-99656/

If I was pelt hunting, I would probably use something like 6-284 (for velocoity and range) pushing E-Tips or TTsx's. i don't think they would make a big exit and close shots might be head shots If I had the time.

Happy New Year! I'm outa here!

Hey! I've seen that thread somewhere

The 130 CEB does leave some petals for sure (they are hanging on my cork board right now). But, as the thread shows, even on my antelope which weighs less than a big woof, the exit hole wasn't all that nasty & it was a fairly close shot @ 370ish. I would tend to think the 6.5WSM or Winmag with that bullet is going to be just about right for a LR woof whacker. It will stay together to break any bone a woof can put in it's way yet is still soft enough in the nose to expand at long range. The one thing I can say that I like about the CEB over the Berger & this is just from an observation aspect; the CEBs are made on CNC machines, there are no deviations in bearing surface, weight, meplat diameter or depth.

t

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Hey! I've seen that thread somewhere

The 130 CEB does leave some petals for sure (they are hanging on my cork board right now). But, as the thread shows, even on my antelope which weighs less than a big woof, the exit hole wasn't all that nasty & it was a fairly close shot @ 370ish. I would tend to think the 6.5WSM or Winmag with that bullet is going to be just about right for a LR woof whacker. It will stay together to break any bone a woof can put in it's way yet is still soft enough in the nose to expand at long range. The one thing I can say that I like about the CEB over the Berger & this is just from an observation aspect; the CEBs are made on CNC machines, there are no deviations in bearing surface, weight, meplat diameter or depth.

t

Yup, no slam on Bergers here because I'll probably shoot more of them than the CE's at rocks, PD's, etc. due to cost, but the CE's are PRECISE and the few I have loaded have excellent accuracy. Their forward bore rider design aligns the bullet to the bore perfectly, which I think is why they are so easy to load for with great accuracy.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I hear you brother, I wasn't intending to down play Berger either, they have too many fuzzy wuzzies accounted for to do that.

They are expensive for sure, but in regards to the relatively short bbl life of my 6.5WSM... I can dig it


t

 

[bigngreen]

So all this Texan is mumbling about IS; something like a fast twist 6mm [6XC, the Alaskan gentleman's .243 / 6mmRem or even better Robert Whitley's 6mmSuperLR] or 6.5mmCM / 260Rem in an AR platform [where you can let fly those 600ish BC VLDs with fast recovery times aided by low recoil and self-loading actions...] = the Ideal Wolf Hunting Rifle.
Sometimes less is MORE !

What a lot of guys are finding out here is the AR simply does not have the range to reach a good number of the wolves we're seeing or calling. I know of a number of guys who have dropped their small cals and AR's for what would normally be ELR rifles simply to reach out to where the wolves are comfortable and to buck the wind. I know one guys who is very good at calling predators and he did very well early on but these wolves are called every week by multiple people and they are getting the idea, the closest he's called a wolf in recently is just over 800 yards so he's also gone to a long range bolt gun. In our group I pack the smallest wolf rifle, a 270 WSM loaded with 165 Matrix which is my elk gun, the rest pack 300's or 338's.

 

[deadlift]

This is awesome! I just built a 6.5x280 ackley just for this purpose. I chose this caliber because of all the bullet selection currently available and the nosler brass rocks. With this combo you get 264 win mag performance but 5 rds in the mag instead of 3, which is huge when you consider you may have more than one target. The platform is a remmy 721 trued and the bolt handle welded. I chose a Mcmillan A3 sporter in edge for the stock and one of our barrels in a #6 kreiger contour. I was really considering shooting the 130 scirocco's because they will not destroy the hide if they exit, but I'm also running the 130 Berger VLD's. My total weight is under 11lbs. Now its just a waiting game till I leave Feb 16th for Idaho!

 

[threejones]

This is awesome! I just built a 6.5x280 ackley just for this purpose. I chose this caliber because of all the bullet selection currently available and the nosler brass rocks. With this combo you get 264 win mag performance but 5 rds in the mag instead of 3, which is huge when you consider you may have more than one target. The platform is a remmy 721 trued and the bolt handle welded. I chose a Mcmillan A3 sporter in edge for the stock and one of our barrels in a #6 kreiger contour. I was really considering shooting the 130 scirocco's because they will not destroy the hide if they exit, but I'm also running the 130 Berger VLD's. My total weight is under 11lbs. Now its just a waiting game till I leave Feb 16th for Idaho!

Idaho!?! A rig that sweet would look much better in the mountains of Montana! Either way, it'll look great next to a ventilated tree mutt!

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Deadlift ; great looking rifle! ! Tho I'm not a great shot. I'm an OK shot. But when the shooting starts on a wolf pack the more bullets your rifle holds the better. Even the best shots can miss a wolf that's running 45 MPH at 500 yards. Especially when the ground is broke up with criks , draws, and boulders. The biggest pack I've been into had 14 wolves feeding on salmon on a big grass/ mud flat. . It was really something when the shooting started.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Deadlift ; ..... The biggest pack I've been into had 14 wolves feeding on salmon on a big grass/ mud flat. . It was really something when the shooting started.

I would have loved to see that ...


t

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

It was awesome. We got 2 out of that pack. I wasn't any help. My friend and I were black bear hunting and I had my 416 Rem mag with ghost ring sight. That is where I learned the lesson that a general purpose bear rifle NEEDS a scope. And a range finder would have been ideal
I held for 300 yards but the big brown one I shot at was a bit over 400 . Where the 400 gr Swift A Frame plowed up the mud was in perfect line with his shoulder. But 2-3 feet low.

This was in Southeast, on Prince of Wales Is. in 1992 . And I can still replay the hunt in clear detail. . Here in the Interior where I live now. Wolves are kindof scattered and the primary land based means of getting up on them is with a snow machine in the winter. It can be a seriously rugged hunt.

I would like to put a bug in the ear of anyone who may come up big game hunting. If you get a look at a wolf or wolves. PLEASE! !!!!! SHOOT THEM! !
We have lots of wolves, lots of other game too. But getting up on a wolf is rare.

 

[deadlift]

14 woofs would be an eerie sight for sure! I'm gonna be hunting solo, so I figure I will call in the AM then spot and stalk in the PM. Any thoughts from the experienced woof hunters? I'm not really keen on callin in the PM and hiking out in the dark. Too many horror stories.
Chris

 

[deadlift]

Thanks for the good words on the rifle !
Chris