2022 moose hunt turning into wolf hunt?

Poncho88

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We have a moose hunt planned this fall to float the Charley River. (As it was the only hunt left after getting through on the phone) I've been doing as much research as possible and am finding out that in recent years, the Moose numbers appear to have greatly declined in this area. We may be turning this hunt into a caribou/ wolf hunt instead? ADFG says 10 wolves per hunter in this unit, so planning on doing our part. Hoping some of you folks that have floated/ hunted it before could weigh in. Thanks in advance!
 

Saleen422

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Had looked into that float as well in the past, couple videos on YouTube of the Charlie river
 
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Poncho88

Poncho88

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Had looked into that float as well in the past, couple videos on YouTube of the Charlie river
Hey 422! Your thread from last year was one that I've read about 5 times now. Haha! How did things go for you last fall?
 

VernAK

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I don't recall the Charley River Country to ever have a high moose population but it has always supported a quality hunt. Wolf populations have rebounded excessively and yes you should be prepared for wolf sightings. It's not always easy to get a shot at those elusive buggers.

We hear howling frequently and have taken a couple in recent years. A few years ago, I was glassing from a great view point and when I turned around there were wolves looking at me from the brush. The pack was zipping around in the dwarf birch not allowing for a shot. They all retreated and regrouped on a hillside to lay in the sun. There were sixteen wolves varying in color from light grey to white. Not a shot fired!
 
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Don't let wolves get in your head. Last September I saw more moose per day than ever in my area despite the known presence of wolves. My partner spotted an even dozen wolves the day before I shot my bull. He (my bull) walked directly down the same valley the wolves were all over the day before.
 
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Poncho88

Poncho88

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Don't let wolves get in your head. Last September I saw more moose per day than ever in my area despite the known presence of wolves. My partner spotted an even dozen wolves the day before I shot my bull. He (my bull) walked directly down the same valley the wolves were all over the day before.
Thanks Kevin. We will keep that in mind for sure. Hoping to spend several days at each camp site we make. Gotta give them bulls time to move if there are any around.
 
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Poncho88

Poncho88

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I don't recall the Charley River Country to ever have a high moose population but it has always supported a quality hunt. Wolf populations have rebounded excessively and yes you should be prepared for wolf sightings. It's not always easy to get a shot at those elusive buggers.

We hear howling frequently and have taken a couple in recent years. A few years ago, I was glassing from a great view point and when I turned around there were wolves looking at me from the brush. The pack was zipping around in the dwarf birch not allowing for a shot. They all retreated and regrouped on a hillside to lay in the sun. There were sixteen wolves varying in color from light grey to white. Not a shot fired!
Thanks for the info Vern. And yes we are all excited to experience the 190 mi float trip over our 20 days in there. If we are lucky enough to harvest any kind of animal will only be a plus! If we get into some howling at night, I guess we will try and do some wolf calling back and see what comes of it.
 

Larry Bartlett

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The Charley has had a low density of moose for 25 years. Wolves roam that country in mass.

Best advice I have for you having shot 6 or so wolves is to ALWAYS have your rifle on your person if you want a hide stretched out in camp. They will show up like magic and disappear like smoke in the wind.

I've shot >50% of my wolves calling moose to camp and got them before they got another moose. Most of them had moose neck tendons in their guts.
 
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Poncho88

Poncho88

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The Charley has had a low density of moose for 25 years. Wolves roam that country in mass.

Best advice I have for you having shot 6 or so wolves is to ALWAYS have your rifle on your person if you want a hide stretched out in camp. They will show up like magic and disappear like smoke in the wind.

I've shot >50% of my wolves calling moose to camp and got them before they got another moose. Most of them had moose neck tendons in their guts.
Hey Larry! Thanks for the info! And always great to hear from you. This is Wyatt down here in the desert of eastern Oregon. We are renting the 2 pioneer extremes from you for this trip. The more I read and the more local's that I've talked too, sounds like we are in for some good predator hunting with hopes of a moose somewhere in between. Which is perfectly fine with us. We are coming into your guys country and want to help out with the control best we can... sure would be somethin' to roll into Circle with 40 wolf hides!
 

Larry Bartlett

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Ha! Forty is a stretch, but if you keep your eyes open and rifle ready there's a solid chance you'll get one or two.

The last time I floated the Charley was with my dog, Chachi, during a July trip after repairing Gelvin's airstrip. We stopped 1.5 miles above the strip to check out what I thought was a caribou crossing (prints in the sand). We got out of the raft and realized we had walked into a pack of wolves in the throws of circling the area for a solo moose. Before I could get a feel for what was going on Chachi had two black wolves trying to encircle her and I had three different wolves on my 6 view. It was July so all I could do was act like a bad ass to scare them off with the sound of a glock. When they didn't scare I felt a bit intimidating to see five wild ass 125-lb wolves at 15-20 yards away with no real protection and a stinky old dog they wanted to shred. Be READY at all times because you usually wont have long to shoot.
 
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Poncho88

Poncho88

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That's crazy! And yes, 40 is definitely a stretch.... ha ha! We are going to make the most of the trip and will enjoy it to the fullest!
 

AKBorn

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We have a moose hunt planned this fall to float the Charley River. (As it was the only hunt left after getting through on the phone) I've been doing as much research as possible and am finding out that in recent years, the Moose numbers appear to have greatly declined in this area. We may be turning this hunt into a caribou/ wolf hunt instead? ADFG says 10 wolves per hunter in this unit, so planning on doing our part. Hoping some of you folks that have floated/ hunted it before could weigh in. Thanks in advance!
Ditto on what Larry and Vern said - it's really hard to "hunt" wolves in AK during the moose season, they are more a target of opportunity. I shot one back in 2006, but wasn't on the Charley that year. A huge bonus was that shooting the wolf (shot around 5ish in the afternoon) woke up a nice bull moose that had been bedded down in the spruce out of our sight. We saw him when he got up to see what the commotion was, and shot him about 45 minutes later.

My hunt partner and I hunted caribou very close to the Charley in 2019, and we saw three wolves over the course of a 6-day hunt. My partner missed a snap shot at one on our last hunt day.
 
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