Wolf

This week some neighbors and friends were gathering some cattle out of the hills. They were about 10 miles as the crow flies from my house. A father (69) and son (43) both horse back with dogs. This fairly rough country with some trees but not forest. The son was pushing a herd. They were confronted by a very big wolf. The game dept. estimated that this wolf would weigh 200 pounds. He did have a smart phone and videoed this encounter. It pushed the cows back over the top of him. It challenged him and kept coming. It basically followed him all the way off the mountain. It barked at him. The father didn't see it but was close enough that he hear it bark. Not a howl. He said it sounded like a big mean guard dog. The son did not have a gun. He said he was looking for a tree that he could climb. If it came to it he said the horse would be on its own. All the ranchers and cowboys gathering cows are now packing and there is discussion on what to pack. It seems that they are thinking something like a 30-30. Light and narrow to fit in a saddle scabbard. Open sights because how reliable is a scope which has been banging around on the side of a horse for months. More accurate range than a pistol in the hands of the majority of people. The father in this was buying a shotgun today. He is a self proclaimed poor shot. He figures 00 buckshot makes up for some poor shooting.

This is a picture of my place.  The wolf encounter happened to the left side of the picture about where the snow line is on the mountains.  Not that far from here.