Thanks.Weighing my options.

I could afford something like $4,000 in a couple years but the ones asking for over $10,000 I could not afford that.

Man I think your budget is way on the low side if you include the costs of getting here and home again AND flying costs once you arrive here.
As far as habitat goes I think most of us would agree that you can find them in most any type of habitat from sea level to the tops of the Alaska range........provided there is food.
I think I would concentrate on finding an area that historically exhibits an unusual density relative to average density.
As a population overall, wolverines are generally pretty sparsely distributed. Just off the top of my head I would say that you might expect home ranges from 50-250 square miles..........state wide. IMO !

I'm not including the costs to get there.I just can't afford those costs plus a over $10,000 guided trapping trip.I will also be driving not flying as well.

Oh that's right. You have a brother up here don't you ?

yep

One of my planned wolverine sets.Its actually my old fisher set that caught me so many fisher and marten before they forced us to use exclusion boxes.Very simple and effective.Only need trap,pliers,axe,cable,and bait, lure.I just set up a demo using a 330 belisle.It took me 5 minutes to complete the set.

Bruce my experience is some of them will go right up to a set like that and put their head right in. Others will just go around to the side and tear it open to get the bait.
This one tore through the side of a spruce pole cubby box to get the bait rather than go in the entrance (behind the tree and not visible) Personally I like my cubbies as solid as possible . Good to see you are putting a lot of thought into this and doing your homework.

I agree some will go right in and some won't.What I really like is you don't have to pack a bunch of stuff with you to make a set and I would think that is a huge plus way back in the brush with as little weight as possible regardless if a person got flown in,used a snow sled,or snowshoed.

I would set a snare and a couple footholds where the wolverine did that.

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I would set a snare and a couple footholds where the wolverine did that.[/quote]
I rarely use footholds only because the skulls/teeth are so valuable and a 330 catch preserves that. You’re right about traveling light and such. Probably why bucket set is so popular. Myself I’ve had 100% refusal rate at buckets

That's a good idea making a more solid/permanent cubby. I had a cubby set robbed the other day, it was just spruce limbs though so not too hard to blow a hole in the side with proper motivation.

Of course I'm guessing with a wolverine but I also freeze some beaver livers or take a chunk of beaver and rub it all up and down on the tree between the ground and conibear and those fisher rammed up thru that conibear

My favorite wolverine bait is a black tail deer head that I hit with a propane torch for a few minutes after I secure it in the cubby. I also use two milk crates wired together to make my boxes longer. Keeps the bait further from the trap and you won’t get miss fires from marten.

I had that same experience until I finally cleaned out all the old timers with foot hold traps.

I wouldn't get too fancy with bait. Any wild animal bones, scrap meat, bird carcasses...Gulo will find it. It's your trap placement and making him/her comfortable committing that needs to be spot-on. And being as certain as possible that your trap placement offers the way to the bait that that wolverine wants to go. Otherwise, you will likely have your set destroyed, and/or trap fired, bait gone, and a smarter wolverine.


Bruce, the mention of Okie's trip with Ken jolted me to the archives. I had forgotten what a great thread that is.

Can't wait.Should be a great adventure.Will take alot of planning,etc.

Most likely the best option for me.Might take a couple years of saving.

The Haul rd. is a great DYI trapping adventure. Also very affordable.

Thanks.Thats going to be option #2 if I can't afford the flyin.