Chance of a Lifetime

Have you ever thought what it would be like if you won one of Montana’s super tag lottery? What would you do if you received a call from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks that let you know you had won the super tag lottery for sheep, goat, moose, elk, deer, bison, antelope or mountain lion? Would you yell and scream? Hang up because you thought it was a prank call? Call back the number on your phone because you thought it was a hoax?

Photo by Don Marty Photos

All of these reactions have happened to Ron Aasheim from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Aasheim is the person responsible for letting people know they have won the super tag lottery. As a 33-year employee of FWP, Ron has seen it all. “Most people are so excited they won, they usually just yell and scream in disbelief” he says. “This is definitely one of the best parts of my job.”

The super tag lottery was started in 2006 to give hunters a chance to hunt in the best areas of the state for a given species. This differs from the Governor’s tags which are auctioned each year for big, big dollars. For example, the 2008 Governor’s tag for sheep brought in an amazing $195,000, for elk $17,000, for mule deer $13,000, for moose $12,500, and for goat $9,000, for a total of $246,000 to the state. In contrast, the super tag lottery gives the average hunter a chance to hunt in any unit in the state by buying a five dollar “lottery tag”. This is issued in a special drawing each year, and gives the winner a unique opportunity to hunt the trophy of a lifetime.

One of the best attributes about this program is that all the money generated by the super tag lottery goes back into providing access programs for all sportsmen and for wildlife enforcement. This program is definitely a win-win for the lucky hunter, FWP, and all sportsmen.

In 2008, the sale of the super tag lottery generated $356,595. The total number of super tags sold was 71,319—38,229 chances bought by residents and 33,090 chances by non-residents. This represented a $30,000 increase above 2007 according to Aasheim.

Here are the number of tags sold by species in 2008:

Sheep 22,429
Goat 6,393
Moose 11,222
Elk 15,541
Mule Deer 6,866
Bison 5,018
Antelope 2,335
Mountain Lion 1,515

All but one of the eight winners in 2008 were from Montana:

Species Winner Location Chances purchased
Sheep Shawn Hall Boulder, MT 5
Goat Aaron Franz Sidney, MT 50
Moose Glen Majors Manhattan, MT 2
Elk John Laughery Moses Lake, WA 3
Mule Deer Ryan Wantaja Summers, MT 20
Bison Lori Clyde Bozeman, MT 1
Antelope David Smith Victor, MT 1
Mtn. Lion Matt Enrooth Butte, MT Unknown

Shawn Hall hunted unit 680 for sheep and was lucky enough to take the ram featured above.

This ram measured 42 inches on the right and 40 inches on the left, with bases of 15 ½ and 16 respectively. The ram is expected to score over the B& C minimum of 190 after the required drying period.

If you’re the lucky one drawn for the lottery, it’s an opportunity to hunt in the best units in the state. Who knows, maybe $5.00 will give you the one chance at a Boone and Crockett trophy of a lifetime. Even if you don’t win, you’re still investing in our great state to help gain hunting access and support wildlife enforcement.