Bighorn sheep tag sells for $245,000 | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune

Bighorn sheep tag sells for $245,000

By MICHAEL BABCOCK • Tribune Outdoor Editor • February 11, 2009

The owner of a chain of sandwich shops in Champaign, Ill., paid $245,000 for a Montana bighorn sheep hunting tag last weekend at the Wild Sheep Foundation Convention in Salt Lake City.

The Wild Sheep Foundation, headquartered in Cody, Wyo., would not release the winner’s name, but they said the tag brought in $50,000 more than last year.

The highest price ever paid for a Montana wild sheep tag was $310,000 in 1994.

“Yes, the bidding was spirited,” said Terry Ziehl of the Sheep Foundation.

A Whitefish hunter paid $10,000 for a Montana mountain goat tag sold at the same show.

Also at the auction, the Mule Deer Foundation sold a Montana mule deer tag for $8,500.

In all, Montana’s 2009 big game auction licenses drew a total of $263,500.

The special tags allow the holder to hunt in any hunting district where there is a season for that species.

The show was the 32nd Annual Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo. Next year’s show, called The Sheep Show, will be held in Reno, Nev., on Feb. 3-6  Click link below for full story

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