MT Super Tag Success Stories

Nemont

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 22, 2003
Messages
4,396
Location
Glasgow, Montana
ADVERTISEMENT


SuperTag success stories
By MICHAEL BABCOCK
Tribune Outdoor Editor


Time was running out for 14-year-old John Enright. He had a day left to fill his moose SuperTag but a storm was blowing in.

With light fading, Enright took a cow moose and turned his $5 SuperTag into a winter's worth of prime meat for his family.

ADVERTISEMENT

"You think about people who have been putting in for 30 years and haven't gotten one," Enright said. "I am one of the only people in my family who have shot a moose."

Enright was one of five hunters to win SuperTags in last summer's drawings. Ryan Stratman of Bozeman, won the mountain goat SuperTag; Steve Carson of Helena, the bighorn sheep SuperTag; Ed Clark of Whitefish, the deer SuperTag, and Joseph Danca of the Chicago area, the elk SuperTag.

Clark and Danca are the only ones not to fill their tags. Clark was looking for a trophy mule deer and Danca plans to return in January for a Gardiner late elk hunt.

All the SuperTag winners say it is a great program that they will try again.

"The exciting part of this was being able to experience a whole bunch of hunting districts and different areas of the state," said Carson.

Through the SuperTag program, hunters pay $5 for each chance on a tag that would let them hunt a particular species anywhere in Montana all hunting season long.

The program raised a total of $324,660 for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in 2006, the first year it existed.

A total of 6,639 chances were sold for the deer SuperTag and 17,103 were sold for the elk SuperTag. Montana residents purchased a total of 14,933 chances compared to 8,809 purchased by nonresidents.

Hunters purchased 20,700 chances to hunt a bighorn sheep, 13,120 chances for a moose and 7,350 chances for a mountain goat SuperTag. Those licenses were awarded in July to three Montana hunters.

Ron Aasheim, the conservation education administrator for FWP said the department would proceed again with the drawing this year.

"Absolutely. First, it was legislated that we do it. And the Private Lands/Public Wildlife Council is going to suggest that we add antelope and bison," Aasheim said. "That at least will be discussed. The money goes for hunting access and law enforcement, two things that are high priorities among the public, so we think it is a great deal."

Enright's moose
"I took a cow," Enright said, "because at this point, all the moose were dropping their antlers anyway. It was getting late (on Dec. 14) and we had driven through the area several times. Finally, I saw a moose. I shot her and she dropped on the first shot.

"I shot her right behind the eye. There were no antlers to worry about, so why not?" he asked matter-of-factly. "Why not drop her so we didn't have to chase her. We actually had to drag her out about 150 feet and we used ropes and the trees to set up a pulley system and dragged her right out. Then the bank came down so we only had to lift her about two feet to slide her right into the back of the truck."

Enright, hunting with his father and his father's friends, began his quest for a moose on opening day of the general big game season. He hunted the Libby area where friends were keeping tabs on a big bull, but the bull never showed when Enright was hunting. And once, as he sat on a stand, a bull moose approached but remained just across the road in a closed area.

"The moose came up to the road and I had a gun trained on him for about 3 1/2 minutes. He was snorting and blowing about 30 feet away. I was thinking, if I have to shoot this thing, I hope I don't get a ticket. A cow came along and off they went."

Clark's deer hunt
Ed Clark of Whitefish did not shoot a deer: He was hunting for a trophy mule deer and never saw a deer big enough.

"I saw a lot of beautiful bucks but nothing better than what I have already," Clark said.

Clark, who hunted six days straight in far southwestern Montana, says he would do it again.

"I definitely will apply again. I have learned the area pretty well from talking with other people who have hunted there and been successful. My brother spent quite a bit of time down there. He scouted for me and I just felt I needed to concentrate on that area because of his efforts."

Clark bought just one tag in each of the SupterTag drawings.

"I don't feel bad about contributing to that," he said. "I never bought a lottery ticket in my life but this is the best cause out there."

Danca's elk
Danca of Elk Grove Village, Ill., has yet to kill an elk, although he has been to Montana twice already this year.

Danca, a veteran of the Western hunt, plans to return in early January to hunt the late winter hunt outside of Gardiner. Danca says he plans to rely on offers of help from people he has met in Montana but not hire an outfitter.

"That was one of my goals," said Danca, a leasing and fleet management expert. "I am enlisting help. I have gotten a lot of offers of help and a lot of advice from some good Montana people. I even have been invited to stay with different people."

Danca says he is not used to the offers of kindness from Montanans who expect nothing in return.

"You grow up in Chicago and it is like everything has strings attached. In my business, we have what we call the WIIFM, the 'what's in it for me.'" People in Montana just enjoy doing it. It is so refreshing to meet people like that."

Winning the elk SuperTag meant a busy year for Danca: He already had planned a hunt with his son in Wyoming, a Montana hunt with friends and family, and he had drawn a coveted Arizona mule deer tag for the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

"We did manage it though," Danca said. "I spent a day and a half with my buddies and got to see one of them arrow a nice deer; my son shot a 27-inch 5-by-5; I spent three quality days with my brothers and my son; and I wen to Arizona and shot a 6-by-6 mule deer the first morning that scored 203 1/8 Pope and Young points. Then I went on to Montana."

In all, Danca spent a week in September hunting the Elkhorns and a week in November and his Montana hunting is not over yet.

"Hopefully, it will be over in the first part of January," he said.

Stratman's goat hunt

Ryan Stratman of Bozeman shot a mountain goat in late September to use his SuperTag.

Stratman, a sergeant with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, said he hunted six or seven days but probably scouted 20 to 21 days.

"Scouting pays off," he said.

Stratman said he shot the goat with a rifle in an area near Bozeman.

"It was a good hunt. I saw numerous goats," he said. "It was a matter of finding the one I liked.

"Over the course of the season I saw 60 to 70 goats and close to 20 billies."

The goat that Stratman shot green scored 49 1/8 Boone and Crockett inches. The horns are right at 10 inches.

Stratman said the hunt was steep.

"It wasn't hard but it wasn't easy. The scouting paid off."

Stratman said the SuperTag program is great.

"It gives everybody an opportunity to draw one of these tags," Stratman said.

Carson's bighorn

Steve Carson of Helena hunted about a month before shooting a bighorn ram in the Lost Creek area near Anaconda.

"Over the course of a month, we went to two units in the Thompson Falls area, two in Rock Creek and several around Region 3," Carson said. "So, I hunted six different hunting districts across four regions."

Carson used a rifle to take a ram that green-scored a176 Boone and Crockett points.

Carson, who works in the information services department at Fish, Wildlife & Parks, said he has gotten a lot of kidding and harassment because of his job.

"This sheep was by himself and it was a nice stalk. Everything was just right," Carson said.
 
Those are some good stories.

Just average MT hunters getting a great opportunity to hunt.
 
Great program. Great to hear about the guy that throws $5 into a hat and get the opportunity of a lifetime. Frankly I get sick of hearing about the guy that drops $200K on an auction tag, has 12 guys scout for him, flies out after they find him one, video the "hunt" and sell the DVD's, then end up on the cover of Trophy Hunter.:wank:

Good job Montana, now just don't screw it up.:D
 
I agree, it's good to see some average folks getting the chance of a lifetime.

mtmiller said:
Frankly I get sick of hearing about the guy that drops $200K on an auction tag, has 12 guys scout for him, flies out after they find him one, video the "hunt" and sell the DVD's, then end up on the cover of Trophy Hunter.:wank:

Hey, I think they discussed that once over on MM. ;)
 
I think Idahos similar system (although with greater tag numbers) has been pretty successful and popular. Its a great way to get people to pitch in a little more money to help out department budgets as well. You're right Craig its good to see the regular guy get a great tag every once in a while. I may have to look at trying my hand at some of these tags.
 
No doubt....discussed it once? I had to double check and see where I was. ;)

I hope they don't get greedy. They're already talking antelope and Bison next year. What's next after that? Oh well, goes to good causes.
 
Back
Top