A controversial world-record elk bagged in Piute County last fall generated interest and buzz Friday at the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The third-annual expo -- expected to draw about 15,000 visitors -- features taxidermy displays of elk, deer and mountain lions-- including the first ever public display of Spider Bull, an elk that the Boone and Crockett Club determined as an antler-size world-record holder.

"It's the first time I've seen it mounted, too," said Denny Austad, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, who killed the bull in rural Utah last September.

Austad, 67, bought his permit during an expo auction last year for $150,000.

"It all goes for habitat," Austad said. "It's a legitimate tax deduction, just like charity."

Spider Bull measured at 478-5/8 points and sparked nationwide controversy about its authenticity.

Mark White, a Lehi hunter who came to the event to apply for hunting tags, said he finds it suspicious no one had found any trace of the bull until recently.

"My suspicion is he's a ranch elk that's been let into the wild," said White, 46.

Austad brushed off any controversy about his prize elk.

"I don't understand why people would say something about something that's legal… something that's honorable," said Austad, who used hunting guides to spot the bull.

Spider Bull elk took its name from its antlers, which resemble a spider when viewed upside down.

Spencer Garn, 27, of Fielding, applied for 21 tags at the expo.

"And I felt like I should've done more," he said.

Garn's father has taken him hunting since he was 2.

"What would I say about Spidey?" Garn asked. "I like typicals better."

"But he would shoot that every day of the week," said his wife, Dottie Garn.

"I'm jealous," Spencer Garn said.

The expo is designed to give additional Utah hunting opportunities to people nationwide by holding a drawing of 200 premium trophy hunting permits.

Anyone can apply for any of the 200 permits for a $5 fee. The winners will be chosen via computer drawing Sunday evening.

"This show is sought out now by average Joe The Hunter…as well as some of the wealthiest people in the country, and everybody fits," said Chris Carling, advertising and marketing consultant for the expo.

The four-day convention began Thursday and features more than 600 exhibitor booths -- from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia and others -- which sell clothing, outdoor gear, trucks and other "stuff hunters like and need."

Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife uses all money raised from selling tag applications to maintain Utah's family hunting traditions, said DJ Bigler, a volunteer with the organization.

"That $5 fee stays with us, and it goes toward conservation efforts and promotes hunting and fishing in Utah," Bigler said.

Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, the Wild Sheep Foundation and the Mule Deer Foundation joined with the state of Utah to host the event, which runs through Sunday.