By Lance Stapleton
I first booked with Montana's Powder River Outfitters over 30 years ago and enjoyed one of my most memorable hunts ever. Our party of four all killed both deer and antelope, and we took our limits of a variety of upland game birds, including turkeys. We even left early because we were out of tags - taking home a pile of racks, including a 32-inch, 6x6 mule deer, a 5x5 whitetail that scored in the 160s, 14- to 15-inch antelope and coolers filled with upland birds and meat. Today, in my opinion, this outfit (now under a new name) still offers some of the best, inexpensive, classic western, fair-chase hunts, with an opportunity to kill good trophies.
Powder River Outfitters was owned by Ken Greslin and Doug Gardner, but several years ago Greslin left the business. Now Gardner is the sole owner of
Gardner Ranch Outfitters (406-427-5721; or mobile number - 406-853-4217). He still hunts many of the same ranches and leases, covering over 200,000 acres near Broadus, Montana, in the southeastern corner of the state. He also occasionally hunts BLM and state lands. His leases have rolling hills, brushy draws, creeks, and agricultural fields west of the Powder River, and extend for approximately 15 miles to Forest Service lands with pine-covered ridges. It is home to whitetail and mule deer, antelope, and in recent years, Rocky Mountain elk.....
