Gardner Ranch Outfitters first started out as Montana's Powder River Outfitters. I first booked a big game hunt with 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 (under the 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, pronghorn antelope, and in recent years, Rocky Mountain elk. This variety allows Gardner to offer single species and combo hunts, depending on the tags you secure. The state's seasons allow you to hunt antelope, deer and elk at the same time, making this a perfect opportunity for a combo hunt. Gardner's archery elk and deer hunts start on the first Saturday of September. A six-day, 2x1 combo deer and elk archery hunt costs $3,650. This fall, he had five archers, and three killed bulls, ranging up to 330 points. Gardner pointed out that 30 percent hunter success is expected, but everyone should have a close encounter. While bulls over 400 points have been killed, bulls scoring up to 350 are a more realistic possibility.........(
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