"The RBL was started back in the 1980s by rancher Richard Bumbaca, who became so fascinated by the buffalo he saw at a stock show that he bought a half dozen of them and trailered them to his cattle ranch. He did so just in time for a record April snowfall that killed several hundred head of his cattle but left his newly acquired bison unfazed. After that, he went full-time into buffalo ranching, at one point owning what was then the world's largest buffalo in terms of body weight.
"Now the RBL is going out of business, and through the 15th of January is offering buffalo hunts ranging in price from $2,500 all the way down to $500, depending on the trophy quality and size of the buffalo. The ranch, located roughly halfway between Sheridan and Gillette, covers some 3,500 acres of rolling sage, gullies, canyons and mesas. This can make for interesting stalking, as long as you are not hoping for a reenactment of one of Teddy Roosevelt's badlands buffalo hunts. In truth, this will be much more of a buffalo `shoot' than a hunt. Still, it does afford an opportunity to take a representative buffalo head for a fraction of the normal cost. From now through mid-January buffalo capes will be prime, so the trophy you take ought to look quite presentable. You will also have a robe at the end of the hunt, along with a lot of fine, low-fat, tasty meat.
"As for travel arrangements, both Sheridan and Gillette are serviced by regularly scheduled commercial flights. Alternately, you may want to fly into Billings, Montana, rent a car and drive the approximately 2¾ hours to the ranch. If........(continued)
