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Hunter Comments

Hunter Beware!!!!!!I have been to Milk River Outfitters Twice . Both times I have been successful with a rifle . The first time I hunted in Hinsdale MT with a large group of guys and killed a 140 gross mule deer at 260 yards. November 9 of this year I hunted with Eric Albus at the powder river operation and killed a sub 180 in mule deer with my rifle at 502 yards. The big big bucks are not easy even with a rifle and you will do a good amount of walking at both camps to get a mature deer. In addition, don’t be surprised if your shot is over 250/300 yards, very possible. This is wide open spaces guys. The odds at the Hinsdale operation of a mature buck are very slim but several mule deer are in the 115 -135 in range. At milk rivers powder river operation, the odds at a 155-160 mule deer are very good. The odds of a 180 or better are probably 1 out of every 50 deer you see , if that.

Back to the “milk river outfitters” - Hinsdale operation- lodging is dirty and there were dead bugs and dirt all over the inside of the double wide we stayed in. It appeared it hadn’t been cleaned thoroughly in a long time. The meals were excellent and we enjoyed good company from our friends and liked all the guides.

Powder River Operation- Eric Albus is the main man running the operation and is in my opinion very unprofessional/rude/sloppy.... Mind you this hunt cost 6,500k plus per person and by the attitude Eric albus has , you would think he’s giving you the hunt for free. Prior to the hunt we were promised meals would be provided and 180-190 inch mule deer were very very common in the area we would hunt. Upon arrival , we had no plan in hand of how to even get to camp because Eric Albus will not answer his phone or reply to text messages. Mr Eric Albus acted like we were a pain if we even spoke to him. Eric replied to zero messages after my dad and I’s 5k deposit was sent. Eric actually told my dad and I face to face it annoys him when people ask too many questions. We were never welcomed at camp and always felt awkward even being there due to the lack of hospitality. When we arrived miles city Mt , Eric Albus would not answer his phone and finally called us and stopped by the hotel . He gave us handwritten directions to get to camp and forgot to write we had to make a right hand turn on the road camp was based out of. On top of this, he acted like we were ignorant for not knowing how to read his directions that never said to turn on the camp road . Zero meals ended up being provided except one morning our guide Cooked my dad and I two eggs a piece, 1 piece of toast, and a piece of burnt sausage. The lodging is Again run down and not clean to say the least . If you are ok with shelling out 6,500 k plus for the hunt and adding the cost of tags, travel expenses, and meals to the 6,500 k plus, go to milk river outfitters powder river operation. Eric albus will gladly take your money and in return you will get a hunt. Don’t expect service or any kind of hospitality!!!! Trust me when I tell you Eric Albus does not care if you are happy!!!!!

Was the outfitter notified of problems? - YES

Outfitter's Response

I have had to many of my very happy and satisfied clients complain to me about not responding to this disgruntled client, so here goes.

I did respond to calls/texts/emails from this group, for the first 40 or 50 calls. My cell coverage is spotty at best and nonexistent at camp.

The directions were so bad to camp they pulled onto the driveway 3 times only to turn around and drive off. We could see the headlights from the camp house. Their guide told me they saw several 175-180 inch bucks. Stalks were either blown or bucks were shot at and missed. I was not there for 2-3 days of this hunt as I had to ship cattle from our own ranch. I’ve since taught the guide to not burn sausages. Was I a little less than congenial? Probably, after having been called a minimum of 40-50 times asked the same questions, delivering hand written instructions that were only good enough to get to the mailbox with hunter orange wrapped around it, being told my directions were bad, I was probably less enthusiastic than I should have been. The other clients in camp that week (see Ken Walkers review) were ecstatic with their hunts. As were the hunters we hosted again this fall.

I’ll apologize for being less jovial than I could have been. That said, I am still wondering what kind of expectations any hunter has when they are not satisfied with an honest 30 inch 180 plus buck. Eric Albus, Milk River Outfitters