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Eric Albus, The Outfitter

Meet your outfitter, Eric Albus. Eric is a 4th generation rancher/farmer. He grew up working the same land that his great-grandfather, grandfather and father worked. He works the farm and ranch with his younger brother Jared, Eric hopes that son Kyle(KJ) will follow their lead in earning a living off the land. The Albus brothers dry land farm: wheat, peas, lentils, and barley, and raise commercial cattle, mainly black angus. They also farm organic wheat, peas, lentils, and oats.

Eric and Jared grew up hunting deer, antelope, elk and birds in NE MT. In 1989 Eric began guiding for a friend, and within a few years he and Jared started their own outfitting company, Milk River Outfitters (MRO). They never dreamt that the muddy river they fished and swam in as kids would become a household name, let alone a nationally know destination for the “who’s who” of the hunting industry. “It has been quite a ride, we have met a lot of good folks, and some famous ones too.”, Eric said. He also maintains; “I’ve been very blessed to be able to do what I have done”. He has been able to pack several lifetimes of hunting into his years, spending over 100 days in the field every fall. He has guided 100’s of hunters to many great trophy whitetail, mule deer, antelope and elk. Eric is also very thankful for their repeat clientele. As I was writing this Eric said; “I want to be sure to thank ALL the repeat clientele, I appreciate them more than they know,”. Many of these folks make “off season” trips to MRO visiting the ranch. They have become valued friends, and extended family. One of them even keeps a horse at the ranch!

The ride has not been without setbacks. The winter of 2010 saw half the wildlife in NE MT decimated under 130 inches of snow. The resulting melt and floodwaters created a perfect ground for the 2011 EHD( blue tongue) outbreak, which resulted in a 90-99% death loss on whitetail deer. MRO cancelled 50 archery and 20 rifle hunts that fall. Fortunately the weather has been good in the past several years and numbers are rebounding nicely.

Eric and the staff at MRO look forward to seeing you in hunting camp!

The Guide Staff

Top notch, knowledgeable guides are an integral part of any successful outfitting business. MRO has a great guide staff, with several of the guides having worked for MRO for more than 10 years. Eric, Jared, and Jason are all seasoned veterans. They also employ 2-3 new guides out of guide school every year.

Hunters who fill their big game tags early are treated to upland bird, waterfowl, or predator hunting. The guides are diligent in showing the clients what Eastern Mt. is about.

Jared Albus

Jared Albus, Eric’s younger brother generally spends the archery season tying up loose ends on the farm and ranch, but come rifle season you can find him in Miles City, conducting the first half of the trophy gun hunts on the Powder. Jared’s reputation of seeing game is second to none. He puts in many long hours finding great bucks for the clients hunting with him.

Kyle Albus

Kyle Albus

Kyle (KJ) Albus is Eric’s son. KJ has lived in Hinsdale his whole life and has hunted about every square inch of the area. After finishing college he returned home to guide and continuing working on the family farm and ranch. KJ has lots of experience hunting everything from whitetail deer, mule deer to waterfowl and upland birds. Growing up outside following his father’s lead has qualified him for just about everything our clients can throw at him.

Brad Heine

My name is Brad Heine, I have lived my whole life in northwest Montana chasing anything that moves since I was old enough to walk. I grew up on a small farm in the Flathead valley which was a small paradise to a kid with as many outdoor interests as I have. I love bow hunting any species of game I can hunt but will gladly pickup a rifle and trudge through the hills. Odds are pretty good when all the hunting seasons are closed I can be found on a river or lake somewhere in Montana. I started guiding fishing the summer I turned 18 and 4 years later decided to try my hand guiding hunts and haven’t looked back since!

Jason Saunders

Jason Saunders is a passionate outdoorsman and conservationist who brings 30yrs+ of field trial/gundog training to the team. He is Professional Dog Trainer when he is not pursuing Mule Deer, Whitetail, or the 4 species of upland birds we have here in NE Montana. Some of his favorite discussions are K9 development and wildlife habitat, as he knows deer and upland bird are where they are for a reason and their location and habits change as food sources change and rut begins. Jason would say what makes him excel in his roll with Milk River Outfitters is his passion for pursuing the diversity of game at hand and his strong focus on customer service, he consistently strives to provide the best total experience to every hunter that decides to give us the opportunity to exceed their expectations.

Jeremy Schnebelt

Growing up pursuing every game animal that southeastern Indiana and the surrounding states had to offer honed Jeremy’s outdoor skills. After visiting MRO in 2019, Jeremy started guiding for us in the 2020 season. With Experience in hunting everything available at Milk River Outfitters (specializing in waterfowl, turkey and deer) Jeremy will exceed your expectations while hunting with us.