Ford Creek Guest Ranch and Outfitters

Wow! What a disappointment to read through these negative reviews! It is apparent that a lot of these clients are not seasoned hunters and were not prepared to hunt in the Bob Marshall wilderness! My husband and I just finished our second hunt with Ford Creek. Three years ago my husband hand picked Ford Creek as a special hunt for the two of us to go on together. After a lifetime of hunting, he wanted to give me the best experience possible for my first elk hunt. Given my lack of experience hiking through rugged terrain, at high elevations in the bitter cold, I could have easily written a poor review then, but it would have been based solely off *my own* physical abilities and lack of preparation. Which seems to be what the negative reviews here are based off of. Never could I have said one single negative remark about Ford Creek and their staff! After a grueling 18 hour hunt, day one, I was depleted! I harvested a beautiful trophy bull but it was not an easy hunt! At all! I could barely walk the next day and the kitchen staff were making up plates for me during meal times so my husband could get them to my sore and immobile self in our cozy cabin. Travis and Shelley checked on me often, asking if I needed anything! I ended that hunt with a grateful heart and new lifelong friends! This year we went back and knowing what to expect, made all the difference! They are long, cold days! The hunts are physically demanding and there are no elk tied to trees waiting for you! For out of state hunters, getting tags is becoming very difficult, so hunting with a guide service is the only way to go! You aren’t doing a high-fence hunt, you are getting an opportunity to hunt with the help and knowledge of a guide, familiar with the land! And they’ll pack your sandwich for you for the day ;) Meals are prepared for you everyday in a warm cozy communal cabin. The kitchen staff and guides are kind and welcoming. Travis and Shelley have the place sparkling clean for every guest. They will happily accommodate special diets or needs! The group of hunters range in ages from teens to guests in their 80s! If you need to road hunt only, hike only, ride horse, a combination of all three, they’ve got you! Travis and the guides have no control over the weather or when the animals move into the area. Going home empty handed isn’t on them! If you are willing to put in the time and the effort, you have a good chance of coming upon an animal to harvest. Even though this years hunt wasn’t successful as a trophy hunt, we made great memories and I know my husband will be convincing me to go back before you know it!

I highly recommend Ford Creek Outfitters. My husband and I met Travis and Shelley at Cowboy Christmas during NFR in Vegas several years ago, they're great people. I recently had the opportunity to join my husband at their guest ranch and it was truly amazing. Their hospitality, along with their entire staff was top notch. Skotch is a fabulous chef, the meals were delicious. All of the guides were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. The majority of hunters harvested deer and elk, it was so exciting to see. There was no weather driving the animals to move, so the amount of animals harvested was noteworthy. I highly recommend Ford Creek Outfitters - We can't wait to go back!

Knowing the possibility of harvesting nothing is difficult. I mean who wants to go home empty handed? I sure don’t, but I’ve accepted and realized that this is hunting—enjoy the hunt and adventure. I’ve eaten my “bull-tag-soup” before, but I’ve also filled my tags–that’s hunting with Ford Creek Outfitters in the public national forest. Again, there are no guarantees. It’s real wilderness out there with all the people, predators and prey lumped together. If one wants a sure thing, one should hunt high-fence. At Ford Creek Outfitters, it’s a real hunt. I've been a multi-return client at Ford Creek Outfitters since 2019 to current because my experiences with Ford Creek Outfitters have been excellent and exactly as described by Travis. This is a public land elk and deer hunt which is demanding physically, mentally and spiritually. I’ve got the peeled-off boot sole and broken walking sticks to prove it. From my questions and conversations with Ford Creek, all Travis has ever guaranteed me is the opportunity to hunt elk and deer using horse and/or truck depending on the hunter’s mobility. Making a clean ethical shot is on me…not on Travis or Ford Creek. So, I’ve done as much pre-hunt work and prepared my rifle, gear and self for the challenge. I’ve found the guides to be professional, friendly, knowledgeable and skilled at finding game, and they are also good wranglers. I don’t think I could spot as much game by myself; hence, I go guided. Travis and the guides definitely know the area and its elk and deer. The food and meals were delicious and filling–no one goes hungry at Ford Creek. The accommodations were comfortable and clean. Travis’ stock has been gentle and comfortable to ride; however, horses are unpredictable and that’s a real given whenever dealing with stock. I’ve also enjoyed hunting via truck. Each time I’ve hunted with Ford Creek, there have been multiple hunt groups, and we were able to organically create a good sportsmen camaraderie. Maybe it was the good vibes we manifested, but I know most of (us) hunters either took bulls, bucks and/or tagged out with bull/buck. I’ve met hunters at Ford Creek who harvested their first bull, muley buck or whitetail buck. Some lucky hunters even went home with trophies of a lifetime. I’ve trekked through 2ft of snow, temps from -15 degrees below 0, and 50+ mph winds to calm sunny days hunting the roads and ridges surrounding Ford Creek Outfitters; there is nothing but the utmost Montana “wildness” in the area being hunted to appreciate. With that, all kinds of factors contribute to a hunter’s success even with the best and hardest of efforts. Good luck hunting…hope it’s with Travis and Ford Creek Outfitters because I know if given the choice–”I’ll be back!”

My wife Heather and I booked our hunt for Thanksgiving week 2020 during the covid lock down. Food and accommodations were great. Unfortunately for us and the other sixteen hunters in camp, the hunting was not. No elk were killed by anyone during our stay with Ford Creek Outfitters. The guides seemed very capable and were friendly but ultimately it was out of their control due to mismanagement of the Bob Marshall. When I questioned Travis Barker whether wolves were an issue before booking the hunt, he said they were not. Nevertheless, on an early horseback ride to our morning hunt we saw a group of no less than four timber wolves. Though the hunt was a welcome break from Covid, we would not personally recommend a hunt with this outfitter to anyone.

Myself and my hunting partner each paid approximately $6800 to Ford creek outfitters for a guided elk hunt. The accommodations and the food was good. Our guide however was 3 months away from turning 71 years old. We hunted on public land the whole hunt Also this was our guides first time guiding for Travis Barker at Ford creek outfitters. The guide virtually stayed by the horses all week and turned me and my partner loose all week everyday all day to hunt by ourselves. This by no means was a guided hunt which we paid for but Ford creek outfitters (Travis Barker) didn’t seem to care or offer some kind of refund or reimbursement when confronted about this matter. seems to me Ford creek outfitters overbooked way to many clients and didn’t have enough guides to go around in my opinion 12 hunters is way to many for a one week hunt. I blame this problem 100 percent on Ford creek outfitters (Travis Barker)not our guide What’s even more bothersome is Ford creek outfitters doesn’t seem to care to try to fix this matter. I have had conversations and sent email that gets no response at all from Ford creek. My advice to any hunters that want to hunt this area is to do it on your own cause you’re hunting public land that you don’t need a outfitter for who charges a lot of money