General Comments:

     I think a man is only as good as his word and Randy's word is not worth anything. What he told me was he had 55,000 acres of leased private land, yet we hunted quite a few days on small peaces of public land, an by the way there was much more Elk sign there even with all the locals running around hunting than on his leased land.
    He told me he has a large heard of resident Elk, an that I would see Elk EVERYDAY. That they harvest 320-340 class bulls every year an always see larger ones, they have a 100% shot opportunity on a 300+ class bulls every year. Well I am here to tell you I NEVER saw any Elk on his land, Bulls or Cows. I never saw a fresh track or any droppings fresh or old.
    I was told there was a good population of Mule Deer in the 26-28 inch spread, I NEVER saw a Mule Deer buck of any size on his land, I did see a few does.
     I have the names an phone numbers of the 6 bow hunters that were in my camp the day I arrived which was there last day Plus 4 Antelope hunters that were in camp the same day as me if you have any doughts about this report call them.  

The text in Red are directly cut and pasted off his web site as of 10/15/2004

The text in black are my personal comments

Hunting Statistics from Musselshell Outfitter as reported to Montana Board of Outfitters

Most bowhunting guests will have several opportunities. We always do our pre-season homework. 
According to my guide and what I saw from the guides before the 4 antelope hunters arrived there is no homework or scouting done. As stated above the "several opportunities" is a false one, it should read 95% never see an Elk with an occasional opportunity

It's a bowhunter's dream. There are bull elk in this area that will score 400 Boone & Crockett points! Half of our hunting guests see bulls that score 350"+ every season. We have at least three opportunities at 350"+ elk every season. 
More like a bowhunters worse nightmare !!! I guess the last 20 bowhunters will ALL see the non existent 350 Bulls to make this statement true. Maybe when it rains they will fall from the sky cause they are sure not there now.

We are consistently producing 100% opportunity for our elk hunting guests.
now do you really believe this bull !!!!

If you are an elk hunter you know that these facts are extraordinary, but true. If you are going to bowhunt elk, you might as well hunt where there are big elk.
An I would HIGHLY recommend you not book your hunt here, I am not sure he understands the definition of TRUTH or its meaning.

Bow-hunting wild elk doesn't get any better We only book hunts for the period of time when the elk are in rut.
He books hunts during the ENTIRE bowhunting season which is about 5 weeks. You ever heard of an ELK in Rut for 5 straight weeks.

We also use natural wallows and food sources to our advantage
I never saw a food sources to take advantage of, maybe he is referring to the water troughs for the cattle. An there was only one sorry ass mud hole he called a wallow that had no elk tracks in it.

We are consistently producing 100% opportunity for our elk hunting guests. Many guests have had multiple shot opportunities at 300"+ bulls! 
This is about as far from the truth as you can get. See the numbers above. I think he may have had a typo I think he meant 1.00% opportunity

Bowhunting Muledeer: 
Our early season muledeer are still in velvet. Blinds, stands and spot & stalk are all methods used for bowhunting muledeer with us. 25 to 28 inch (outside spread) muledeer are common in the areas we hunt. 
Like I said above I never saw a Mule Deer buck of any size on his private land

Bowhunting Whitetail:
There are 180 point Boone & Crockett whitetail in our area and 140 point whitetail are common
I think the only thing that is common (besides him) are the cows and the bull shit that comes out of his mouth

Bowhunting Antelope:
If you are a bowhunter and have never hunted antelope, you don't know what you are missing. At first the idea might seem impossible. However success rates can be very high if you know antelope habits and know the area.
Many of the antelope you will see will make Pope & Young. There are Boone & Crockett class antelope in the area we hunt as well
I think if you contact the 4 Antelope bowhunters they will have a different story to tell you.

Now doing the math, according to the outfitter there will be 41 bowhunters in 2004. I get these figures from him( the owner) telling me he was FULLY booked up and the two camps hold 6 an 4  for a total of 10 per week, 4 weeks plus me during antelope week for a total of 41 elk bowhunters.
 When I first contact him he was booked than he e-mailed me said he had a opening, I did not know I was going to be "slid" into camp during the Antelope week ( but this is just a money hungry outfitter trying to squeeze as many hunters as he can into a season)
     Lets say he has a 50 % kill ( which would be low with a 95% shot opportunity and many getting more than one shot)  That would be 20 bulls off 55,000 acres which one thing the land will not support that  many bulls to start with and if he killed 20 or more each year they would never be able to grow up to the 300 class he claims.
   If you are smart you can figure this out, there is NO management on his land an he has already killed all the animals and they have moved off due to the pressure of 41 hunters chasseing them for 5 weeks. You can not run that many hunters on that small peace of land year after year. This may have been a good place years ago but in 2004 it was extinct of animals

When you decide to use the services of an outfitter and go on a good, honest hunt, how do you really know which outfitter to choose? There is no simple answer to this question, but a good hunt always starts with knowing exactly what to expect when you arrive at your destination
 When I was picked up ( by the owner who was late picking me up at the airport) I was told "we need to stop at Wall Mart and you need to buy a bow stamp".  The money I sent him included my Lic, etc. since he only bowhunts this should have been included even though  I PAID for my own bow stamp not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with this guy. Than he says we only have Tang and kool-aid in camp to drink so if you want something else you should get it here, so I got a 6 pack of diet Pepsi. Than we stopped to fill up his truck and he said " you might want to buy some ice to keep those Pepsi cold I think I can find you a cooler. 
  So referring to the above statement off his web site  this was not what I expected a CHEAP skate, but this was the first sign of a bad hunt. Now I understand why he wants to run so many hunters through, he is only concerned about MONEY. 

Even if you have hunted with outfitters in previous years, you need to know the specifics of the outfitter you are booking with next
Now you know the story on this guy in the past things might have been good but now he has gotten greedy and his only concern is taking your money and running as many hunters as he can in a season and telling you " WELL THAT IS HUNTING"

No surprises. We are very proud of the fact that we never promise anything we cannot produce when you arrive in camp
Ok where is the 300-350 class bulls, Where is the 95% shot opportunity Where are the Elk you will see everyday? All you get are surprises!!

Musselshell Outfitters, LLC has a reputation built on hard work and high success. Come join us for a world class hunt.
If you think any of this report is bull his number is above go ahead and book your "world class" hunt

10-23-2005:  HUNTING STATISTICS:
 

Report from MOGA:
10-26-2004, complaint filed via Email
10-26-2004,Complaint received by MOGA
11-24-04, request information on the status of my complaint. No Response from MOGA
12-11-04, No answer on complaint yet, sent E-mail asking status. 
12-15-04, got a call from a board member and said pretty much they do not discipline there members, as long as they have a MT outfitters Lic. and pay there dues they can do whatever they want!!!!!

        10-8-2005 Sent MOGA an email an copy of article from the Billings Gazette ( see below) to see what action they are going to take.
   There Answer: 10-10-2005
I am assuming you mean to be addressing your question to the Montana Board
of Outfitters.  While Randy Higgins is a member of Montana Outfitters and
Guides Association our Association is neither a regulatory board nor a
disciplinary board.  MOGA is an organization that represents the
conservation and business interests of the Outfitting industry as a whole.
We look forward, as you do, to swift resolution of this issue.

Thanks for your inquiry and if we can be of service to you in the future
please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mac Minard
Executive Director
Montana Outfitters and Guides Association

http://app.discoveringmontana.com/bsdinq/

Montana Board of Outfitters (MBO)

I just got this off the MBO web site 5/5/2005: "These People they are referring to is YOU, US, Me, The general public. In my opinion if the outfitter like this one is disciplined it should hurt his business, maybe they would be more careful about what they do. It appears that the MBO dismiss all the cases before them without a through investigation so nothing can "hurt the outfitters business" anyway.
     Now how do you feel about a Governing body that is appointed by the Governor of MT not wanting the public who is paying big money to there state to know about crooked outfitters cause it might hurt there business an ultimately there state revenue. That to me is like saying lets not tell the local community that a child molester has moved into there neighborhood because it might hurt his feelings !!!!
     You should think first before you hunt Montana, cause there is no one looking out for your hard earned money. I know there are a lot of very good outfitters but they are the ones who should be putting pressure on there Board of Outfitters to get rid of this type scum. 
   Hunt another state and write the Governor and tell him why you are not spending your money in his state.  governor@mt.gov
State Capitol
Helena, MT 59620-0801
(406) 444-3111

 FROM THERE WEB SITE:

BOARD OF OUTFITTERS
OPEN MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 12, 2004

Internet Posting:
Mr. Johnston explained the options to the Board in regards to people being able to get information on outfitters through the website. The Board could choose to go from one extreme where nothing goes on the website to where the Board office number is listed and they call the office to check up on the outfitter. The concern of the Board is that if these people see disciplinary actions, it could hurt the business of the outfitter. The website currently shows the status of their license as active, active probation, suspended, etc. The Board would want the status of the license changed to reflect the update on the website.

Motion: Mr. Montgomery moved to remove the administrative comment and change the statement to read, “disciplinary status for all licensees is maintained at the Board office”, under a phone number to be determined. Mr. Underwood seconded the motion. The motion carried. 

     I did call  MBO( 406-841-2373) and he has 3 disciplinary violations as of 10-27-2004 all resulting in fines and his Lic is now on active Probation for 18 months. They would however NOT tell me how many complaints have been filed against  him.

c/o Linda Sylte
Compliance Specialist
Board of Outfitters

Wayne Jonston Director

FORMAL COMPLAINT Mailed: February 4, 2005  

Complaint Received by Montana Board of Outfitters: February 8, 2005 Complaint # 2005-066-OUT
Hearing to be held on March 15, 2005. POSTPONED on March 11, 2005 to MAY 3, 2005

April 11, 2005 Addendum sent  to Linda Sylte to be added to original complaint.
April 20, 2005 Addendum was excepted and added to original complaint.
    

The Montana Board of Outfitters findings: MAY 3, 2005
Complaint was DISMISSED without any reason given
May 4, 2005 Called 10am EST to Linda Sylte for results , was put through to voice mail NO RETURN CALL
May 4, 2005  Called 1pm EST to Linda Sylte, Voice mail message left. NO RETURN CALL
May 5, 2005 Called 10:30 am to Linda Sylte, Left message on voice mail, AGAIN! NO RETURN CALL
May 6, 2005 Called 10:37am to Linda Sylte, left message on voice mail.NO RETURN CALL
MAY 31, 2005 Linda Sylte a government employees did not have the common courtesy to return ANY of my calls to give me the details of this hearing

May 4, 2005 Called Wayne Johnston  10am EST for results, was put through to voice mail.NO RETURN CALL
May 5, 2005 Called Wayne Johnston 10:35am EST, left message on voice mail.NO RETURN CALL
May 6, 2005 Called Wayne Johnston 10:39 am EST, left message on voice mail.NO RETURN CALL
MAY 31, 2005 Wayne Johnston the director did not have the common courtesy to return any of my calls either.
    So tell me how you get information,  there web site says to call to get information on outfitters but no one returns your call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 5, 2005 got a call from Loraine Snyder a Lawyer for the Labor Board an she said my complaint was DISMISSED but could not give any details WHY, only that this was there decision. Read  my Complaint and you decide. I think even Ray Charles could see all the violations on Musselshell Outfitters:
Cover Letter 

Formal Complaint 

Addendum to complaint dated April 11, 2005  

      10-13-2005 requested all public information on Musselshell Outfitters from MBO (i.e. harvest statistics, land leased etc.) through an Email to Wayne Johnston. He kindly return my e-mail and said information would go out today. SEE Above Hunting Statistics.

    JUNE 1, 2005 I have invoked the Freedom of Information Act with the MBO and Linda Sylte and have requested ALL sealed information on Randy Higgins form January 2000 to Present.
Certified Letter was received on June 6, 2005

  (9-13-05) ANSWER: on June 16, 2006 I got a letter from Lon Mitchell Legal Counsel for the Department of Labor and Industry. Read the letter an see if this is the way a government agency is suppose to conduct business. To Read Click HERE Let me know what you think about a government agency who DESTROYS all records shortly after the hearings. These are the people who are suppose to be protecting your rights by policing the Outfitters.

   Since the MBO has pretty much refused to answer a legal request through the Freedom of Information Act I will forward all this information to the Montana Attorney Generals office for legal action an will report there answers here.

Here is the Email address of his attorney if you like to give her your comments toni@teaselaw.com

These are the people who over see the MBO, an the Governors is the one who appoints them to there positions:

 http://216.169.159.125

    (9-13-05)  I called Ms. Keebler in late June to see the status of my complaint, she told me she forwarded it to the MBO an she had a copy of the letter that they had responded to me dated June 16 from Lon Mitchell. I told her that letter was in a response to my request for information on Randy Higgins through the Freedom of Information Act.. I also told her if she had checked the dates my formal complaint to her  was mailed on June 14 from the East Coast and was not even in her hands on June 16.

      I asked her why she would forward my complaint AGAINST them (MBO) to them, as it was obviously they are not going to punish or investigate themselves. I told her I was filing a complaint as she had requested to her office who is suppose to be over seeing this group of people She said she made a mistake an would reopen my complaint an send it to there legal department for investigation.

     Numerous calls later to her office to see what the status was on my complaint she (Patti Keebler) said  she wrote a letter to the MBO requesting answers on Specific questions which she read a few to me over the phone.  Since the letter was  now 3-4 weeks old and no answers from the MBO, in early Aug. she said she would re send it and follow up and get back to me in a week. It is now Sept 14  an I have called her office at least 5 times over 5 different days and she now does not have the common courtesy to return a call. It seems that her lack of response just means she did not do what she had said she would.

     It is Obviously clear why the MBO can do whatever they like because the Governors office and the people in it certainly have no control over them or seem to care what they do. It is very clear that there were numerous rules an laws broken by this outfitter as outlined in my original complaint an also specifically Outfitter code violation as outlined in the addendum to the complaint. But it seems the state of Montana does not care about the tourist dollars or the protection of consumers that come into there state
 
    9-15-2005 Finally got a call back from Ms. Keebler who said she passed it on to a commissioner Keith Kelly with the Department of Labor. I asked if the MBO every answered her letter and she said NO. I asked her how she felt about a group (MBO) that her office over sees not having the common courtesy to respond, she said they must just be busy. Well they sure are not busy investigating any complaints, maybe they are busy destroying all the minutes of the meetings and hearing on bad outfitters so we the public can't find out.

     I think it is pretty clear every agency so far is just giving us the public the run around in stead of doing there job. I would take MONTANA off your list of places to hunt

9-16-2005 Talked to Sheena  Wilson who is a supervisor in the Gov office, she told me that the MBO is "administratively attached" but no one seems to have a definition for that but they are looking into the complaint filed 3 months ago. I also asked her for a copy of the letter that Patti Keebler sent twice to the MBO that went unanswered, which she said she would. She also said she would e-mail me a link of a "watch group" who looks out for the public with government red tape.  as of 9-27-2005 nothing has EVER arrived.

    9-27-2005 Called Sheena and told her I never received anything as promised, she said it was sent an she would resend it again. She also said she got word from the Dept of Labor that they are now going to look into my complaint now that Mark Henckel of the Billings Gazette has contacted them also. (see below)

      10-8-2005 Emailed Sheena Wilson to see if the questions she and Patti Keebler sent to the MBO for the second time on July 25, 2005 ever got answered.
       Also to check on progress of my formal complaint I filed with them June 14, 2005 ( 4 Months ago)

    10-12-05, Sheena Wilson and Patti Keebler met with Keith Kelly, Commissioner
Department of Labor and Industry. an he as assigned Dore Schwinden, Deputy Commissioner of the Mt. Dept. of Labor & Industry and Vivian Hammill, Chief Legal Counsel to meet with MBO to address my complaint which is scheduled by weeks end
  11-17-2005   I received this nice information from Dore Schwinden in an e-mail dated 11-17-2005:
The information you requested is not considered public because the Board of Outfitters' screening panel determined that the licensee's right of privacy outweighs the public's right to know which is within their authority.  In a 1978 Attorney General opinion,  Attorney General Greely asserts that the Board may decide what information is public and when the individual's right of privacy exceeds the public's right to know.  Montana's Constitution states that the Board should make every reasonable effort to meet a request for public disclosure however, in this case, the Board determined Mr. Higgins' right to privacy outweighed the public's right to know.
      So if I understand this right Randy Higgins can screw over you an others and the MBO says you (the Public) does not have the right to know because they are afraid of hurting his feelings.

I filed a formal complaint in writing on

I followed up (late Aug). and talked to a Cort Jensen Legal council for the Consumer Protection agency who said the complaint was on his desk an like everyone else he is very busy with other matters but assured me he would look into it.

  9-29-2005, Called Cort Jensen to follow up on my formal complaint. He was out of town for a week in training. Will call again to follow up on the progress.
   10-10-2005, called an left a message on recorder for a return call. NO RETURN CALL
   10-11-2005, Cort Jensen returned my call an said he was gathering information for his case
   11-29.2005, called Cort Jensen for an update, out of office until 30th, left message for a return call NO RETURN CALL.
   12-06-2005, never got the return call so I called again an left a message. Call was returned in the evening EST an I was not here.
   12-13-2005, called Cort today an had a nice conversation with him an said things are moving along an they would be filing court papers on Higgins an his Lic. Also "Pam" his boss who is a more experienced litigator will be handling the case to get better results as I was told by Cort Jensen.

     1-18-2006, Emailed Cort Jensen to get an update, NEVER RETURNED The request
     1-21-2006, Emailed Cort Jensen to get update an see if he tracked the IP from the nasty emails  from Danny Miller ( See below) I was getting, which by the way all go back to the same internet provider as Randy Higgins, what a coincidence an a small world. NEVER got a return response from Cort Jensen

     2-3-2006 Got letter from Consumer Protection Click Here
     2-07-06, Called Cort Jensen to see why there was a complete reversal in what he was telling me, left message on his personal voice mail, NO RETURN CALL.
    2-9-2006: Called Cort Jensen again NO RETURN CALL.
   2-14-2005: called Again an finally got through.  He had no excuse for why he did not return the previous calls. Some people are just two faced an have no backbone.

    After talking to him an asking why there was a complete reversal in what I was told  by him an lead to believe. I than asked is this the way you handle all cases by sending out a standard form letter because you do not have the time to pursue a small case,  he said "you need to speak to Pam Bucy"  an hung the phone up without saying anymore, HOW RUDE IS THAT.
   Just goes to show you what type of people you will be dealing with if there are any problems on your hunt or in fact on any other matters

    Pam Bucy is his superior 406-444-2026 who was going to prosecute the case but it appears it was not worthy of there time. She said she could not see anything misleading on Musselshell Outfitters web site or anything that was falsely advertised. It is obviously she did not do her home work or read the complaints in detail. You can look at the above quotes right off his web site about Private land hunts, 95% shot opportunity, rarely have a bowhunter with out a shot,We are consistently producing 100% opportunity for our elk hunting guests, Half of our hunting guests see bulls that score 350"+ every season. etc. etc.
     Again there is no investigation cause that might have taken some time an effort,  an than they have the nerve to  send out a standardized form letter they have stashed on there computer that makes them sound like they have done there job. ( someone else who filed a complaint an checked back into this web site called me an said he got the EXACT same letter.)

 10-6-2005:  See if you can figure out who Outfitter X is, read this article
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/10/06/build/outdoors/30-mt-outdoors.inc

04-18-2006 sent an E-mail to Mark to give him an update

Larry, Thursday Dec 16th

Researching Randy Higgins (Musselshell Outfitting) on the internet I found your Outfitters report. I thought you might be interested in the following report I filed with the Montana Board of Outfitters. I live in Billings and hunt on land owned by a friend that butts up to land leased to Randy. After my complaint was filed an Board of Outfitters investigator (Gayle Keith) came down (twice) to Billings, interviewed us, took pictures and met with the landowner for his report. As I have repeated numerous times to everyone involved I have no "beef" with Randy, I just wanted this incident documented as I think Randy has a (anger) problem and I think this or something like it will happen again. Day before yesterday (Dec 14th) the Board of Outfitters had a hearing in Helena to address my complaint. I have not yet heard the outcome.
NOTE: Doyle reports that this hearing was postponed until March 15, 2005, When I get the results I will post them here

Sirs,

On November 12, 2003 while Deer hunting in Unit 590 (Dean Creek) I and members of my party had a confrontation with outfitter Randy Higgins of Musselshell Outfitters.

My hunting party which consisted of myself , my son **** and friend **** observed a group of 5 or 6 unarmed hunters that appeared to be looking for a downed deer in a big open area. Backtracking a fawn we observed coming from the point where they had stopped looking **** and I crossed the fence into the field to help them locate the deer. Not finding a deer I met up with one of Randy’s clients as we went towards Randy’s pickup that sat at the edge of the field. As we walked I asked the man if they had a deer down and he said “yes”. **** who was already at the truck as I came up was being told by Randy Higgins that we were trespassing and to leave. I asked Randy if they had a deer down and Randy said “No”. I tried to explain to Randy that we had come to help them look for their “downed” deer and we were not hunting, as he accused us of, but he refused to listen. Randy was becoming more and more agitated to the point that I was becoming concerned so **** and I walked away back uphill towards **** (who had waited by the fence about 20 yards away) and our truck as Randy had told us to. No more than 2 minutes later and no more than 100 yards away as the three of us are walking back uphill, off to our left and in PLAIN VIEW a member of Randy’s party started shooting towards us, the line of fire passing left to right less than 20 yards in front of us. Quickly stepping forward behind some trees out of view (and out of the line of fire) we stopped to discuss what we should do. Literally within seconds Randy Higgins came running at us through the trees cursing and screaming at us that we were not moving fast enough to suit him. A 10 minute or so discussion followed where we again tried to explain that we had verbal permission to be where we were, none of which Randy would listen to. I did not have written permission to be on the **** property. Randy - we only discover his name in the last minute or so as he had to this point refused to give his name- continued to become more and more hysterical. When questioned as to why he was shooting at us his response was “that is why you shouldn’t be down here”. Concerned Randy was becoming agitated to the point of violence we left him standing there screaming and cursing and returned uphill to our truck.

The whole concern of this complaint is the INTENTIONAL , reckless, repeated discharge of a firearm in our direction while we were in plain view. 

This statement is true to the best of my recollection. 

Doyle N. Shaw

This was an unsolicited Email I got on February 5, 2005 from Mike Frey freym@odjfs.state.oh.us   He gave me permission to publish it here

Larry,
I would also like to add my experience with Musselshell Outfitters. I hunted elk/deer with Randy from Sept 23- Sept 30, 2004. Me and five friends planned this hunt for 2 years, and to say the least we were robbed and lied to. Our trip went the same way as from what I hear ,the majority of his hunts went. No shots, no elk on our side of the fence, the guides were terrible, hunting water tanks with no tracks at all , etc...

We booked our hunt with Randy after he promised he would personally guide for us and that we would be hunting private ranches. When we arrived in camp Randy told us he would not be guiding us and we hunted a large amount of time on public land with other hunters walking right past us.
According to his web site, he provided experienced guides with bow knowledge. 2 of the guide never bow hunted before and one of the guides had only been in camp for 3 weeks before we arrived. This hunt is far from what was advertised. He also told us that we would have fresh areas to hunt and I have since found out that we hunted the same stands and area as everyone else the weeks before us. I could have booked earlier if I knew that information, but Randy assured me that he had enough property. Just another lie from Randy. I could go on for awhile about this trip from hell, but I'll end with this, if anyone wants to get in touch with me I would be glad to discuss this and also give the names and phone numbers of the other five guys that was also there.

Mike Frey