Ron Mills was born in 1941 on a small ranch near Stockett but has spent most of his life on cattle ranches along the Rocky Mountain Front.
As a youngster, Ron “practiced” riding broncs on the neighbors’ heifers and family milk cows, until he was caught one too many times. When he was a sophomore in high school, he began competing in rodeos and continued a few years after graduating. In 1958 he took first place in bull riding at the Montana District 3 High School Rodeo in Fort Benton. In 1959 he placed first in Saddle Bronc and Calf Roping and tied for the All-Around Cowboy at the District 3 High School Rodeo in Lewistown, allowing him to compete for the state title in Miles City. (Two of Rons’ sons carried on the rodeo
tradition, competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and qualifying for the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit finals several times.)
As he matured, Ron was able to hunt and guide in the backcountry, never carrying a compass and never getting lost. He worked for seven different outfitters and started his own outfitting business in 1977, called Mills Outfitting and Horseshoeing. He guided hunters at seventeen different camps on all four sides of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
In 1988, fires scorched the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and Ron lost several of his camps, including gear and a horse. His fortitude, positive outlook, and the support of his family got him through it, and he eventually rebuilt an outstanding outfitting business.
Ron authored a book about his life as a cowboy, outfitter, single dad, horseshoer, and elk herder, titled Under the Biggest Sky of All. Ron’s passion for the wilderness, horses, elk, and family is evident throughout the book. Ron has received great feedback and enjoys visiting with those who have read it.
As Ron ponders about his life, he feels that few people have witnessed the things he has or enjoyed life more. He says these are things that money just can’t buy: “A lifetime of work that I love spent in an area that I love and most of the time in my favorite place, in a saddle on the back of a horse.”