Meet The Buffalo Butte Ranch Staff
The Owners
Welcome to Buffalo Butte Ranch! We are located just north of Gregory South Dakota and welcome you to join our family owned and operated Buffalo Butte Ranch for a first class South Dakota pheasant hunting trip of a lifetime. We look forward to the opportunity to host and hunt with your group.
Thanks for visiting our website,
Marshall & Colleen Springer - Dillon & Rachel Springer
Owners & Your Hosts
Steve Kayser
Steve Kayser has been with the Buffalo Butte family since 2006. He met the Springers through a mutual hunting friend, Kevin. He is from Salem, SD and now lives outside of Crooks, SD (near Sioux Falls) with his wife, Pat. He has 3 hunting dogs: Ace, Duece and Tre. His hobbies include hunting, fishing and spending time with grandkids.
Brian Ward
Brian Ward has been with the Buffalo Butte family since 2014. Met the Springers at a sport show in the late 90's. He is from Burke, SD and now lives outside of Chamberlain, SD with his wife, Brenda. He has 7 hunting dogs- Labs: Sophie, Harley, Ruby and Sammie. German Shorthairs: Captain, Clara, and Stella. Brian is a full time fishing guide in the summer and does construction/finishing work in the winter.
Brandon Arizmendis
Brandon is a part-time guide for Buffalo Butte. Brandon and his two dogs, Ranger and Red, have added more guide power to our operation. Brandon started guiding for us after he married our daughter in 2013. Brandon is an avid hunter and fisherman. He also guides fishermen for us in the summer. When Brandon is not guiding for us he is working for his father who owns a backhoe business in Gregory, Brandon and Karley have a daughter, Breckyn.
Natalie Kolbe
Natalie Kolbe grew up in Dixon, SD (population 9) and then moved to Rapid City & Sioux Falls after high school for 27 years before moving back home in 2012. Natalie lives on her grandparents farm and has a little 'hobby farm' of her own. Natalie grew up 2 miles from Marshall Springer and was best friends with his younger sister and used to spend many days and nights in the house Dillon & Rachel now live in. She enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, and working in her shop. Never ask what kind of varmints she has in her freezer, nor do you want to ask what she does with the frozen varmints.
Cheryl Sperl
Cheryl is a part-time employee for Buffalo Butte and has been with us since the fall of 2007. Cheryl is a busy mother of 2, grandmother of 3 and editor of our local Gregory Times Advocate newspaper. Cheryl has been a great asset to our lodge and with her experience she is very versatile and competent in the jobs we give her.
Lisa Mikkelsen
Lisa is a part-time employee for Buffalo Butte and has been with us since the fall of 2008. Lisa is a busy mother of 2, grandmother of 4, and local hair dresser. Lisa owns her own shop and has been known to bring her shears and trim up the guides on occasion. Lisa is a great asset to Buffalo Butte. Lisa helps clean and cook.
Karley Arizmendis
Karley is a part-time worker for the Buffalo Butte Lodge. Karley has been with us since the beginning as Karley is our daughter! Karley and her husband Brandon (a part-time guide) fill in on the weekends and other times if needed. It takes a "family" to run a family operation and Karley fits that description. Karley is a busy mother and also has a full-time job as a pharmacy tech. Brandon and Karley have a daughter, Breckyn (you may occasionally get to see her).
Brenda Ward
Brenda is a part-time worker for Buffalo Butte, working most weekends. Brenda was born and raised in the Burke area. She and her husband Brian, who is also a guide at Buffalo Butte Ranch, live in Chamberlain where she works as a Physical Therapist. When Brenda is not working her other jobs, she is Brian's right hand in helping take care of their hunting dogs! Brenda is a great asset to Buffalo Butte and steps in where ever she is needed!! Thanks to Brenda for "filling in the cracks".
Our Dogs
A guide without a dog is a lumberjack without his axe. The real workhorse of any pheasant hunting operation is the dogs which we take great pride in. Our guides run mostly Labrador retrievers and some German Shorthairs or German Wirehair pointers. They are trained to hunt close to the hunters and work the cover in a sweeping pattern. None of the guides carry guns and if you ask them, their real passion comes from being able to work the dogs and to see them perform on a daily basis. The dogs continually amaze us with their unwavering level of eagerness and ability to hunt South Dakota’s most abundant natural upland bird, the pheasant.
Professionally Trained
The dogs our guides utilize have all been through formal training prior to their first outing in the field. But because they are actively hunting on a daily basis with their owner in pheasant rich cover, their skills are constantly being honed and improved upon. This gives them an advantage to their counterparts who may not get as much field time as they do. Each guide owns and works with only his dogs so the bond between dog and handler is strengthened and the subtle hints that the dogs put out are more readily picked up by the guides which further aide in the success of the hunt.
Heated Kennels
Although your personal guides will have trained dogs with him, we have had hunters who like to bring their own dogs along for the hunt. At Buffalo Butte Ranch we do not allow dogs to stay in the lodge with our guests for cleaning purposes. For this reason in 2014 we built a new shop with an attached kennel on the side with heated indoor dog boxes. There, the dogs can rest up for the next day sleeping with a heated concrete floor beneath them. If you do wish to bring your own dog along, we need prior knowledge so we can make the necessary accommodations and please be sure that all of their shots are current and that they are collar trained.
