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# From a Klondike Detour to a New Sign: The End of the Bob Ward's Name in Bozeman
- URL: https://the-montana-statesman.ghost.io/bob-wards-to-als-sporting-goods/
- Published: 2026-10-31T09:10:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-31T09:09:59.000Z
- Description: Bob Ward's started in Missoula in 1917. Bought by Utah's Al's Sporting Goods in 2022, its Bozeman store will close in December and reopen under the Al's name.
- Author: Montana Statesman Staff
- Tags: Montana Business, Business, Montana, Retail, Outdoor Industry, Profiles

Robert C. Ward left Minnesota in 1900 meaning to reach the Klondike gold fields. He got as far as Montana and stayed. In 1917 he started a sporting goods business in Missoula, and for more than a century the Bob Ward's name sat over the doors where western Montanans bought rifles, fly rods, ski boots and hunting licenses.

That name is now coming down in Bozeman. As [The Montana Statesman reported](https://montanastatesman.com/bob-wards-missoula-history-als-sporting-goods-bozeman/?ref=the-montana-statesman.ghost.io), the Bozeman store will close in December for a remodel and reopen as an Al's Sporting Goods.

## Four generations, five stores

Ward and his wife raised six sons, and the store stayed in the family. By 2022 his great-grandson Chad Ward was president of a five-store chain:

- Missoula, 3015 Paxson St.
- Bozeman, 3011 Max Ave.
- Butte, 1925 Dewey Blvd.
- Helena, 3323 Dredge Drive
- Hamilton, 1120 N. First St.

Each sold the same broad mix: guns and ammunition, fishing tackle, camping gear, ski and snowboard equipment, boots and outdoor clothing, plus the licenses that drew crowds every fall.

## The sale and what followed

In October 2022, Al's Sporting Goods bought all five stores. Al's is itself a family company, founded in Logan, Utah, in 1921\. Its executive Jason Larsen said at the time that the company saw the deal "more like a merger than an acquisition."

The Bob Ward's signs stayed up for a while. Then the chain shrank. Local coverage reports the Butte store closed in 2024 and the Helena store in 2025\. Now Bozeman is being converted.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported the closure this month. Osten Rasmussen, Al's vice president of store operations, told the paper the company intends to keep serving Bozeman customers after the remodel. Al's says it runs eight stores plus an online shop, and the Bozeman project fits a push to put the Montana locations under one brand and format.

## What Bozeman shoppers should do

- Plan around the closure window this winter if you use the store for licenses, ski tuning or firearm transfers.
- Ask the store about gift cards, layaways and open service orders before it closes.
- Buy hunting and fishing licenses online through [Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks](https://fwp.mt.gov/?ref=the-montana-statesman.ghost.io) or other license sellers in the meantime.

## The bigger retail picture

Bob Ward's was one of the few Montana-owned outdoor retailers big enough to match national chains on selection. The 2022 sale kept the stores with a family-run Mountain West company, a point both sides stressed. The rebranding still shows how hard it has become for a regional sporting goods chain to stay independent as online sellers and big-box stores take more of the market.

*Originally reported by The Montana Statesman. Read the full story:* [*Bob Ward's at 109: How a Missoula Sporting Goods Name Became Part of Al's*](https://montanastatesman.com/bob-wards-missoula-history-als-sporting-goods-bozeman/?ref=the-montana-statesman.ghost.io)*.*

## Sources

- [Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks](https://fwp.mt.gov/?ref=the-montana-statesman.ghost.io)