Black Hills Ammo: A Family Business

During a recent trip to the range for gun evaluations, I fired several guns and among them was a 1911-style .45 automatic. Happily enough, this is not unusual for me. I fired the typical NRA protocol of five consecutive five-shot groups at 25 yards, using three different commercial loads. Black Hills 230-gr. JHP produced the best overall accuracy and that is not unusual for me, either. For decades, I have used Black Hills ammunition in virtually every handgun caliber they make and that includes such unusual ones as .38-40 and .45 Auto Rim. It is always high-quality ammunition and frequently the most accurate of the day. Part of the reason is simply that Black Hills ammo is a family business. 

Jeff Hoffman was a working cop in Rapid City, S.D., when he married his high school sweetheart, Kristi. They soon embarked on a new business—manufacturing handgun ammo. I well recall their first loads I ever fired. They came in small boxes with the description in felt tip pen on the end. From that humble beginning, Black Hills has grown to a million-dollar business. Throughout the 30-plus years of the company history they have had the same president (Jeff) and vice president (Kristi). The product line expanded wildly, as did the business volume, but this little ammo business proudly sells match ammo to our Armed Forces. Many of their employees have been with them for many years and the work ethic in that plant is one for the books.

These are great people—devotedly patriotic—who are worth the support of our entire industry. And their ammo shoots as good as anything made.

Usually a little better.