I have been blessed to live in South Dakota for most of my life. It is where I went to school, where I learned to drive, and where my children were born. It is in my opinion, a place of unrivaled beauty and endless adventure for those who love the great outdoors. There are endless parks and preserves to hike, paddle and hunt. I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the Arts, Culture and History of South Dakota as well.

Of course some of the most commonly visited places include Historic Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Memorial…but there is so much more to see and do.

Nearly 98% of the state’s waters are publicly accessible for fishing. That includes South Dakota’s 56 state parks, with their collection creeks, rivers, lakes and streams. The waters are teaming with walleye, trout, bass and crappie, just to name a few.

SCUBA diving in South Dakota? Yep. We even have an underwater ghost town in Pactola, (located roughly 18 miles west of Rapid City) that dates back to 1876. Bet you weren't expecting that, huh?!

Personally, I love to hunt, and so do many others. In fact, people travel from all over the world to hunt big game, turkey and waterfowl on over one-million acres of publicly accessible hunting land.

Whether you prefer the terrain of Black Hills, the Badlands or the Great Plains… There are plenty of hunting memories to be made, and game to be taken.

In fact, if you are interested in hunting here in South Dakota, send me a contact form. I’ll happily offer my services as a guide, and/or refer you to some of the best guides and camps in the state.

It probably comes as no surprise that most of the hunting ammunition loads I have developed, were at least in part, to help support my habit. In fact, I often use “load testing” as an excuse to go hunting whenever I can! Hey, it’s business, right?

We’ve recently put our 45-70 Govt 300gr TCX Mad Pig and 6.5 Creedmoor 130gr TCX to the test in the field, with both loads giving us “single shot drops” on some beautiful buffaloes. They literally dropped where they stood. Can’t ask for better than that.

I’m looking forward to using our latest load development, the 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) Defiant Defensive Match (DDM) during a planned Elk hunt with my dad and brother in Colorado next year. I developed this load for long range shots on large animals. The muzzle velocity of 3,000ft/s and 2,857ft/lbs of muzzle energy combined with the polymer-tipped 143gr copper jacketed boat tail bullet, makes it a fast and hard hitting round that creates a substantial wound channel on deer, elk and antelope. My goal was to create a perfect “one caliber does it all'' load…and I believe I have succeeded.