Governor's Office of Economic Develpment

For Immediate Release: October 21, 2002

Contact:  Mary Lehecka Nelson, 773-5032

Boyds’ Gunstock Industries to Expand in Mitchell

Pierre – Increased demand for product is prompting Boyds’ Gunstock Industries of Mitchell to expand its operations, Governor Bill Janklow announced today, Monday, October 21, 2002.

“The company added 16,825 square feet to its existing facility,” Janklow said. “The additional space will allow not only for increased production, but for increased efficiency in existing production,” Janklow said.

The Governor also noted that the expansion will result in the creation of up to 50 jobs in the next three years. “This is a growing South Dakota company,” he said. “The company anticipates that growth to continue,” he said.

Boyds’ manufactures wooden gunstock stocks and components for national companies, as well as for their own catalog. Catalog sales currently make up one-third of the company’s total business, with that number expected to rise in the future.

The company’s catalog contains more than 600 hard-to-find or obsolete gunstocks. It offers replacement stocks for collectors, gunsmiths, customer builders and military collectors. Boyds’ Gunstock Industries is currently the world’s largest supplier of such niche products.

“South Dakota has been a great place for us to do business and we are proud that we are able to continue to grow here,” said Randy Boyd, president, Boyds’ Gunstock Industries.  The company started as a gun repair shop in the family garage and has grown to employ nearly 100 people. 

Boyd said that the state has been instrumental in the company’s ability to grow. “We would like to thank the Governor and his staff for all they have done to help us over the years. As a businessman, it’s certainly nice to do business in a state that has such a pro-business climate and a pro-business governor,” he concluded.

The state’s business climate has been instrumental in the continued growth of other gun-related companies in the state. In the last seven years, nearly 120 jobs have been created by South Dakota companies in this industry.

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South Dakota Gun Companies

Est. in SD                  Company                           City        FTE’s

    1959                      Miller Arms, Inc.                       St. Onge          2           

     1983      Boyds’ Gunstock Industries, Inc.        Mitchell          94

     1985                    Dakota Arms, Inc.                       Sturgis          25

     1985            Rushmore Ammo & Supply           Rapid City         2

     1986                        Ultramax, Inc.                        Rapid City        38

     1988               Black Hills Ammunition               Rapid City        50

     1990                        H-S Precision                        Rapid City        80

    1994                       Jack First, Inc.                       Rapid City        17

     1995  Cor-Bon Bullet Co./Glaser Safety Slug    Sturgis          18

    1996                          D-Max, Inc.                         Springfield        2

     1997         Wideview Scope & Mount Co.         Rapid City         5

     2001                  Bruce Bowen & Co.                     Sturgis           6

     2001            Jamison International, Inc.               Sturgis           5