By Sheila Link,
Contributing Editor

Neither Kristi Briggs nor Jeff Hoffman had any idea in 1974, when introduced by mutual friends, what the future held for them. The South Dakota teenagers attended different high schools. Kristi went to Pierre's Riggs High and Jeff was a student at Ft. Pierre Stanley County High, when they shared a double date.

"We met at a drive-in movie!" Kristi laughed as she told me about meeting Jeff. "Each of us with mutual friends, who introduced us."

Cupid loosed an arrow and, within a month, Kristi and Jeff were going together.

Kristi was a farm girl, active in 4-H, busy with chores and involved with crafts. When she was nine years old, her mother taught her to sew and the industrious little girl became a very competent seamstress.

'We didn't have a lot of money," she explained, "and I liked really nice clothes. So in order to have the kind of clothes I wanted, I made them myself. I was lucky to have such a good teacher. Mom taught me not just sewing, but also how to tailor the kind of outfits I enjoyed wearing."

Kristi also enjoyed school. She was an eager student who got good grades, especially in math, and planned to become an accountant.

Jeff was a city boy. He loved the outdoors, though, and grew up shooting and hunting with his beloved Grandpa, who instilled in his willing grandson, his own love of guns and hunting. With his Grandpa as mentor, Jeff learned all the skills and ethics of hunting, from marksmanship through fair chase and tracking, to skinning the game they hunted. His Grandpa also taught Jeff firearm ballistics, which knowledge helped immensely in the business Jeff and Kristi eventually built.

Both Jeff and Kristi went on to college. Kristi studied business and accounting, while Jeff sought a degree in Criminal Justice.

Six years after they met, and after they had completed college, Kristi and Jeff were married. It was then 1980 and they moved from central South Dakota west to Rapid City. Kristi worked as a purchasing agent for a company that made uniforms and Jeff was appointed an officer on the Rapid City Police Department.

Firearms had been a part of Jeff's life from the time he was a very young boy. When he began working in law enforcement, it was inevitable that he would enter PPC competition.

"Of course. I went to watch him shoot," Kristi said, "And after the fellows finished their matches, we girls-wives, sisters, girlfriends-would shoot what the men called, 'Powder Puff' matches. We shot 38s at silhouette targets. It was fun, I enjoyed it.

"When Jeff first started in police work, I worried every time he left the house," she continued, "I guess most of the wives did. But the Department initiated what it called the 'Ride Along Program' and encouraged wives to go on a patrol with their husbands. That was a great idea, because it really put my excessive fear to rest."

As Jeff settled into his job, Kristi moved into a new one, which utilized her training and interest. She went to work for Grayline Tours as an accountant. Her duties also entailed setting up group tours and doing the company payroll.

Like most competition shooters, Jeff reloaded his match ammunition. In order to add to the family income, he went to work reloading ammunition part-time for a fellow officer, Tom Perry. Tom reloaded ammo for other shooters as well as for himself, in a shop in his garage. The reloads Tom and Jeff turned out were so good that officers from other agencies, who shot in competition, began buying ammunition from them. To fill all the orders, Tom began ordering components in greater volume. He also hired more off-duty officers to work part-time. They each put in four-hour shifts at the reloading machines, to crank out the ever increasing demand for good pistol ammunition. Tom called his bud-ding business venture Black Hills Shooter's Supply and they moved out of his garage and into a small plant.

By then things were happening fast. In 1982 Jeff and Kristi bought into the burgeoning business to become partners with Tom and his wife. By August of the same year, with orders flooding their mailbox, Jeff retired from the police force to go into ammunition re-manufacturing full-time.

"It was hectic," Kristi recalls, "Things were going really well. We were happy and very optimistic." She smiled, remembering. "Our business was expanding so rapidly that we quickly outgrew our plant."

At this point, Jeff and Tom agreed to split the business. It was decided that Tom would take over the sale of components and keep the company name. Jeff and Kristi would continue re-manufacturing ammunition. The partnership was dissolved amiably.

On October 1, 1991, Jeff and Kristi formed a new company which they called Black Hills Ammunition. In addition to making and selling re-manufactured ammunition, packaged in blue boxes, they also began to produce new ammunition, their own brand, which they packaged in red boxes.

On the home front changes were also taking place. In 1984 Ashley was born. The Hoffmans were now a family and Kristi's life took on another new dimension. Suddenly she was a mother and homemaker, as well as a career woman. At the same time that Ashley was born, one of Kristi's co-workers at Black Hills also had a baby. Kim quit her job in order to stay home and be a full-time mother. This worked beautifully for both women, because Kim was delighted to take care of Ashley as well as her own newborn, and this left Kristi free to continue working at the plant with Jeff.

"I had a really busy schedule then," she grinned ruefully, "Jeff and I would leave work early in order to spend time with Ashley. Even so, I felt sad and was concerned because my little daughter was growing up so swiftly and, understandably, was becoming closer to her 'Daytime Mom' than to me.

"She was a happy little girl. Kim gave her wonderful care. The problem-if there was a problem-was me. I felt torn in two." Kristi paused, then went on, "I wanted to be a mom. But I also needed and enjoyed the outside work and stimulation our business provided."

In 1991 Rhianna was born and again Kim extended her care to Kristi's and Jeff's new little daughter.

"By this time," Kristi explained, "Ashley was in school, so I cut my time at work to match her school hours. I'd leave the plant, pick up Ashley, then Rhianna, put the baby in her car bed and ferry Ashley to ballet or soccer. Sometimes I took both children to the plant with me and they'd play there while I attended to my business responsibilities."

Now it's 2008 and Kristi says, " For the first time in twenty-three years, I'm a free woman! Ashley's 24 and Rhianna is 16, so I can work as many hours as I choose-or as few!"

Jeff and Kristi now have more time to spend together. They enjoy driving through the Black Hills and just being off by themselves, away from the phone.

Kristi swears she's looking forward to retirement, to having time to pursue hobbies she's had to neglect-painting in acrylic, doing crafts-and traveling. But the company is about to move into another new and bigger plant and her undisguised eagerness about making the move doesn't sound much like preparation for retirement.

This lady has been a real mover and shaker in the business she and her husband have built together. They have brought it from a small re-manufacturing firm to a major, internationally known company. Black Hills Ammunition now produces nine calibers for handguns, thirteen calibers for rifles and fourteen calibers specifically for Cowboy Action Shooting.

Black Hills Ammunition also supplies Match Grade ammo for the Army Marksmanship teams. In the year 2000 it became an international company, selling its products in several foreign countries.

I asked Kristi if she had any advice for women who want to enter the firearm industry. Without hesitation, she answered, "Know your product and network within the industry. Conduct yourself in a manner to be respected by others in the industry." After a moment she added, "There are lots of changes. Women now hold more major roles in more companies than ever before. And more women are shooters!"

Kristi Hoffman, the girl who studied Business and Accounting, put her training, knowledge and talent-along with lots of hard work-into her partnership with Jeff, who supplied the technical know-how, the grit to take chances, and the same work ethic. Jeff and Kristi reflect the values that have made America a great country. Together they put Black Hills Ammunition in the happy position of being respected and admired by everyone in the firearm industry. They are appreciated as well by every shooter who uses their ammunition.