South Dakota Ranks Third for Buying Guns

• South Dakota ranked third in guns purchased per capita.
• Montana ranks #1.
• Between 2008 and 2018 gun sales rose by 23 percent in South Dakota.

It's no secret that shooting, hunting, and gun collecting are a popular hobbies in South Dakota. But how popular are these firearm pastimes?

Security.com did a study of gun ownership in the United States. It found that South Dakota ranked third in guns purchased per capita. 129.9 guns were purchased for every one thousand adults in the state. That's a lot of "pew!" "pew!"

Among the states that border the 605 gun buying varies greatly. Montana, which ranked first in guns purchased per capita, was the only state that ranked higher than South Dakota. Wyoming ranked fifth and North Dakota ranked eighth. Meanwhile, our more populous neighbors all purchased far fewer guns. Nebraska bought the fifth fewest, Iowa was seventh fewest, and Minnesota was fourteenth fewest.

Between 2008 and 2018 gun sales rose by 23 percent in South Dakota. Sales in eight states fell in that time, including Minnesota. But in the District of Columbia sales have increased an astonishing 643%, no doubt aided by the Heller vs District of Columbia decision in 2007, which ruled that the parts of DC's gun laws were unconstitutional.

But with all these guns in the Rushmore State, they must be used to kill people a lot, right? No. In fact, South Dakota had the fewest firearm murders of any state in 2018.