Hunter Dan® was created by Dave Ranard of Crawfordsville, Indiana in the mid 1990’s. Dave had gotten the idea for a hunting action figure after finding a box of his old childhood toys in his parent’s barn. The box contained some action figures that he and his brother played with when they were young - General Custer and Geronimo. Dave was impressed with the detail in the accessories of the old action figures and just knew if he could design an action figure with modern hunting equipment he might be onto something.

Ranard, an avid sportsman and father of two, kicked the idea around for a couple of years before deciding to make his dream become reality in 1996. His inspiration finally came in the form of a comment made by a lady that Ranard does not know even to this day. Dave was eating lunch at a Pizza Hut restaurant and was sharing his idea of making a hunting action figure with good friend, Todd Farris. The lady, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, leaned over and told Dave that he had a great idea and that her husband would definitely want to buy one if they ever became available. That was all Dave needed to hear to help make his decision to dive head first into the toy industry. Ironically, several years later Farris became Dave’s business partner and is now the Director or Business Operations for Hunter Dan®

Hunter Dan® was offered for sale for the very first time in the 1997 Cabela’s Christmas Catalog. Cabela’s continues to be one of Hunter Dan's® largest customers today.

About Dave

Dave grew up the youngest of three children (brother, J.R., sister, Ellen) to a middle-class family in rural Indiana. Dave’s father, Jim, is a Baptist minister and as a result the family moved several times throughout the state of Indiana, including one stint in West Virginia for a couple of years. Jim wasn’t a big game hunter, but he did have a love for the outdoors and took his boys on a very memorable squirrel hunt in southern Indiana when they were very young. It was that event that would instill a love for hunting in Dave that would change his life forever.

Dave attended Crawfordsville High School where he was on the football, basketball and track teams. Although Dave’s early years revolved around athletics he actually decided not to play basketball his senior year because he couldn’t stand the thought of not being able to bow hunt after school during archery season. It was that kind of love for hunting that would later become his inspiration to try to turn his passion into his profession.

Dave graduated from Franklin College, a small liberal arts school, in 1986 with a degree in Psychology. He was very active on campus and was also a member of the football team as a strong safety. After graduation Dave returned to Crawfordsville to begin his career. He spent a couple of years in the banking industry and a couple years working as the Human Resources Manager for a small injection molding facility. It was during this time that Dave became familiar with a local company called Work Force - a temporary employment agency. In 1991 Dave purchased Work Force which was very instrumental in the creation of Hunter Dan®.

Dave changed the name of Work Force to Workforce Plus and later went on to open 3 more offices throughout west central Indiana. It was the success of Workforce Plus that paved the way for the creation of Hunter Dan®. Workforce Plus provided Dave the financial resources and flexible schedule necessary to pursue his dream.

Dave’s family is his greatest joy. He and his wife, Kim, participate in every aspect of their kid’s lives. They have a daughter, Bailey, and a son, Brennan. The Ranards are very active in their church where Dave serves as a Deacon. They spend a lot of time supporting each other’s activities. Bailey is a high school cheerleader and Brennan is involved in sports, band and motocross. He is also Dave’s favorite hunting partner and has taken two bucks in two years of deer hunting.