Gun shop owners say two things are good for gun and ammunition sales: Democrats and COVID-19.
Macon County residents should be sufficiently stocked up on guns and ammo after a rush to local dealers.
Just like toilet paper, guns and ammo were a popular panic purchase for about a week or two.
Sales have since slowed down, likely for three main reasons:
• Folks got what they needed to feel safe;
• They’re staying home as much as possible;
• An announcement of stimulus money quelled fears of robbing and looting.
Steve and Eve Boatright, owners of Depot Street Pawn & Gun, have been in the pawn shop business since 2011. Steve Boatright said they had their best week ever.
“This hit all of a sudden,” he said.
Jeff Wang, owner of Jeff’s Ammo & Guns, also said the rush was very sudden and protection appeared to be a common concern.
Wang recalled a conversation he had with a woman who was buying a healthy portion of ammunition.
“Why do you need all this ammo?” he asked.
“I’ve got to protect my toilet paper,” she said, half-jokingly.
High demand
The most popular gun purchases were shotguns, particularly a 12-gauge because of its affordability.
Popular ammunition purchases were 9mm, .45, .223 and 5.56, and shotgun shells (12 and 20-gauge, including the larger buckshot rather than birdshot).
“People were concerned about home invasions and being able to protect themselves,” Boatright said.
Some customers bought a couple boxes; others bought 10 boxes.
The recent surge wasn’t just felt locally. Many communities and cities across the country experienced a high demand, which meant suppliers couldn’t keep up.
Delivery times for ammunition are typically three to four days, Wang said. That shifted to one to three weeks after dealers across the country requested more supplies.
Bob Polyanchek runs the gun department at Plaza Pawn in Sylva, which is affiliated with Thunder Pawn of Franklin. He saw a huge spike in sales that depleted supplies.
“Oh yeah, we ran out of a lot,” Polyanchek said.
Polyanchek said the uptick in sales began when people started receiving their tax returns. Then the coronavirus fears kicked in.
He estimated in recent weeks 40 percent of customers were concerned about protection and became first-time gun owners, which is a huge increase for that demographic.
“People who had never really thought about home protection before all of the sudden found themselves contemplating they really didn’t have anything at home for protection Polyanchek said. “That swayed a lot of people in their thought process. Consequently, they came in and started looking for things they felt comfortable with.”
Politics plays a part
Wang opened his gun store next to his dry cleaning service in 2013. Business was always very good when Barack Obama was president because of fears related to the Second Amendment.
“I didn’t have this kind of supply,” Wang said. “At that time I was totally dried out.”
Wang stocked up on ammunition in 2016 when it appeared Democrat Hilary Clinton was going to be elected president. He bought over 300 cases, valued at over $50,000.
“I bought a lot,” he said, grinning.
That supply helped get him through the recent rush without any purchase restrictions on what or how much anyone could buy.
“As long as they show me the money, show me the green,” he said, chuckling.