Gun shops see surge in gun and ammunition sales during COVID-19 pandemic
CEDAR PARK, Texas - Background checks for guns are at an all-time high across the nation according to the FBI.
Local gun shops are saying the demand for guns and ammunition are also exceptionally high during a time they typically see the slowest for sales.
RELATED: Gun background checks hit record high in June, a sign of booming sales, FBI reveals
“It’s been quite dramatic as far as sales, there’s been a huge uptick,” said Steve Ou, sales manager at Guns Warehouse, which was packed with customers.
They’ve even had to limit how much ammo people can buy as the demand is so high. “We found out a lot of other places around time were sold out of ammunition then we were looking at our suppliers and they were out of ammunition going all the way back to the manufactures there’s a huge backlog,” said Ou.
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Ou said their shop began seeing a spike in sales back in March, roughly around the time COVID-19 shut down the state.
The interest in guns isn’t just happening here. According to the FBI, more people are getting background-checked for guns than ever before across the nation. The spike began in March and then spiked again in June, the number of checks more than a million then in June last year.
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Ou said at their shop, they are noticing a spike in first-time buyers. “I think since we started around late March with covid I think 60% to 70% are first time buyers,” he said.
While the interest in guns is high, Ou recommends first-time buyers do their research. “It’s really a big deal to get into for a first time purchase of a firearm and not really know what you’re buying as these can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing or not using them in a safe manner,” said Ou.
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