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Gun Store Owners Talk About Increase in Business during Pandemic

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Old man holding a gun | Gun Store Owners Talk About Increase in Business during Pandemic | Featured

The new coronavirus has been called the “invisible enemy” by none other than President Donald Trump. Then why has there been a recent run on guns and ammunition?

Rick Mutter, the owner of the Sportsman's Den and the North Fork Sportmans Club in Saltville, has his own opinion.

“If you can figure out why the toilet paper is disappearing, it is the same thing here,” Mutter said.

Jon Hall, an 11-year military veteran and owner of Jon's Guns in Bristol, Virginia, has seen a definite increase in sales – and not just in this region.

“We are actually having a hard time right now purchasing guns and ammo from our distributors,” said Hall, who believes the jump in sales began when Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam started pushing for gun control measures, a run that was exacerbated by the coronavirus.

“It is not just in our area; it is nationwide.”

What is causing people, some of whom have never owned or even fired a gun, to suddenly want one of their own? Call it fear of the unknown, protecting self, family and property from those who want what you have.

“It is kind of weird. Sometimes we have people come in, and they will tell me they had never owned a gun and would never, ever buy a gun if this wasn't going on,” said Hall, who sold a gun to a woman from Northern Virginia who had a friend killed by a firearm.

“She said she had never even thought about buying a gun until all this went on. She was scared to death. She didn't even want to touch it when you would say, ‘Here it is.' It is interesting.”

Not everyone believes the hype. In fact, Mutter believes it is hype.

“I guess it's the same thing with the toilet paper,” Mutter said. “I think the news media is driving this. That is my opinion. If they had called this thing the flu and left it alone, everybody would be going around just like normal. I have got the flu shot; I am all right.”

However you feel about the COVID-19 pandemic, there is little doubt that it has people on edge.

“I am sure this is short-term. I think a lot of people are scared because of the coronavirus, No. 1, and how can they protect their family, and No. 2, just for survival,” Hall said.

“If we can't get the necessities from the grocery store, some of these guys want to make sure they have got ammo so if they had to go hunt something on their own, it is at least possible.”

Buying a gun requires a background check, which can be done at the store, usually in a few minutes. That process is now taking several days as the demand for firearms has increased.

“That is something else right now,” Hall said. “Typically we can get a background check done in five to 15 minutes. It doesn't take very long, but right now we are seeing some that take two or three days. A lot of times when people come in, we will just take their phone number, and we will call them when it is approved. The state police are just so backed up.”

Hall, who would like to see an indoor gun range opened in Bristol to teach gun buyers how to use their weapons, said women have been just as likely as men in recent years to buy guns.

“The last couple of years there has been an uptick in the number of female shooters. I don't know if that is any worse because of the coronavirus – I think it is probably about the same percentage – but it is both,” Hall said.

“We get a lot of new shooters too. You get a lot of men and women, both who come into the gun shop looking for a firearm that have never owned one before, and a lot of them are scared.”

Hall suggests gun purchasers visit local gun ranges or find other ways to learn how to use their weapons.

“That is what I always tell people, especially if you are not a shooter,” Hall said. “You have got to practice because if you get in that stressful situation anyway and you don't know what you are doing and you haven't practiced enough, it is going to be twice as bad as it could have been.”

Mutter has seen an increase in use of his range in Saltville.

“The shooting range has picked up a little bit, yes,” Mutter said. “A lot of them are new people, and a lot of it is people who haven't done it in a while.”

Customers aren't picky about the type of gun either. Hall said most want handguns, shotguns or rifles but will take just about any firearm and ammunition for self-defense.

“A lot of times we don't have the more popular well-known ones in stock because of the supply and demand, but they will pick up something else even if we don't have what they came in looking for,” Hall said.

“We are selling guns that have been sitting for five or six months, things we don't sell very often. … We are selling out of everything. Our ammo shelves are bare.”

While business has been booming for local gun shops, the good times might not last, according to Mutter, who has seen his supply of handguns, ammunition and reloading supplies quickly dwindle in number.

“It is helping right now, but it is not going to help next week,” Mutter said. “I haven't got enough here for people to buy. They can't get it in, and then their suppliers, there is five days to even get it shipped out for us.”

Hall, who said his typical gun sale is in the $400 to $800 range, is confident he'll be able to get guns from his distributors. He also expects the current run on firearms to end soon.

“We will still be able to get guns,” said Hall, who said it will be more difficult for smaller gun shops to restock their inventory.

“We can still get some of the more expensive guns. A lot of the dealers will go out there, and they will hoard all the cheaper things that sell really fast. We will still be able to get guns. It might not be the ones that people are looking for, but we will still have guns.

“I don't think it is going to last much longer. Maybe a couple of weeks, and it will start ticking back down a little bit. Hopefully we can get some stuff by then.”

That would be fine with Mutter. He is hoping for a return to normalcy soon but understands these are not normal times.

“I think it will; it always has before,” he said, “but we are in a time I have not seen either.”

© © Copyright 2020, Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol, VA

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