People wait in a line to enter a gun store in Culver City, Calif., Sunday, March 15, 2020. (source: cnn.com)
Gun and ammunition sellers across the United States are reporting major spikes in firearm and bullet purchases as the coronavirus spreads across the country, reports CNN.
According to the ammunition website Ammo.com, it has recorded an unprecedented surge in bullet sales over the last three weeks.
As per the sales figures released by the administrators for the site, there is a 77% increase in website visits between February 23 and March 15. Those visits led to a 222% increase in transactions over the same period when compared to the first three weeks in February. Revenue has increased 309%, according to the site, which said coronavirus fears are fueling the sales surge.
“The world has never seen anything like this and people want to make sure they’re prepared for whatever lies ahead, whether that be food shortages, government shutdown, or worse,” a spokesperson for Ammo.com told CNN in an emailed statement. “When everything around you is uncertain, having a supply of ammunition can make our customers feel safer.”
Mark Oliva, director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation said that the rise in gun sales is nationwide and that coronavirus has sparked a pattern of panic buying and hoarding firearms and ammunition. “I think everybody’s a little bit concerned and they’re still buying while they can, while it’s available,” he said.
“Everyone, they want to have protection in case something happens,” the salesperson, who asked to remain anonymous, told CNN Business over the phone Tuesday afternoon. “There’s just an overall feeling of fear of being stranded or having to be isolated to protect their home if, God forbid, supplies become limited and people start looting.”
Meanwhile, the stores in Canada are also experiencing an unprecedented rise in sales as the country deals with COVID-19. “We are seeing a surge in sales,” Ross Faulkner, owner of The Gun Dealer in McAdam, a village in New Brunswick, told The Canadian Press. “When things get tough, it’s certainly a feeling of security, especially when you’re dealing with uncertain times like we’re dealing with now.”
Speaking to The Canadian Press, Wes Winkel, head of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association said the “extreme surge” of people buying guns may be a result of panic as government offices, required to obtain a firearms license, begin to close to the public to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
