Gun, Ammunition Sales Increase During Coronavirus Outbreak
Trending
WHEELING -- Gun and ammunition sales are booming -- doubling at one store near Wheeling -- while people are on edge over the spread of the coronavirus.
Frank Provance, owner of Sand Hill Sports in Elm Grove, said in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak he has experienced an increase in the sales of both guns and ammunition over the past few days.
"My sales (Tuesday) were twice what they would be on a normal day," Provance said.
He said ammunition sales have been even higher, noting he is primarily selling handgun ammunition right now. He also said he has heard that other vendors are selling out of of ammunition, as well.
In addition, with what is normally a brief transaction, he said he is experiencing long waits when running an "instant" background check. He said he is seeing a nearly hour-long wait to talk with somebody while running the background checks.
Provance said it seems that during times of crisis people look for ways to prepare.
"I think people are stressed and worried," Provance commented.
He said he believes people are worried about the economy right now with layoffs happening across the country and during a time of national crisis people feel a need to protect "whatever is theirs and their family."
A similar story is playing out in neighboring Washington County, Pa.
George Romanoff, co-owner of Ace Sporting Goods firearms shop near Washington, said his facility and gun manufacturer Ruger teamed up for a promotional weekend this past weekend that was very successful.
"That was probably our best promotion since 2013. We were extremely active," said Romanoff, 71, who owns the business with his son, Ben. "I attribute 40% of that to the manufacturer, 40% to the coronavirus and 20% to normal sales."
In the midst of this global pandemic, the Romanoffs temporarily closed their shop after business Monday.
And it was a manic Monday, to be sure.
"We did about four times as much business as we usually do," George said. "We had a run on ammunition and sold a number of firearms to first-time buyers. There's definitely been a major spike in firearms sales and it's because of the virus."
That was the general sentiment of gun shop owners in Washington County who were contacted Wednesday. Sales have shot high, they said, especially among those who had never owned a firearm before. George Romanoff attributes the activity to fears fostered by the pandemic -- including fears of the behavior of others, spurring people into a self-defense mode.
Pennsylvania's state-run background check system for gun purchases processed more than 4,300 transactions on Tuesday, about three times its typical daily rate. State police said the numbers were high even though the system had computer outages for more than six hours.
Gun sales have spiked across the country, industry experts said. Some of the purchases are made by people buying their first firearm. Others are existing gun owners adding to their collection or stocking up on ammunition after seeing grocery stores depleted, schools closed and big events canceled, including the National Rifle Association's annual meeting.
Specific data on the size of the sales spike will not be available until next month. But already this year, background checks are up considerably over last year. According to data from the FBI, just over 5.5 million background checks were conducted in January and February combined.
Gun sales generally rise in an election year, as they did in 2016. But this past January and February have outpaced 2016 by nearly 350,000 sales.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.