Gun Sales Spike As Governments Lock Down Country, Citizens Worry What’s Next

RALEIGH – People are stocking up and emptying grocery store shelves, and local and state governments are ordering businesses closed and banning free assembly, but many Americans are acting fast to purchase firearms as real life begins to resemble some apocalyptic movie plot. Gun sales have been surging, especially among first time gun buyers, in the past couple of weeks as the Wuhan effect leaves Americans wondering what could come next.

The stock market may be taking an absolute drubbing in general, but shares of gun manufacturers are reflecting the spike in demand. As of close of trading Monday, shares of gun sellers American Outdoor Brands were up 5.46 percent, Sturm, Ruger & Co. up 3.6 percent, and Vista Outdoor had jumped by 7.86 percent.

For the month of February, background checks for gun purchases through the FBI system totaled 2.8 million nationally, a 36 percent jump compared to the same month in 2019. It’s the largest spike since the uncertain presidential election of 2016.

It’s not just guns, either; all sorts of survival gear is flying off the shelves as well.

“[…] Face masks, disinfectant and paper products are not the only items flying off retailer shelves, sales of survival gear like ready-to-eat meals, guns and ammunition have increased as consumers get ready to deal with the spreading coronavirus.

A California military supply store can’t keep enough military field rations — known as MRE or meals ready to eat — medical kits and food-grade storage bins in stock.

“We’re bringing pallets (of MREs) up all the time now, and even our supplier in Southern California is having trouble keeping them in stock,” Raymond Prather, owner of Victory Stores in Vallejo, California, told KTVU. […]”

From California, to Carolina – orders for ammunition have spiked sales on Ammo.com, by 68 percent according to a press release. The largest increase in orders on that website came from residents in North Carolina and Georgia.

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