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Platte County, MO (KCTV) — Firearm sales have hit a new high in the United States topping the prior record set in 2016, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
That major spark in business can be spotted here in the metro. Over at Northland Guns in Northmoor in Platte County business has been booming.
“99 percent of the people that walk through the door are trying to buy a gun and ammunition and ammunition is virtually impossible to get a hold of right now,” says gunsmith Don Pind of Northland Guns.
A high demand that has been seen nationwide.
“People are scared they have no idea what’s going to happen, we have an election that’s still not over with and nobody knows when it will be over with,” says Pind.
On top of that the country is in the midst of a pandemic, which is part of the reason Pind has seen a trend of about 60 to 70 percent of his customers being first time gun users.
“We are literally having people walk in the door that think they need a gun, and I don’t deny them that part. The problem is I don’t want them getting hurt with it,” says Pind.
He says a positive sign is that with the increase of sales he’s seen more people taking gun safety courses.
“Anytime you can get somebody I don’t care if it’s hunters safety it teaches you gun safety and that’s the main thing is to keep these people from hurting themselves or accidentally blowing up the television because they didn’t know how to check the gun,” says Pind.
While that side of the business is doing well, Pind says the high demand plus COVID-19 is putting gun manufacturers behind schedule.
It’s resulted in shops like his now having to cough up extra money from their wallets, in order to keep the shelves stocked.
“I guess while its sunshine’s make hay a lot of the guns that we are purchasing we are having to pay extra money for,” says Pind.
A financial inconvenience that Pind says his shop along with others in the metro are trying to take head on, without hitting the customers pockets.
“Most shops won’t do that they don’t want to get known for jacking with the prices on it so we either don’t have it or we are going to sell it at a reasonable price,” says Pind.
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