‘The public’s scared.’ Coronavirus fears trigger run on guns and ammo
While the mood across the country has been far from festive in recent days against the backdrop of the new coronavirus outbreak, gun shop owners in Middle Georgia say business has surged so much that it reminds them of the holiday season.
“Our days have looked like the week of Christmas,” said Howard Reed, of Howard’s Pawn & Jewelry, which sells an array of firearms.
Not only are guns selling, but ammunition is in even higher demand, especially for handguns and rifles.
“The ammunition, almost overnight, just flew off the shelves,” Reed said Thursday at his store on Mercer University Drive in Macon.
He said none of his wholesalers have ammunition immediately available. It can be ordered but “you can’t get as much as you might want,” he added.
Even so, a shipment his gun-counter manager ordered earlier this year arrived this week and the store now has several rounds in stock.
“People are funny,” Reed said. “If they hear Kroger doesn’t have any toilet paper, they’re gonna go out and scavenge. ... I think a lot of it’s mental. People mimic what they see on the news.”
Reed, 59, has told his family members who run the store with him that he has never seen anything like the recent rush to buy weaponry.
“I just know the way people are. ... If they hear that nationwide there are shortages of guns and ammo,” he said, “they are gonna come in here and see what we have. And then their attitude is if we have something, they don’t want to buy one. They want to buy two or three. They want to stock up.”
Reed hopes that customers continue streaming through.
“And I pray every day,” he said, “that me and my staff, my employees, can stay healthy and continue to be open for our customers.”
Guns and ammunition were also in demand at a popular sporting goods shop in Warner Robins.
“As my boss said, ‘They’re buying toilet paper and ammo,’” said Jay Whitehurst, a salesman at Chuck’s Bait, Tackle, Gun, Pawn & Jewelry on Watson Boulevard. “The public’s scared right now. ... They’re frantic.”
Whitehurst said many shops are out of 9mm ammunition, but that they still have it at in stock, and gun sales have steadily picked up as the week has worn on. So much so that the background-check system is backed up. He said if you buy a gun now the normal four-day waiting period could last up to four weeks.
As for what locals are saying about their reasons for buying guns and bullets, Whitehurst said, “I don’t know if their thoughts are that it’s gonna get bad enough that robberies are gonna be taking place and theft and issues like that. ... People want to protect themselves.”
Home-defense shotguns have been big sellers, too.
One of his customers said that if things get out of hand there’s no telling how long it will take for life to return to normal.
“They’ve got their rounds stored up for self-defense and — if they have to — for hunting in the woods for what’s legal to take: hogs and turkeys and what’s in season.”
He also said customers were stocking up on hunting rounds.
“Just in case they can’t get any meat because there’s a meat shortage in the stores. There’s no hunting seasons currently going on,” Whitehurst said Friday.
“But, you know,” he added, “turkey season does start tomorrow.”