Daily life has pretty much ground to a halt for tens of millions of Americans. Schools have closed in six states, millions of school kids are sitting at home, tens of millions of workers are working from home, and concerts, conventions, sporting events and more are all cancelled, Americans rightfully feel like they’re living in a new world.
Toilet Paper Only Gets You So Far
Many gun stores are reporting record sales of guns and ammunition. The online ammunition retailer, Ammo.com has reported a surge in online sales. Their internal sales reports show an uptick in sales starting around February 23rd. Sales in the eleven days since February 23rd are up 68% when compared to the eleven days before February 23rd. The company also reported that 45% more people who visit their website are order than normal.
Aka…people aren’t browsing, they’re buying. A lot.
The marketing manager at Ammo.com, Alex Horsman, says that they’re used to seeing surges in response to current events…but never a virus. Horsman said, “We know certain things impact ammo sales, mostly political events or economic instability when people feel their rights may end up infringed, but this is our first experience with a virus leading to such a boost in sales. But it makes sense. A lot of our customers like to be prepared. And for many of them, it’s not just facemasks and TheraFlu. It’s knowing that no matter what happens, they can keep themselves and their families safe.”
Guns and Ammo Aren’t The Only Things in Demand
Meanwhile, military surplus and gun stores across the country are reporting that sales are up across the board. In one military surplus store in California, they’re selling pallets of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) every day. Raymond Prather of Victory Stores in Vallejo, CA said, “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.” Prather also reported that first aid kits and military food storage bins have been very popular.
Strange times, for sure. This looks to be a record year for gun sales, if we can make a prediction. After all, tens of thousands of gun owners stocked up on guns and ammunition back in December and January. We reported that Black Friday gun sales were the second highest in history and how Virginians bought 74,000 guns in January alone!
Add in the numbers if this Corona Virus response gets any worse and America’s gun owners will be better armed than ever! Of course, we think that’s a great thing.