Gun sales rise as wary enthusiasts wait for new laws

Bill Adams (left), of Mountain Ranch, and Rusty McGhee look over two shotguns McGhee is working on in his San Andreas shop. Maggie Beck/Union Democrat, copyright 2009

According to owners in Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador counties, gun and ammunition sales soared in late 2008 and have continued to varying degrees throughout 2009.
 

In California, handgun sales have jumped from 208,312 in 2008 to 226,605 in 2009, while long gun sales — including rifles and shotguns — increased from 216,932 in 2008 to 253,363 in 2009, according to Dana Simas, spokeswoman for the California Department of Justice.

The cause?

“It’s the Obama factor,” said Connie Youngman, owner of B-Bar-Y Traders in Jamestown. “We’re going to elect him for salesman of the year.”

According to Youngman, gun and ammunition sales leaped immediately after Barack Obama won the presidency in November 2008. Gun enthusiasts scrambled to get their hands on weapons they thought might become unavailable under a Democratic president and Democrat-controlled Congress.

“It’s all speculation right now,” said Bill Reynolds, owner of Ebbetts Pass Sports Goods. “Any time you put concern on individuals that are gun shooters, and they feel that they have a possibility of being robbed of that freedom, they’ll do everything in the world to keep shooting guns.”

So far, neither the Obama administration nor the Congress have enacted new gun legislation. The state of California, on the other hand, has. That’s pushed gun and ammunition sales, shop owners said.

Assembly Bill 962 will require those who buy handgun ammunition to give a thumbprint and valid driver’s license to purchase more than 50 rounds per month. Their purchase will be recorded by the shop.

The bill also bans buying ammunition online or by phone, requiring that all transactions be made face to face.

AB 962 will take effect in February 2011.

“It’s more work for us, which will drive up the costs for customers,” said Bill Adkins of Bear Mountain Guns and Archery Shop in San Andreas.

The ammunition limitations imposed by AB 962 have created some challenges for gun shop owners to keep enough ammunition in stock. Buyers descended on stores trying to get as much as they could before supplies ran out.

“Ammunition has been a tough thing,” Reynolds said. “We’re one itty bitty gun shop and people are buying hoards of ammo. All of those people shopping all of those stores, and ammunition makers can’t fill that pipeline.”

Youngman had to restrict the amount of ammunition she would sell to any given customer to two boxes. When she heard about AB 962 and saw the increase in gun sales, she knew people would be looking for ammunition and started stockpiling herself.

“That’s how we outlasted Wal-Mart and Big 5,” she said.

The state’s fiscal condition, alongside its legislation, is causing people to flock to gun shops, owners say. 

Residents see state and local law enforcement taking cuts, and that makes them fear for their own safety, said Rusty McGhee, owner of Rusty’s Gunsmithing in San Andreas.

“You can’t carry a cop around in your back pocket,” McGhee said, in an attempt to explain the mentality of some customers he’s been helping. “If you don’t normally have (a gun) and you hear about crime increasing and things going wrong, you might go and get one.”

Another sign of the times is that gun clubs in the area, including the Angels Camp Gun Club and Mother Lode Gun Club, are at capacity.

“We have 40 to 50 people on a waiting list still trying to get into the club,” said Doug Davis, president of the Angels Camp Gun Club.

Mother Lode Gun Club is full at 850, according to President Barry Blaylock. Previous years have seen a steady increase from 650 and 750 members he said, but now there’s a waiting list. 

Former president of the West Point Rod and Gun Club, James Trejo, said that enrollment in the club is up 30 to 40 percent over previous years.

“Several of the members are trying to get a (concealed carry) permit so they want to come out and practice before they go in for their test,” he said.