Charlotte County Florida Weekly

Gun Sales Pop

Shop owners emphasize need for training, safety



 

SOUTH FLORIDA SEEMS TO BE FOLLowing a national trend this year in terms of increased sales of guns and ammunition. Fears over the pandemic and national protests about racial justice and police brutality, while mostly peaceful, are prompting millions of Americans to buy guns at a record pace.

Classified as essential businesses in Florida, gun shops saw sales spike initially because of worries about the pandemic, but increased sales have continued into the summer. The shops have also been seeing a lot of new people coming in to purchase their first guns.

“Gun sales have been very brisk,” said Jon Dezendorf, manager of Fowler Firearms & Gun Range in Fort Myers. “It’s actually hard to get most products at the moment, so I could probably sell more guns if I could get more guns.” He has seen increased demand for shotguns for home defense and smaller handguns for personal defense. “Ammunition is even worse,” he said. “That’s through the roof. That’s even bigger than the gun sales.”

Jon Dezendorf, manager of Fowler Firearms & Gun Range in Fort Myers, stands behind a display case that has lower inventory than normal. PHOTO COURTESY OF JON DEZENDORF, FOWLER FIREARMS & GUN RANGE

Jon Dezendorf, manager of Fowler Firearms & Gun Range in Fort Myers, stands behind a display case that has lower inventory than normal. PHOTO COURTESY OF JON DEZENDORF, FOWLER FIREARMS & GUN RANGE

Some insight into national trends can be found by examining data from the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System. The NICS checks do not correlate to actual firearms sales, but the number of checks does provide some measure of consumer interest in purchasing firearms:

• 25,934,334 checks had been run by the end of August this year.

• 25,235,215 checks were run for the entire year of 2017.

“I think the panic was triggered by the virus at the very beginning, and it’s been significantly slower in terms of the pace comparing to the virus’ first weeks, but for summertime we still have an elevated demand,” said Alex Shkop, owner of Guns & Range Training Center in West Palm Beach. “It is a first-time buyer market. They’ve never owned a gun before, so they’re probably a good 90% of the market right now. In general, civil unrest in the country is where the first-time buyers come from. People feel uneasy, and they’re looking for ways to make themselves feel better.”

Some gun stores, such as Guns & Range Training Center in West Palm Beach, focus on offering a variety of training classes. PHOTO COURTESY OF GUNS & RANGE TRAINING CENTER

Some gun stores, such as Guns & Range Training Center in West Palm Beach, focus on offering a variety of training classes. PHOTO COURTESY OF GUNS & RANGE TRAINING CENTER

At Guns & Range Training Center, Mr. Shkop said he has seen demand increase for all sizes of handguns. He said his customers’ preference for home defense runs to larger handguns.

“Some are looking for carry, so they’ll opt for smaller guns,” he said, “but they’re buying handguns, for the most part, in sizes across the spectrum.” He has also seen a surge in demand for ammunition.

“There’s nothing to buy, so people have been hunting for ammo,” he said. “That’s a different issue, so it’s driven by lack of availability.”

At Kustom Firearms in Englewood, owner Karl Thatcher said he now typically sells 50 to 100 guns a week.

“I can’t keep them on the shelf,” he said.

“Virtually everything is selling,” said Gary Garrison, owner of 75th Bunker & Morgan Firearms in Naples. “It may sound silly, but it’s true.”

He said ammunition sales have also been “off the charts” during the last six months.

Handguns have seen a surge in sales in 2020. PHOTO COURTESY OF GUNS & RANGE TRAINING CENTER

Handguns have seen a surge in sales in 2020. PHOTO COURTESY OF GUNS & RANGE TRAINING CENTER

“I went to a range the other day,” said Lee County gun owner Bryan Blackwell. “There’s range ammo, defense ammo, there’s all different sorts of ammo, and they had zero 9mm range ammo, which is the simplest ammo you could get. It’s cheaper and meant for the range, and they were completely out. If something as common as 9mm ammo is limited, you can imagine the more specialized ammo — there’s no way to get it if they’re out — it’s been a real supply issue.”

In terms of tracking consumer interest in firearms in Florida, statistics from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Licensing Concealed Weapon or Firearms License program, informally called a concealed carry permit or a CCW, can provide some insight into this state’s trends. Interest from first-time gun buyers may be shown by the recent increase in new applications for concealed weapon permits. The fiscal year period for the statistics runs from July 1 through June 30:

SOURCE: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES DIVISION OF LICENSING

SOURCE: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES DIVISION OF LICENSING

• 56,345 new applications were submitted in July and August 2020.

• 163,934 new applications were submitted for the entire 2019-20 fiscal year.

• 184,739 new applications were submitted for the entire 2018-19 fiscal year.

In Charlotte County:

• 283 new applications were submitted in July and August 2020.

• 1,498 new applications were submitted for the entire 2019-200 fiscal year.

In Collier County:

• 582 new applications were submitted in July and August 2020.

• 1,828 new applications were submitted for the entire 2019-20 fiscal year.

In Lee County:

• 1,487 new applications were submitted in July and August 2020. • 5,647 new applications were submitted for the entire 2019-20 fiscal year.

In Palm Beach County:

• 2,102 new applications were submitted in July and August 2020.

• 7,885 new applications were submitted for the entire 2019-20 fiscal year.

Manufacturing shutdowns cause resupply bottleneck

While firearms and ammunition demand spiked this spring, manufacturers went through shutdowns. This has resulted in some gun shops having trouble replenishing their inventories as demand has continued into the summer.

“There was a specific gun I was going after, and you couldn’t get it — it was off the shelves.” Mr. Blackwell said. “I have a friend of mine who has his FFL, his federal firearms license, and he sells from home. I asked, ‘Can you get this for me?’ He said, ‘I might, but it’s not a common gun, so you’re probably not going to be able to get it. The manufacturing on it — who knows how far out they are?’”

“Some of these companies aren’t even fully up and running 100% at the moment,” Mr. Dezendorf said. “There’s a huge demand right now and, at the same time, most of the companies are doing what they can with it, but there is a shortage.”

He said that, as a shooting range, he normally orders ammunition by the pallet, but now only cases or sometimes boxes come in. He is also having trouble getting shotguns back into stock.

“I can get shotguns from Turkey at the moment, but I can’t get traditional shotguns like Remingtons and Mossbergs,” Mr. Dezendorf said. “Those are your most common ones for everybody, and those are the ones that are so hard to get. Everything is only coming back in small surges where, all of a sudden, I still can’t get it for another week or so. Everything’s drying up, even cleaning kits for guns. Even though people think business is flourishing, I mean, we’re doing okay, but we could be doing better if we had all the products we needed.”

Of the shipments coming in from gun manufacturers, Mr. Shkop said, “Only very small percentages are being replaced, so it’s going to drive prices up.”

Mr. Thatcher said he normally keeps an inventory of 100 handguns and 40 shotguns in stock, but he has had weeks where he has only gotten in shipments with three guns. He has taken a novel approach to find inventory since the distributors often only partly fill his orders: He has made direct contact with multiple sales representatives, and now he purchases returned inventory that comes back because some gun shops have gone out of business. It can be a grab bag, but the approach has helped to keep his store stocked.

Mr. Garrison has been having better luck with getting resupplied. He said he has had good luck with keeping long guns and shotguns in stock, and so far, he hasn’t had problems getting ammunition.

“Some things are a little harder than others,” Mr. Garrison said. “Sometimes it depends on the manufacturers. It all depends, but usually what I order, I get.”

First-time buyers represent shift in demographics

The first-time gun buyers that shops are seeing represent some changes in demographics from the typical gun crowd. According to statistics from the Division of Licensing, current concealed weapon or firearm license holders are 73% male, and the largest age group runs from 51 to 65.

Mr. Shkop said that his new customers were fairly evenly split between male and female, and most seemed to him to be middle class.

“I’m getting a lot of ladies, so I’d say my classes are probably about 50/50,” said Mr. Garrison, who is also a firearms instructor. “And a lot of older people who are looking at firearms, they’re wanting to get training.”

Mr. Dezendorf, also an instructor, said he, too, is seeing a broader range of people in his shop and classes.

“I’ve got from a 21-year-old kid all the way up to an 80-something guy to a couple of girls coming into classes. With so many newcomers coming out, it’s just a variance from our general business and a lot different.”

Gun shops recommend training, safety classes

With so many first-time buyers who have no gun experience, Mr. Thatcher said that he has actually had people come in asking to purchase multiple guns, and then they quietly ask if he could show them how to load the weapons because they have no idea how to do so. He originally started his business to be a gun safety training school and the gun shop was a sideline, so he emphasizes to these customers that they really need to take his gun safety classes because using a gun safely is about more than knowing how to load it.

“We’re not getting hunters in here right now,” he said of the experience level of the first-time buyers.

The state mandates a short basic course as a requirement for applying for a CCW permit. However, the class mostly covers gun laws with the applicant only required to make a brief demonstration of firing a handgun at the end.

“The concealed carry permit classes are the portion where there is elevated interest, but that’s such a basic class so the amount of training they receive is very small as to how to use (the gun),” Mr. Shkop, who is also an instructor, said. “It’s such a basic requirement, and we feel it’s not enough, but sadly, that’s what we have to work with. We try to make the best of it, and that’s why we offer additional classes, but a very small percentage of people take those. We encourage them to take more training, but few people do. I wish they would do more.”

Mr. Garrison said he uses a different approach to cover the required material when he teaches his CCW classes. He said he covers what to do and say in various scenarios, as well as what not to do or say. He covers when not to use a firearm. His partner, who is a law enforcement officer, explains how to act when pulled over by the police at night in order to make the officer comfortable. Mr. Garrison also requires that a student demonstrate how to load as well as unload a .22 single-action revolver, in addition to firing it, before he will sign the course completion certificate.

“I’m not what I call a gun show instructor,” he said. “I scare people. If I can’t scare you, then I worry about you carrying a firearm. It may sound strange, but that’s the way I train.”

Mr. Garrison also recommends that, before signing up for any firearms class, students should double check that the person teaching the class is in fact a certified firearms instructor. He said he displays his teaching certificates on the wall of his store.

Mr. Thatcher also said that his CCW class goes beyond the minimum requirement. He said he teaches very small classes so that he has time to work with the students to be certain they understand gun safety. He also teaches classes such as home defense with shotguns.

“It’s not about the money for me,” he said. “It’s about gun safety and training. If I can get that across, I’ve done my job.”

While Mr. Shkop’s and Mr. Garrison’s shops have shooting ranges only to facilitate classes, Mr. Dezendorf’s gun shop with its attached practice range takes a different approach to encouraging training. The shop provides vouchers for $100 in free range time with every firearm sold and provides a membership for free gun rentals and range time to students who take CCW classes.

“We just keep pushing that training,” Mr. Dezendorf said. “We promote that nonstop. Whether they take advantage of it or not, that’s up to them, but that’s what our main focus is.”

The main message that all of the shops had was that, using firearms is a learned skill that requires training and practice.

“Not enough people ask me about classes,” Mr. Shkop said. “Definitely more are asking than usual, but compared to the amount of sales, sadly not enough. So, a lot of people are buying and think they’ll ‘figure out’ how to use it. I just wish we had ways of convincing people to take classes and learn because most of them are trying to ‘wing it,’ and that’s my concern. I wish people would understand it’s not as simple as it looks. It’s not like in a movie. It requires muscle memory and understanding of safety protocols.” ¦

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