Posted on 12/20/2015 9:43:56 AM PST by rktman
Some California gun shops reported sales were up by over 400 percent the last several weeks. Other shops described a change in the type of customers entering their stores. An unusual number were new customers. They estimated 30 to 40 percent of their customers were first time gun buyers. These new gun buyers were also different in another important way. They did not want to buy their gun and put it on a shelf “just in caseâ€. These recent gun buyers immediately asked about firearms training. I imagine, but could not confirm, that gun shops with a shooting range and classrooms saw a larger surge in sales compared to the shops who did not.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Shooting ranges in the SF Bay Area are routinely overcrowded. This isn’t new here. There is a large pent-up demand in this region, that can’t be met by existing facilities.
The politics, land prices and regulation constraints here make it difficult to open new venues.
It’s better elsewhere in CA.
How about a paint gun arena that practices scenarios like San Bernadino, Paris, or the Kenyan shopping mall?
I love hearing this - not only are people taking responsibility for arming themselves; they are taking responsibility for KNOWING WHAT TO DO, and how to handle the firearm they purchased.
This is exactly the kind of newbie gun owner America needs. Someone who will not only pay the price to legally acquire the gun, but also invest the time and money to learn how to use it.
“Shooting ranges in the SF Bay Area are routinely overcrowded.”
Things have been looking up though with the new indoor range in Dublin and of course the excellent indoor range in Tracy. Plus the anti-gun folks didn’t succeed in closing the public outdoor range in Chabot Regional Park.
I love a Happy Ending!
I did my part in 2015; will do more of the same in 2016. :)
Yup. Still, the liblogic dictat will be “People stockpiling arsenals.” crap. Hopefully more people are waking up and getting “it”.
This is one of the few things that gives me hope for this country.
Begin to move the national government to distribute guns and train groups on how to meet those bent on Jihad.
If you have never owned or even shot a gun, it is a significant decision to go out and buy one. Something is really motivating you to do that without procrastination.
It seems the only people who wish to remain willfully ignorant of the rights and responsibilities of gun ownership are working for the media.
You're right - there is hope.... now we need to sigh all of 'em up with the NRA...
I left the Peoples Republic of Berkeley 20 years ago, and am both surprised and heartened to hear that Chabot is still in operation.
The Anti-gunners are losing and will continue to lose the narrative on this issue.
Gun ownership is one of the few issue that crosses all ideological lines.
I know a number of otherwise flaming liberals that are militant 2nd Amendment supporters. More so than “Golfers with Guns” on the right.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..."
Chabot is world class. A beautiful range.
I think this latest boom in gun sales is different than the earlier ones that were driven primarily by Democrat gun control fears. I think this one has a much more pronounced aspect of people feeling the need for self defense, not just in the home but wherever they are. I bet this round of sales will have a much higher proportion of new buyers getting concealed carry permits than in the past.
The increase in violent crimes such as home invasions fueled many firearm sales.
Sure, that’s an element of people’s decision to buy, but judging by background check wait times, booms in the past have been linked to worries that Democrats would manage to push through more gun control. The longest waits I’ve had to deal with were associated Obama’s first Presidential win. I didn’t buy anything around the time of Sandy Hook, but the gun shop employees have told me the wait tiimes then were the worst ever.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.