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Posted on 09/13/2001 9:58:31 AM PDT by Deadeye Division

Customers rush to gun stores for ammunition and weapons

09/13/01

D'arcy Egan
Plain Dealer Outdoors Writer

Gun stores did a brisk one-day business Tuesday after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

"You just don't know what is going to happen," said a man at North Coast Sportsman's Advantage, a gun shop and shooting range in Sheffield. "I worry that the government can't protect us. Or that the government won't allow us to own a gun or buy ammunition because of terrorist attacks like this."

He didn't want to be identified, even though an FBI background check would be needed before he could legally purchase a firearm.

Most area gun shops were back to normal business yesterday.

"Ammo sales were way up on Tuesday, and we were very busy," said owner Kevin Blake of North Coast Sportsman's Advantage. "We sold a few firearms, mostly handguns used for personal defense."

One of the busiest shops around was Pistol Pete's in Chester Township.

"It was a zoo on Tuesday morning," said Pistol Pete, who claims that is his real name. "The people buying guns were not our regulars. They were buying everything from shotguns and rifles to handguns."

All gun sales require a background check with the FBI. Gun dealers said they had little trouble completing firearm sales. "Of the 20 guns sold on Tuesday, only one background check took more time than usual," said Blake.

Some customers left Gunrunners in Burton yesterday toting crates with thousands of rounds of ammunition, said store owner Scott Weber. His supply of Colt AR-15 and M-14 military-style rifles, which cost between $1,200 and $1,600, had almost been exhausted.

"People are outfitting themselves for war," Weber said. "What they saw on TV yesterday was America being attacked. They're making sure they're armed and protected if it happens here."

Dick's Sporting Goods and Kmart, two of the biggest sellers of hunting firearms, closed their stores Tuesday. Dick's in Parma Heights reported increased traffic in guns yesterday. Kmart recently stopped selling handgun ammunition.

Best Firearms in Painesville, the Gun Shop in Parma Heights and American Sportsman Archery Guns and Ammo in Columbia Township reported a small rush of customers Tuesday.

"Most were looking for handguns, the type that would be used for home defense," said Mike Uhas at American Sportsman Archery Guns and Ammo. "They were looking for .38 caliber and 9 mm pistols, or ammunition for the firearms they do have."

Karl Quickle of Lorain added: "I had a couple of friends who called on Tuesday to see if I needed anything in the way of ammunition. It seems to be much like the long lines at the gas stations and people stocking up on bottled water."

"Everyone wanted to make sure they had guns or ammunition in the unlikely event that they did have to defend themselves or their families," he said.

Plain Dealer reporter John Horton contributed to this report.

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