Dave Desimone put two boxes of 9 mm cartridges and another box of .357s on the counter of the gun department at Gander RV and Outdoors store in Cicero.
“I just didn’t have any,” he said about the purchase of a total of 150 rounds for his handguns. “I just figured it was better to have some boxes on hand in case of whatever.”
Desimone typified what store employees and managers and customers said at gun departments at several sporting good stores in Central and Western New York this week. There’s been an uptick in firearm and ammunition purchases in the wake of ever-developing news concerning the coronavirus.
“We’ve seen a spike the last few days in the purchase of ammunition, particularly for rounds for handguns (9 mm and .45 caliber) along with .22 caliber for long rifles, and 12 and 20-gauge shotgun shells – both slugs and shot,” said David Steinberg, manager of the sporting goods department at Ra-Lin in Syracuse.
“It’s been a strange week, with the coronavirus and the stock market. There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind what people are buying,” he said. There’s some panic out there, despite the fact there’s been no reports of violence, he added.
As for firearms, Steinberg said he has sold all his store’s short-barreled shotguns. “They’re easy to swing around, keep behind a door,” he said.
Two employees at the Cabela’s store in Cheektowaga in Erie County said the gun counter at their store around noon today had a long line of customers. The two said several ammunition shelves were noticeably empty as customers were buying up boxes of rounds – particularly 9 mm cartridges for handguns for self protection.
“We’re swamped. Last weekend we had $40,000 in ammunition sales alone,” one of the employees said.
Not everyone said the increase in gun sales was the result of the coronavirus scare. Others interviewed pointed to the fact that gun sales typically go up this time of year due to individuals getting their tax refunds and possibly this year because there’s a presidential election this fall and some are concerned about the loss of gun ownership rights.
Tim Evanchak, owner of Tim’s Guns in Elbridge, noted gun and ammunition sales at his store have been steadily rising since the beginning of the year, due largely to the healthy economy and that many people have more disposable income.
Desimone said there definitely is a tie to the coronavirus scare.
He said the table with 9 mm cartridges for sale was full Thursday. By noon the next day it was half empty. He added he bought the last box of .357 caliber cartridges on the shelf at Gander.
“People are buying up toilet paper, antiseptic sprays and lotions. You might as well buy a couple of boxes of ammo,” he said.