Gun sales in Colorado jumped 100 percent last week in reaction to the ongoing coronavirus threat and looming prospect of civil unrest should a worse-case scenario arise.
KDVR reports some 14,000 firearms were sold in the state just last week, and that is a 100 percent increase over the 7,000 that were sold in that same week one year ago.
Joe Oltmann, owner of DCF Guns in Castle Rock, Colorado, said, “The panic started with toilet paper, then moved to food. Then, obviously when people see bare shelves, then obviously they want to make sure they will protected if it gets any worse.”
Oltmann said many of the buyers are getting a gun for the first time; that the virus and possibilities of unrest associated with it have them thinking about defending themselves and their families.
As a result he admitted business is booming, but said he wished the cause of the increased business was not a virus. He said, “The good part about this is that business is good for us. The bad part about this is I wish it wasn’t this good just based on the circumstances.”
Ammunition sales have risen dramatically during the coronavirus scare as well.
On March 17, 2020, Breitbart News reported that Ammo.com saw a 276 percent increase in ammo sales last week. In Colorado specifically, Ammo.com saw a 730 percent increase in ammo sales.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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