Sales of firearms have rocketed higher this spring, with demand coming close to overwhelming supply both locally and nationally.

While some may point to the sudden interest in guns as caused by a recent outbreak of national tension over the killing of George Floyd, the drastic increase in gun sales actually began around the time COVID-19 appeared.

Local firearms dealers can’t explain how the pandemic and gun sales are linked, but they say guns are flying off the shelves, and the Bulloch County Probate Court reports record numbers of people seeking firearms licenses.
The latest rush in Bulloch County gun stores reflects a nationwide trend. According to The Associated Press, gun sales and Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks on purchasers soared in May, which recorded the third-highest level of checks ever in the 22-year history of the federal system.

The FBI reported there have already been more than 15 million background checks this year, mostly for legal sales, which could break the all-time high of 28 million checks for a calendar year in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The number of people applying for gun permits in Bulloch County could break records, too. Deputy Probate Clerk Michelle Sawyer said that even though the office, which issues firearms licenses, was closed from March through May, the number of applications so far this year is almost as many as the total for 2019.

Despite the three-month closure, the Bulloch County Probate Court has issued 629 permits and has another 646 applications submitted.

“People go online and complete the application, then we call them for an appointment to come in,” Sawyer said.

There were only 1,460 applications submitted for all of 2019.

Nationally, May 2020 saw the highest number of background checks ever recorded for that month — 3,091,455, according to The Associated Press. March was the highest month on record, at 3,740,688.

There was an 80% increase in May gun sales from 2019 to 2020, according to Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting. That included a 94% surge in handgun sales.

The Associated Press reported the online ammunition website Ammo.com claimed a whopping 602% increase in revenue during the pandemic, with most orders coming from Texas, Florida and Illinois.

Local gun sales

During a time that is not peak hunting season, having to stand in line at the gun store is unusual. However, that’s the way it has been lately, said Becky Cobler, owner of Statesboro’s TC Outdoors.

“We’re rocking and rolling,” she said.

With the increased demand and the fact that gun manufacturers were closed down for some time during the COVID-19 pandemic, “it’s hard to keep a supply,” she said.
“It is usually slow this time of year, but we are keeping a store full of people.”

Katie Hodges, who owns Backwoods Armory in Brooklet, said gun sales there have jumped significantly.

“Everything is getting hard to get,” she said, adding that inventory is quickly being depleted.

The rush began “when the virus started, before the riots” linked to police brutality protests, Cobler said.

Sales have “more than doubled,” she said.

Hodges agreed the flood of gun seekers appeared shortly after the coronavirus pandemic broke out, “then there was a lull, then it jumped again after the riots.”

Sales have “definitely doubled, maybe tripled,” she said.

What kind of guns are people buying? A little of everything, it seems.

“Handguns and anything tactical looking, like AR-15s,” Cobler said. Hodges noted “shotguns and handguns.”

Almost everyone has personal and home protection in mind when they shell out the cash for guns. Some even joked around.

Laughing, Cobler said one customer claimed he was buying a gun “to protect his toilet paper supply.”

But seriously, “people are worried,” Hodges said. “They are buying guns for home defense.”

She hopes gun makers can step up to the plate and meet the unexpected demand, but the pickings are getting slim everywhere, she said.

“One customer told me (a large sports retailer in the Savannah area) only had 17 guns in stock last week,” she said.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.