The Coronavirus and civil unrest have caused a dramatic increase in gun and ammo sales across the country. The resulting ammo shortage has caused price increases and left shooters unable to find many of their favorite calibers.
Gun stores and online retailers across the country cannot keep enough stock to supply customers demands. Manufacturers are currently running at capacity but still unable to keep up with orders.
The ammo shortage is caused by multiple factors.
The shutdown on ammunition manufacturers and their suppliers due to the coronavirus strained ammo production during a time of increased demand. I spoke with a couple of ammo manufacturers to get their comments about the ammo shortage. You can hear their responses in my video.
Ammunition manufacturers and their suppliers had to deal with sickness of some of their employees as well as the need to make changes to meet CDC guidelines on dealing with the virus.
Covid-19 caused many to buy their first gun
The coronavirus pandemic started the first wave of gun buying as fears grew over potential civil unrest. A significant number of those sales were to new gun owners who wanted to be able to protect themselves. New gun owners buying ammo contributed to the beginning states of the ammo shortage.
The Trump administration and conservative states declared gun stores and other firearms related businesses to be essential during the pandemic, exempting them from mandated closure. Fears grew further as anti-gun politicians started closing gun sores and other businesses due to the coronavirus.
The NRA and other pro-gun organizations filed lawsuits in many states over the closure claiming the orders to be an infringement on the Second Amendment.
The virus is also causing a shift in the political views about guns as well. According to an article in the Free Beacon:
It is not that the new buyers were unaware of the politics of gun control. Several new gun owners who spoke to the Free Beacon—some of whom requested anonymity citing safety concerns—generally leaned toward enhanced restrictions, their positions informed mostly by major news stories. But as they have become more personally invested in the debate, they find themselves more skeptical of gun control.
Many people learned how difficult it is to buy guns in some areas due to strict gun control laws that fail to reduce crime. The article quotes many first time gun buyers saying how upset they are over the challenges of buying a gun.
High profile people such as journalist Tim Pool who once opposed gun ownership changed their minds, bought guns and told their listeners about the challenges they faced.
Tim Pool declared his new found favor for the Second Amendment during one of his segments on YouTube. You can listen to the reasons why he changed his mind about guns here.
Civil unrest and riots increase demand even further
The fear of civil unrest many people had over Covid-19 came true due to the reaction of BLM and Antifa following the death of George Floyd while being held down by police.
High profile police shootings and the death of Floyd have sparked riots in some parts of the country. The riots and civil unrest increased the demand for guns and ammo even further.
Rioters started in inner cities but eventually went into private neighborhoods. Fear of the rioters and the lack of police intervention have left individual citizens with no other option that to protect themselves.
The coronavirus and civil unrest will make a long lasting influence on how people feel about guns and ammo. It will also cause a shift in manufacturing and the views about gun control.
New gun owners should get some effective training to learn how to safely and effectively use their firearms. Firearms training is an important part of gun ownership.