As gun sales increase, industry tries to keep up with demand (+video)

Pacing in a mostly empty arena on the eve of a weekend gun show last month, event promoter Dennis Pearson switched from one conversation to the next on his cellphone.

Pearson is busy, just like seemingly everyone else in the firearms business.

“Our market’s pretty strong,” said Pearson with a glimmer in his eye that indicates he might be understating the situation. “I’d say we’re up probably 30 percent from a year ago.

“In the last seven years, it’s done nothing but get better.”

While the U.S. keeps no official database on gun owners, the numbers seem to indicate more people are buying more guns.

From 2014 to 2015 in Kansas, there was more than a 7 percent jump in background checks by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, even though 2014 had the third-most checks of any year on record.

About 3.9 million firearms were manufactured for commerce in the U.S. in 2007, according to statistics provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. By 2013, the most recent data available, that number had swelled to more than 10.8 million.

In addition, the U.S. is importing guns at record clips, according to the ATF. In 2013, more than 5.5 million shotguns, rifles and handguns were imported.

To put that in perspective, there have only been four other years since the ATF began keeping statistics on imports in 1986 that at least 3 million firearms were brought in: 2012, 2011, 2009 and 1993.

It’s no secret that the topic of gun sales is a popular one today, perhaps more so than at any time since a federal assault weapons ban was hotly debated in the early 1990s.

The pattern of the national dialogue during the past several years seems to be consistent: A highly publicized shooting occurs, politicians talk about the possibility of more gun control measures, and sales of weapons and ammunition skyrocket.

For example, from November to December of last year, firearm background checks completed in Kansas jumped from 18,433 to 28,091 — a 52 percent increase — according to the NICS.

The significance of the time period revolves around the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack on Dec. 2, a shooting that left 14 dead.

Kansas wasn’t the only state that saw a dramatic jump in background checks during that one-month period. Others — Pennsylvania, Alabama and Texas among them — also saw background checks jump by at least 50 percent. In fact, every U.S. state saw a rise in background checks during that time.

“After San Bernardino, Obama said he was going to sign an executive order,” Pearson said. “When he said that, gun show attendance went up nationwide.

“Prior to Obama being in office, the gun business was slow, it was hard to make a living. Since he was elected, it’s done nothing but make business better.”

Federal, state laws

Just days after the San Bernardino mass shooting, President Obama addressed the country, saying that he hoped to “make it harder for people to buy powerful assault weapons,” a sentiment that seemed to mobilize gun-rights advocates.

On Jan. 5, an at times teary Obama announced a series of executive actions aimed primarily at closing background check loopholes, such as those sometimes found at gun shows and over the Internet, though the actions have yet to take effect.

According to federal law, a person selling guns as a business — whether at a gun show or not — needs to be licensed by the government, though ATF spokesman John Ham said prosecutions for such cases are rare. Ham added that lawful dealers often act as whistle-blowers on unlawful dealers.

“Dealing firearms without a federal firearms license is a federal charge,” Ham said. “But how often that happens and how often it’s charged are two different things.

“The firearms industry has a long history of policing itself very well. More times than not, we will contact the person, tell them that they need to get a federal firearms license, and they get the license and we move on.”

In terms of overall gun rights, Kansas has some of the “strongest Second Amendment protections” of any state, according to the National Rifle Association. In July, a new state law went into effect allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit, though the state still issues permits for gun owners who wish to carry in other states.

“In Kansas, and around the country, Americans see that their government can’t always protect them,” said Catherine Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the NRA. “People are buying firearms and seeking concealed carry permits in record numbers because they want to be able to protect themselves and their families.”

Sales going up

Jess Hancock, owner of the Wichita Gun Club on South Edgemoor, said he noticed a spike in business the day after Obama’s Dec. 6 address.

“In my three years in the business, that Monday after the president addressed the country was the first time I truly saw a difference in one day,” Hancock said. “From that morning until when we closed our store, there were about 30,000 less items that I could buy from my distributors because they sold out.

“We’ve set our performance measures high, and we expect to have another good year at the Wichita Gun Club.”

Hancock added that he also has witnessed an increase in purchases of certain types of weapons and accessories, including machine guns, silencers and short-barreled shotguns and rifles.

Following Obama’s executive order, there will be more of an emphasis put on background checks on purchases of those items, Ham said, though the checks were already required by law.

Ham said a “small percentage” of sales of such items have slipped through the National Firearms Act system because the purchases are registered to legal entities instead of individual people. Beginning this summer, individual purchasers will need to be federally background-checked for such sales.

“That has certainly led to a substantial increase in those sales in the past couple of weeks,” said Hancock last week.

Mike Relihan, owner of the Bullseye Shooting Range and gun shop on North Terrace, said he has noticed an increase in gun dealers around Wichita and a general angst among gun buyers.

“Overall, gun sales are up in this community quite a lot,” Relihan said. “A lot of people in the past three or four years have gone into shooting sports. We’re seeing more and more couples coming in to shoot together.

“There’s also a concern from a personal safety standpoint,” Relihan said.

He noted a recent story in The Eagle that illustrated how crimes against people had jumped by a double-digit margin from 2014 to 2015, according to Wichita Police Department numbers.

“It’s not getting simpler and easier out there,” he said.

New customers

So who’s buying all the guns?

While there are, no doubt, current gun owners who are simply stocking up, multiple dealers – Relihan included – pointed to two groups that have stood out of late: women and first-time gun owners.

Lee’s Weaponry owner Jeffrey Mathenia said he gets more women than men at his store on East 13th Street.

“I teach a women’s self-defense class, so I do tend to get lot of women in my store,” Mathenia said. “I sell guns, stun guns, Mace, stuff like that.

“Violence has been up in Wichita, and people want to be safe. Women want to be safe.”

Steve Prowse, manager of the Dual Defense gun shop on East Skinner, said he also has noticed a rise in female and first-time gun shoppers.

“We’ve seen a lot more women come in,” Prowse said. “We’ve had a rise in sales, but nothing too drastic now that the holidays are over.

“There’s a usual cycle of customers who come in before the holidays, and I suspect we’ll get busier once people start to get their tax refunds back.”

Whether or not the goal of left-leaning politicians is to pluck away at Second Amendment rights — as many on the gun-rights side of the aisle would argue — Americans are buying arms at a record pace.

“My whole family’s in guns, but my uncle, who’s 60 years old, never owned a firearm,” said Pearson, the gun show promoter who makes his home in Missouri.

“… After that shooting in San Bernardino, he went out and bought a gun.

“My son-in-law’s uncle — I mean, this guy voted for Obama — he went out and bought a gun after that last shooting.”

Second Amendment values

Deb Kleinkauf, a vendor at last month’s gun show in Park City, owns Arc Angel Firearms, a small gun shop about 90 minutes north of Wichita in the tiny town of Enterprise.

Kleinkauf said she has noticed a “little bit” of an increase in sales lately. Like other dealers, she mentioned San Bernardino, the 2012 shooting deaths of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, and the current political environment.

“People sometimes listen to the media and get worried about more restrictions and laws,” Kleinkauf said. “People get nervous because they like their Second Amendment rights.”

Since Obama’s second term in office began, people have basically been buying guns as fast as manufacturers can make them. At a glance, the five-year history of the stock price of the holding company for Smith & Wesson looks like a skateboard ramp.

In early February 2011, the company’s stock was trading at around $3.75 per share. At the close of the Nasdaq market Friday afternoon, the stock was listed at $21.40 per share, close to six times what it was worth five years ago. A Smith & Wesson representative declined to comment for this story.

Back inside the empty Kansas Pavilions before last month’s gun show, Pearson reflected on recent changes to Kansas gun laws, which he said have likely also helped business.

“The gun laws in Kansas have changed tremendously in the past seven or eight years,” Pearson said. “You can pretty well carry whatever you want in Kansas. They’ve made the most changes of anywhere we go, and I mean fast.

“That’s because it’s the will of the people here, and it shows in the numbers. I see it in the numbers at the door at the gun shows.

“They want to be able to buy what they want. If it’s within their legal rights, they’re going to do it here.”

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "As gun sales increase, industry tries to keep up with demand (+video)."