Record gun sales reported in 2020, leaving low ammunition & gun supply at local shops

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The pandemic triggered panic buying of all sorts of things, including firearms.

Industry experts say a record number of people in 2020 were interested in buying a gun.

With the pandemic, protests and of course an election, the National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates 8.4 million people bought a gun for the first time in 2020 with sales still going strong, into the new year.

At Jim’s Firearm’s on Siegen, slim pickings on the shelves that are normally filled with ammunition.

“People are trying to get the ammo that they need and so, we’re pretty barebones, that’s just the way it is with 2020 and 2021,” said Dillon McClain, with Jim’s Firearms.

McClain says since the pandemic began last March, they have been slammed with customers wanting to buy a gun.

“It’s just a lot of uncertainty and people just feeling like they’re not sure of their own safety, and they’re just looking to protect themselves and what not. And that’s really what kicked this rush off, and it’s been an avalanche since then on there,” said McClain.

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