Coronavirus Panic Buying Hits Gun Stores Across the Country

The coronavirus pandemic run on food, water and supplies is most assuredly on. Once cases began appearing in the United States, consumers first gobbled up Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer. Next came toilet paper and eventually all paper products emptied from grocery shelves. Now food stocks are dwindling, with bread, canned goods and meats disappearing from stores across the country. Predictably, panic buying guns and ammo is on as well.

Coronavirus Panic Buying Extends to Guns, Ammo

“We know certain things impact ammo sales, mostly political events or economic instability when people feel their rights may end up infringed, but this is our first experience with a virus leading to such a boost in sales,” said Alex Horsman, the marketing manager at Ammo.com in a statement, according to usatoday.com.

Greg Reynders, 62, from St. Louis, summed up how many American gun owners feel in times like these. It’s not just about guns, but tied to how people react to crisis and chaos. He felt he needed to protect his own.

“Right now, local stores have light supplies of toilet paper, water and things like that,” Reynders told usatoday.com. “But if they don’t restock as fast as people want, my main concern is somebody coming up to me as I walk out of Target and trying to take what I purchased.”

Stocking up on guns and ammo is part of a larger phenomenon. Coronavirus panic buying could potentially extend to nearly any and every conceivable good. It’s happening not just in the backwoods of the midwest or south, but coast to coast. Daily trips to groceries and other services, just to find what came in most recently, doesn’t seem far fetched if these trends continue. And also remember, we’ve already seen Asian Americans panic buying out of fear of retribution for a supposed Chinese-born virus. Panic can come from highly unpredictable origins.

“It’s better to be prepared than to not be prepared,” 22-year-old Emily Ken, of Delaware, told foxbusiness.com. “I already stocked up on food. Ammo was just the next step.”

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