JACKSONVILLE, Fla — If you're a gun owner, or looking for ammunition lately, you've probably noticed the shortage over the past several months.
"We've sold more ammo this year than we've ever sold and we've been in business 50 years," Z Farhat, sales manager at Green Acres Sporting Goods, said.
Farhat said the store always buys 25% more ammunition in an election year, and sales usually skyrocket when a president is being selected.
“If there’s going to be a change in power, if there's going to be a change in the Senate, in the House, in the presidency, people are just worried that if it goes from a what they consider a pro-gun administration to one that would maybe want to infringe on that second amendment," he said.
This year, however, is different. Farhat said the combination of a heated presidential election, the pandemic and social unrest contributed to a 300% rise in the sales of both firearms and ammunition.
"It just makes people uneasy, and so people want to take every precaution," he said.
Farhat said a lot of his customers, especially recently, are first-time gun owners. According to the FBI, this October, there were 3.3 million pre-sale firearm background checks across the country. That's up from about 2.16 million in each of the Octobers over the past five years.
"They’re just worried. They’re seeing a lot of the stuff happening on the news, and they’re worried about protecting their family and protecting their home,” Farhat said.
He said he can’t get ammo through his manufacturer and has been paying outside distributors two to three times what he normally pays to keep it on the shelves. His manufacturer told him things may not be back to normal until next spring.