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Gun sales, prices are up, dealers say
(Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 27--WATERLOO -- In the midst of a credit freeze and a recession, firearm sales have shot up in recent months, dealers report.
Dealers say a bump in demand also has raised the prices of certain weapons: military-style rifles and handguns with clips that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
With Democrat Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 election and the Democrats increasing their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, some people worry that some military-style rifles and handguns may be more heavily restricted or even banned, dealers said.
"I think some of it is driven by the fear," said Jack Cherry, owner of Midwest Magnum in Grundy Center.
One sought-after weapon is the AR-15, a rifle similar in style to the military's M-16, which normally retails around $800.
"I've seen them float up to more than a grand already," Cherry said. "There's just no reason for that."
At Levi Brothers Jewelry and Loan, 306 E. Fourth St., owner Alan Levi said he has trouble keeping any weapons on the shelves, especially semi-automatic handguns. Often, pawned guns don't even reach the shelves, he said. Eigthy-five percent of pawned items are bought back by the seller. Ninety percent of firearms are bought back, he said.
"People don't want to let them go," Levi said.
Darrin Davis at Davis Firearms in Fayette said interest in and sales of firearms are up across the board. Sales got a bump earlier this year after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down a Washington D.C. gun-control law.
He said a similar rise occurred when Bill Clinton was elected to the White House in 1992. Under Clinton's administration, restrictions were placed on some styles of weapons.
The Clinton-era law, which was in effect from 1994 to 2004, allowed the manufacture of semi-automatic military-style rifles including the AR-15. The law prohibited manufacturers from putting a threaded barrel end on such weapons to attach barrel extender, flash suppressor, hand grip or silencer. It also forbade production of high-capacity magazines of more than 10 rounds of ammunition. However, weapons, magazines and clips built before the ban could still be sold but were usually available at an inflated price, Cherry said.
"It was a rip-off to the public," he said.
Cherry sells sporting and hunting rifles and does not carry high-capacity military-style weapons.
"I would just rather stay in traditional stuff," he said. "If I go out of business because everybody wants black plastic, so be it," he said.
For now, that "black plastic" won't stay on shelves for very long as people buy first and ask questions later.
"What I do have doesn't sit for very long," Levi said.
Contact John Molseed at (319) 291-1418 or john.molseed@wcfcourier.com
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Copyright (c) 2008, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa
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