Print Version
E-mail This StoryThe economy may be slow, but gun sales have been up since Democrat Barack Obama won the presidential election.
Targetmaster founder Tom Mannewitz has been offering gun training for about 30 years on Jupiter Road, and says people are concerned that the government may start making it harder to buy guns.
The big seller has been the AR-15. Targetmaster had been averaging sales of two or three a week. Lately, Targetmaster has sold four a day before supplies ran low.
"The media likes to call the AR-15 an assault rife," Mannewitz said. "It is not an assault rifle."
Instead, he says the "paramilitary" weapons should have a more accurate name.
"I call them anti-assault rifles," Mannewitz said. "Very few of these are ever used in a crime. These rifles have always been selling for about $800 minimum. This is not what the gangbangers use. Most of your gangbangers are buying cheap pistols."
Steve Melton at B&S Guns said that his customers are affluent. He said his recent sales have been to doctors and lawyers.
"Obama has everyone concerned because he has stated it pretty clearly how he feels about guns and what he calls assault rifles," Melton said.
Melton said a big concern is a fear that Obama will issue an executive order to raise excise taxes on guns and ammunition. He said people are also afraid an order could be issued to stop the manufacturing of guns such as the .223 or the .308 or AR-15. Melton cited governmental restrictions in Australia and Great Britain.
"Anyone can look on the Internet and see where Obama stands on these semiautomatic guns," Melton said. "They are not true assault rifles. A true assault rifle is fully automatic. People are concerned anytime someone can take away your rights with an executive order."
Melton cited how the first president Bush used an executive order that is still in effect to ban Uzis. He said another concern is Obama could bring back the ban that ran from 1994 to 2004. Mannewitz and others refer to it as the Clinton ban.
"He didn't want that to sunset," Melton said. "He thinks the ban should be brought back."
Melton said the ban could tell manufacturers what guns and ammo could be made and sold.
They said most of the recent buyers are not new to guns. Some want to buy an AR-15 as an investment. Others want to have an extra one or two just in case the government takes away the right to buy one.
"Eveybody is a little concerned," Mannewitz said. "President-elect Obama has made it plain that he doesn't favor this type of weapon."
Although the AR-15 can be sold now, Mannewitz said the government could change who can buy one or how many one person can own.
"Somebody has to draw the line," he said, adding Obama now has pen to draw the line.
Ammunition has been selling fast, too. A manager at one of the sporting goods stores at Stonebriar mall said they have ordered more than usual to meet the demand. B&S Guns on Belt Line Road in Garland has seen a rise in sales, too.
Melton said that in 2001 after 9-11, it took his store about eight weeks to restock ammunition.
"It is becoming very difficult to find ammunition for these guns," Mannewitz said.
New shooters need training, he said.
"We find it works best on a one-on-one basis," Mannewitz said. "It takes at least two hours of training to get somebody competent. I'm not going to make anybody a marksman in two hours, but they will be competent and safely be able to practice shooting on their own."
Finding an AR-15 is not that easy right now.
"It takes six to eight weeks to make one," Mannewitz said. In Texas, he is one of five major gun distributors. He works with six distributors across the country to maintain his in-store stock.
"Because people have been buying them, they are going to be hard to get," he said. The ones going for $800 have been sold. All that's left are the more expensive guns.
"It is not because the prices have gone up," he said. "The guns that are left are the more expensive ones."
Melton at B&S Guns said the lowest price he can buy one is about $1,200.
"They have dried up," Melton said, adding that all high-capacity rifles and pistols have been going fast.
He said at best he might get in a gun every three or four weeks now.
Former U.S. Army sniper trainer Jess Johnson says everyone needs to learn how to shoot and take concealed handgun classes and earn a license. Targetmaster offers the 10-hour courses. So does Gibson Outpost and Shooting Range on Lawson Road. Chuck Gibson said Wednesday that the concealed handgun classes are full for a few months.
Johnson said learning to shoot takes practice. He also says everyone needs to learn how to maintain a gun.
Buying a gun isn't as simple as handing cash across the counter.
The store has to call the FBI for a background check on the buyer.
"That could take 15 minutes or it could take a week for clearance," Mannewitz said. "After they get clearance, they get to take the gun home."
Some are turned down because of mistaken identity or another person has a similar name."
An AR-15 could be a good investment, he said.
"I have seen people make a decent profit," he said.
