Business & Tech

Nearby Gun Shop Sees Huge Increase in Gun Sales

Owner of Bill's Gun Shop & Range says that many of his customers are purchasing guns in fear of potential gun bans.

John Monson has owned Bill’s Gun Shop & Range in Robbinsdale for 10 years. In that time, he says he’s never seen a boom in sales like he’s seeing today.

Weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT, and with subsequent calls for firearm bans, gun and shooting sport enthusiasts are swarming to Monson’s store to try to buy products while they are still legal.

An increase in business would usually be a good thing, but Monson says that this kind of frenzy takes away from the personal consultation he used to give his customers.

“We really can’t cater to our customers well in this environment,” Monson said. “ I like to educate people and help them make the right decisions.  In a bump and grind environment, we can’t do that.”

In December, two national retailers—WalMart Stores and The Dick's Sporting Goods—decided to remove some rifles from store shelves.

Monson says that because of the fear that various guns will not be sold again, customers are making purchases for investment purposes.

“This industry definitely saw record sales in December,” Monson said. “I’ve been working 16 to 17 hours a day just trying to stay on top of everything.”

In a December press conference, the National Rifle Association broke its silence and suggested that a surge of gun-carrying "good guys" around American schools could address school violence.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a new kind of American domestic security revolving around armed civilians, arguing that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

What do you think? Should we ban certain types of guns? Do you agree with the NRA’s ideas to arm more people? Explain your logic in the comments.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Golden Valley