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GUNS AND AMMO IN SHORT SUPPLY AS RESIDENTS REACT TO NATIONAL POLITICS 

Exerpts from © 2013 Coast River Business Journal  Published: Friday, April 5, 2013

An optimistic view...

On the south side of the Columbia River.....

 

Jeff Kelland, owner of North Coast Shooter’s Supply in Warrenton, said he has been running low on .223, 9mm, .22- and .45-caliber ammunition since January. The concern over gun control legislation also spiked his sales of guns.

 

January through March is usually his slowest period of the year, but January turned out to be his biggest month ever.

 

He opened in 2008 and acknowledged the run on guns then as concern grew about gun rights being taken away in response to the election of President Obama.

 

Kelland is optimistic that severe restrictions on gun rights will fail in Congress and things will return to normal. Meanwhile manufacturers are working overtime to fill a mountain of gun and ammunition orders caused by the fear.

 

The run on guns and ammo feeds on itself, he said.“Sometimes I think we’re our own worst enemy,” Kelland said. “I keep telling people to relax and take a breath; it’ll come back. I have no doubt it will normalize. The question is will it normalize before the next shooting tragedy."

 

Small Shops...

Kelland at North Coast said things have slowed since his record-setting January. He keeps busy by offering consignments, service and gun safety and live-fire training. He said his low overhead and ancillary services should keep him busy as supplies dwindle.

 

Political Hot Potato...

Kelland said the latest push for gun control is a knee-jerk response to the horror of the Sandy Hook tragedy, but banning the weapons won’t solve the problem.

 

“You can’t legislate something out of existence; it won’t work,” he said.

 

The demand will still be there, just not from law-abiding citizens, Kelland said. If the military style weapons are banned, criminals will still find a way to get ahold of them, he said.

 

“Law-abiding citizens will still be law-abiding citizens, and they’re the ones who’ll be punished,” he said. “That doesn’t fit into my sense of fair play.”