Gun Sales Rise as Women and Older Adults Line Up for Training Classes

Guns are shooting up in sales. In fact, CNN Money recently reported that gun manufacturer, Strum, Ruger and Co., had first quarter net sales jump 26 percent, while earnings increased by 50 percent compared to last year’s first quarter.

The FBI has reported that background checks went up by 36 percent in the first quarter of this year — versus the same period in 2015. The agency says that if background checks continue at this rate, 2016 might break a record.

Ruger says that nearly a third of its sales were from its new products, such as the AR-556 semiautomatic rifle and LC9s, a line of semiautomatic pistols. Some of these popular guns are available as pink camo, purple, and other colors targeted to female shooters.

The gun manufacturing company advertises LC9s as “slim, lightweight and compact personal protection.”

In spite of no particular trend driving the increased market other than Ruger’s new products, analysts believe two mounting fears are motivating sales: worry of violent crime and the linger of tight gun control measures.

It’s also noted in the CNN report that Smith & Wesson saw a significant sales and profit increase in this year’s first quarter. It’s largely linked to the rising demand of handguns for personal protection. Town Hall mentions that women and seniors are “continuing to line up for firearm training courses and purchases of their own.”

North Carolina is one of the states seeing an uptick in gun sales. Neuse Sport Shop’s gun sales in Kinston has doubled since last year. President and CEO Russell Rhodes says they’ve hired an additional 15 employees to meet the demand. Women meet at the shop once a week in a program called Well-Armed Women to train on firearms. It’s grown in popularity so much that they’ll have to soon expand it to two nights per week.

KSHB Kansas City reveals that the Frontier Justice gun store in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, now offers a basic firearm class for seniors only that started in May.

Seniors are becoming more targeted in home invasions, muggings, and robberies. They’re taking an extra step in protecting themselves these days. Frontier Justice President Bren Brown explained that they try to get “people into what they feel comfortable using, having in their home, and what they can easily operate in an emergency situation.”

Jack Kirse, 79, and his wife, Janet, are regular customers and frequently show up at the shooting range to practice their pistols. They primarily do it as a “hobby,” but do it for self-defense purposes as well.

Guns have gone up in demand due to burgeoning public threats and political agendas. Violent crime is at an all-time high and political firestorms in the aftermath of mass shootings have driven sales through the roof. Women and senior citizens are targeted repeatedly, as seen in the news on a daily basis. They refuse to be anyone’s victim … and there’s no reason if they exercise their Second Amendment rights accordingly.