Mar 19, 2020 4 min read

The weekend at Ace Sporting Goods ended with a bang.

George Romanoff, co-owner of the South Strabane Township firearms shop, said his facility teamed up with gun manufacturer Ruger for a promotional weekend. The store, along Washington Road, hit its sales target and more.

“That was probably our best promotion since 2013. We were extremely active,” said Romanoff, 71, who owns the business with his son, Ben. “I attribute 40% of that to the manufacturer, 40% to the coronavirus and 20% to normal sales.”

In the midst of this global pandemic, the Romanoffs temporarily closed their shop after business Monday. And it was a manic Monday, to be sure.

“We did about four times as much business as we usually do,” George said. “We had a run of ammunition and sold a number of firearms to first-time buyers. There’s definitely been a major spike in firearms sales, and it’s because of the virus.”

That was the general sentiment of gun shop owners who were contacted Wednesday. Sales have shot high, they said, especially among those who had never owned a firearm before. George Romanoff attributes the activity to fears fostered by the pandemic – including fears of the behavior of others, spurring people into a self-defense mode.

“People who are panicking to buy in our industry are concerned about civil disobedience,” he said. “Why else would they?”

Romanoff has responded to potential disobedience by increasing security measures while the store is closed.

Justin Chadwick, owner of Justin’s Gun Shop in Washington, echoed Romanoff’s sentiments.

“It’s been chaos, crazy since Friday,” he said, while working in his closed office on East Maiden Street. For health and safety reasons, he is operating temporarily by appointment only.

“We had more gun sales in three days (over the weekend) than we had over the past month,” Chadwick said. “People who had never had guns before are buying. They’re panicking, worried about people breaking into their homes, and are desperate to protect themselves.”

He said customers are purchasing “handguns, long guns and all the ammunition they can get their hands on.” The shop’s inventory, Chadwick added, has been seriously depleted in a short time.

Gun sales have been rampant recently throughout Pennsylvania, according to an Associated Press report Wednesday. AP said the state-run background check system for gun purchases handled more than 4,300 transactions on Tuesday, triple the typical daily rate.

Romanoff said rising firearms sales appears to be a national phenomenon. “We deal with distributors all over the country, with handguns especially, and there’s definitely a run on firearms with every one of them.”

He considers the pandemic “a serious, serious” circumstance, the spread of which health officials are attempting to control in part by limiting crowds. Romanoff said Texas has responded by canceling its popular gun shows. The Showmasters Pittsburgh Gun Show, scheduled for April 4-5 at Monroeville Convention Center, was still on as of Wednesday afternoon.

Gun purchases apparently have ramped up in the panhandle as well. Frank Provance, owner of Sand Hill Sports near Wheeling, W.Va., told the Wheeling Intelligencer that he likewise has experienced an increase in gun and ammunition sales in recent days.

“My sales yesterday were twice what they would be on a normal day,” Provance said, adding that ammunition sales alone have been higher than gun sales. He said he is selling a lot of handgun ammunition and has heard that other vendors are selling out of it, as well.

He also is experiencing long waits when running an “instant” background check, usually a brief transaction. He said he has experienced a nearly hourlong wait to talk with somebody.

Provance said it seems that during times of crisis, people look for ways to prepare.

“I think people are stressed and worried,” Provance commented.

Industry experts told AP that sales have spiked nationwide in recent days, with some people purchasing their first firearm. Others are existing gun owners adding to their collection or stocking up on ammunition after seeing grocery stores depleted, schools closed and big events canceled, including the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting.

Specific data on the size of the sales spike will not be available until next month. But already this year, background checks are up considerably over last year. According to data from the FBI, just over 5.5 million background checks were conducted in January and February combined.