Gun and ammo sales are high, inventory low at local shops

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MANSFIELD – The street was mostly deserted, devoid of parked cars and people.

The only open business in the downtown Mansfield square, other than Coney Island Inn and Rocky’s Pub for carryout orders, appeared to be Mansfield Sporting Arms.

A sign in the front window read “free roll of toilet paper with each $500 purchase,” with a disclaimer at the bottom saying “while supplies last.”

“We figured that’d be for a good laugh,” said Wally Toward, chuckling. “You have to maintain a sense of humor.” 

On Monday, Toward periodically got up to answer the door, ushering in those who had come to pick up a gun ordered online, and turning away others so he could replenish his inventory and clear a backlog of background checks.

“The system is just overwhelmed,” Toward said, wearing a gold polo with the shop’s name embroidered near his left shoulder. “It would be up for an hour or two and then it would shut down. Then I went on a 3 hour wait and it had processed one person.”

By Tuesday, it was back to business as usual, at least in the sense of being in the midst of a pandemic.

While talking with this reporter, the phone rang about a half dozen times, routing callers to an automated message that said the store has not been shut down by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

“We will be open normal hours,” it said. “However, we are extremely busy, so we are not going to be answering the phone at all.”

Toward’s store may be one of the few places in the Mansfield area to buy a gun in-person right now or pick one up after ordering online.

Other stores selling guns, while exempt from DeWine’s order closing all nonessential businesses to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, are heeding President Trump’s recommendation to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people and have elected to close temporarily. 

Jake Hummel, manager at Sportsman’s Den in Shelby, said the store opted to close Saturday, citing the safety of customers and employees.

“There was such a volume of people in and out of this store the last week or so,” Hummel said. “Technically, we could be open but we are closed at our own discretion for the safety of our employees, their families, customers and their families.”

While gun sales are usually strong this time of year when people get their tax returns, Hummel said the store saw “a lot of new buyers, a lot of new people that have probably never owned a gun, buying guns.”

“But it’s ammunition that’s really getting the push,” he added. “Everybody is probably buying it for the long-term. If they want to go out and recreational shoot, they need some ammo to do so, but at the same time, some of it, people are buying for home defense.”

Before closing, Sportsman’s Den limited the amount of people allowed in the store at one time, resulting in a 90-minute wait, according to a Saturday Facebook post. The store will evaluate whether to remain closed each week but patrons can still order online.

The uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of the upper-respiratory disease, as well as the decision by major retailers and locally-owned stores to close their doors to protect employees, has prompted spikes in gun sales all over the country. 

Dick’s Sporting Goods, which has a store in Ontario, has decided to close all stores for two weeks, but offers curbside pickup for online orders.

Hi-Point Firearms, which has a plant in Mansfield, has ceased all operations for the time being, citing the safety and health of employees.

Toward, of Mansfield Sporting Arms, estimates 70% of his website, which has about 8,000 guns and 100,000 skews for sale, is sold out. The majority of his business is done online.

But he attributes his uptick in sales primarily to the shop’s new location on the square, which he’s had for three weeks.

“Since we moved down here, we expected a large increase in sales because we now have a large storefront, right on the main street instead an office on the eighth floor,” Toward said, adding about $25,000 in remodeling work was done. “Since moving, we’ve had about a 300% increase in sales.”

He expects to receive even more business in the coming weeks. 

“Ten people is a big crowd in my store,” Toward said with a laugh, when asked if he might restrict the number of people in his store to less than 10. 

Still, he’s taking precautions to protect himself and others against the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. 

Toward is providing gloves for customers if they’d like to handle an item and cleaning surfaces every half-hour. 

While the toilet paper special is not to be taken seriously, of course, Toward offers a deal where anyone that buys a pistol or revolver over $200 receives a free concealed carry class, which Toward says usually runs around $50.

What are people buying lately? Low- to medium-priced handguns.

“We have pistols as low as $249 that have a lifetime replacement warranty,” Toward said. “We look for prices with high dependability and good warranties.”

Pistols or revolvers ship to the store in about two days, while it’s five days for rifles and shotguns.

“It’s a model that nobody else locally has and I did it for this reason, because I wanted it to be an internet business,” Toward said with a smile.

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