TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Gun Sales Shooting Up In Tampa Bay Area

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Lainie Wick fires the Glock 23 at the range inside Shoot Straight Gun Sales and Range Friday afternoon. Wick purchased the gun a week earlier.

ADVERTISEMENT

By SHERRI ACKERMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 30, 2009

TAMPA - Fear has some people turning to guns for protection.

"We're on track to selling twice as many as we sold last year," said Andre Chiasson of A-1 Pawn Shop in Seminole Heights.

Some people are worried about the recession; others believe a new president will mean bans on weapons.

Chiasson's store sold about 600 guns in 2008. During the first three months of this year, customers have bought 300. It's a trend statewide and beyond.

Federal and local agencies don't track gun sales. One method of gauging the increase is by looking at new applications for concealed weapons permits. The Tampa Bay area is on pace this year to exceed permit applications from previous years, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The agency received 2,771 applications from Hillsborough County from July 1, 2008 to Feb. 28, the most current numbers available. That's an average of about 346 requests a month. For July 2007 through June 2008, they got about 312 applications a month; and just 287 a month the previous year.

Pasco and Pinellas also show monthly average increases.

Gun dealers in the Tampa Bay area attribute the spike, at least in part, to the struggling economy.

"People really want to protect what's theirs," said Bruce Kitzis, manager of Shoot Straight Guns & Range near the Florida State Fairgrounds.

He's seeing more first-time buyers and more customers interested in obtaining concealed weapons permits. Shoot Straight recently added a third weekly class to help new owners fill out the cumbersome state application and learn to use their guns – a permit requirement.

The Tampa Police Department, which provides fingerprinting for a variety of license applications, served nearly 1,500 more customers last year than in 2007 with the bulk seeking concealed weapons permits.

"Yeah, there definitely has been an increase," said forensic unit manager Jim Contento.

But so far, he said, fears that crimes such as robbery will increase as the economy sours aren't proving true. Department statistics show Tampa's overall crime rate is down.

Gun buyers, however, have another worry — perhaps even more pressing, Kitzis said.

With a Democrat back in office, "there's a fear of more regulation, bans and taxations. There are a lot of rumors out there," he said.

President Barack Obama hasn't called for any sweeping gun control legislation, but gun owners are preparing for the worst. In recent months, ammunition has grown scarce and prices are starting to jump, dealers say.

At the Vets Surplus Store in Lakeland, a box of ammo that used to sell for $10 now goes for $17.99.

"A lot of people are asking about ammunition," said Robert Kauffman of the Brandon Army Navy store, which doesn't sell weapons.

A few customers have started putting together survival kits, he said, but nothing extreme: first aid supplies, fire starters, canteens, water and MREs.

Some people are stocking up for "just in case," said Mike Dunlap of Headquarters Military Surplus in north Tampa. "People are noticing more that we're not invincible. They want to be better prepared for emergencies – hurricanes, natural disasters, things we really should've been prepared for all along."

Tribune researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT