Gun sales hit ‘Trump slump’
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gun store owners called it the “Trump slump.” Sales of firearms slowed dramatically after the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 allayed fears of a Democratic crackdown on gun owners.
That trend has continued in recent weeks even with talk of gun control in Congress and among business leaders following the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school.
In the past, gun massacres generally led to an uptick in sales as people worried about the government restricting access. But with Parkland, things are different.
“The day after the election, it’s just like somebody turned a faucet off,” said David Dobransky, 67, who owns Dobransky Firearms, a small gun shop in North Canton, Ohio. Since then, sales there have been cut in half, and nothing the president or Congress has done or said following the Florida shooting has improved business.
Gun owners apparently have faith Trump won’t impose more restrictions, gun show owners say. That’s even with the confusing messages Trump has sent in the past week.
He has cast himself as a strong supporter of the National Rifle Association but on Wednesday criticized lawmakers for being too fearful of the NRA to take action. He also reaffirmed positions opposed by the NRA, such as banning gun sales to those under 21.
Then the next day, Trump met with NRA officials and tweeted they’d had a “Good [Great] meeting.” The NRA’s executive director, tweeting about the same meeting, said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence “don’t want gun control.”
At Rapid-Fire Firearms in Rapid City, S.D., business is “just like normal,” owner Robert Akers said Thursday, contrasting business with the panic buying under President Barack Obama.
In an earnings conference call last week, American Outdoor Brands, which owns Smith & Wesson, said revenue fell by one-third over the past three months, consistent with a drop since Trump was elected.
Demand dropped in December and January, before the Florida shooting and the debates on gun laws that followed, he said. The company doesn’t expect sales to improve much over the next year.
Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor Brands have seen their stocks plunge since Trump was elected, as they have mostly reported disappointing sales in recent months. American Outdoor Brands has plunged 67 percent since the presidential election and Sturm Ruger is down 28 percent.
Potentially dampening sales further, four major retailers last week — Kroger, Dick’s Sporting Goods, L.L. Bean and Walmart — announced they will no longer sell guns to anyone under 21.