Gun sales brisk in south Puget Sound
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Gun sales in the South Sound area have been brisk, but dealers say the sales spike is more a reaction to last month's election than this month's deadly school shooting in Connecticut.
The number of concealed-weapons permits is up locally, with Olympia police issuing 315 this year, compared to 219 last year, The Olympian newspaper reported.
Gun store owners say they often see an uptick in business in the first months of the year, when customers receive tax refunds. But business is booming early because of the recent election, they told the newspaper.
Mary Davies, co-owner of Mary's Pistols in Tacoma, said business has steadily increased since November. Thursday alone was four times as busy as her previous best day on record, she said.
Davies' AK-47 assault rifles and AR-15 semi-automatic rifles were the first to sell out, followed by semi-automatic pistols and other handguns. None of Davies' seven distributors nationwide will have any of the assault or semi-automatic rifles in stock until next year, the newspaper reported.
"Every four years and re-election years, that uptick in buying continues through the remainder of the year," Davies said.
Dealers and gun shop owners are also seeing a demand on any firearms that could potentially be affected by pending legislation, as politicians and organizations discuss the nation's gun laws.
Tom Spithaler, sales director for Olympic Arms in Thurston County, which specializes in gun manufacturing, said there's a huge demand for semi-automatics and high-capacity magazines.
The store has sold out of semi-automatics and assault rifles. People who place an order now won't get their hands on the gun for five or six months, he said.
Customers have been lining up outside the shop before it opens at 8 a.m., Spithaler said.
At the Cascade Arms Co. in Olympia, owner Jeff Hursh said the store has been "slammed" with customers and orders. Several people were lined up outside when the shop opened at 11 a.m. Friday. Walls that usually have an assortment of guns on display only had a few left.
But Davies of Mary's Pistols said she's uncertain whether she would order semi-automatic or assault rifles next year.
"It's shaky ground as to whether I want to order one of those products in until I know what the proposed legislation is going to read," she told The Olympian.
The number of concealed-weapons permits is up locally, with Olympia police issuing 315 this year, compared to 219 last year, The Olympian newspaper reported.
Gun store owners say they often see an uptick in business in the first months of the year, when customers receive tax refunds. But business is booming early because of the recent election, they told the newspaper.
Mary Davies, co-owner of Mary's Pistols in Tacoma, said business has steadily increased since November. Thursday alone was four times as busy as her previous best day on record, she said.
Davies' AK-47 assault rifles and AR-15 semi-automatic rifles were the first to sell out, followed by semi-automatic pistols and other handguns. None of Davies' seven distributors nationwide will have any of the assault or semi-automatic rifles in stock until next year, the newspaper reported.
"Every four years and re-election years, that uptick in buying continues through the remainder of the year," Davies said.
Dealers and gun shop owners are also seeing a demand on any firearms that could potentially be affected by pending legislation, as politicians and organizations discuss the nation's gun laws.
Tom Spithaler, sales director for Olympic Arms in Thurston County, which specializes in gun manufacturing, said there's a huge demand for semi-automatics and high-capacity magazines.
The store has sold out of semi-automatics and assault rifles. People who place an order now won't get their hands on the gun for five or six months, he said.
Customers have been lining up outside the shop before it opens at 8 a.m., Spithaler said.
At the Cascade Arms Co. in Olympia, owner Jeff Hursh said the store has been "slammed" with customers and orders. Several people were lined up outside when the shop opened at 11 a.m. Friday. Walls that usually have an assortment of guns on display only had a few left.
But Davies of Mary's Pistols said she's uncertain whether she would order semi-automatic or assault rifles next year.
"It's shaky ground as to whether I want to order one of those products in until I know what the proposed legislation is going to read," she told The Olympian.
The scientific evidence shows that lax gun laws allow for/create more gun deaths. Period. You can rationalize all you want, but that's the truth. America is sick with guns.
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http://harvardmagazine.com/2004/09/death-by-the-barrel.html
These guys could save a lot of money and just buy some viagra.
 @T H I S Markley's Law strikes again. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Markley%27s%20Law
not sure why some folks are so fascinated by what others think of genitalia. It also means you are rather confused about women.
 @T H I S Viagra can't make it "hard as steel" but I think you're on the right track with the phallic substitution concept.
Barack Obama: Gun salesman of the year!
Geez...you guys copied that article verbatim from the Tacoma News Tribune....where it ran 2 days ago.
PMAGs are a popular magazine for several AR type rifles. Normally you can purchase them for $10-$15 each. They are virtually sold out everywhere online and on ebay they are going for $50+. Â Clearly people are taking these renewed AWB talks seriously.
I'd also like to publically thank the media for creating three emotional yet meaningless names: Assault Rifle, Cop Killer Bullets and Bullet Proof Vests. First, just what the heck is an Assault Rifle? Is that supposed to be a military weapon? If so, then back in 1776 George Washington's citizen solders all used the assault weapon of the day; Muskets! Further back it was the bow. Further yet, the sling. "Assault Rifle" serves no other purpose than to suggest a Rifle is somehow made in such a way that it will kill on it's own. "Better melt them down before they get loose and kill someone". Cop Killer Bullets and Bullet Proof Vests. Who would be in favor of a ban on Cop Killer Bullets? Just about everyone, right? I mean who wants to live in a country where we make and sell bullets that were designed to go past those bullet proof vests? Well, that whole terminology was created to shock, not educate.There is no such thing as a "bullet proof vest". The vests worn by law enforcement are called ballistic vests. Just about any legal hunting cartridge will go right through those vests. Ballistic vests are designed to stop "Almost" all pistol and shotgun cartridges, but not hunting ammo. Therefore, a ban on a cop killer bullet would cover any round used for hunting coyotes and big game like deer. Grandpa's well worn 30/06, 30/30 Winchester, 270 Winchester or even the little 243 Winchester are unstoppable by police ballistic vests. Another point of disgust for anyone educated in firearms is the whole idea that a rifle is more dangerous than any other weapon. Not true! Had the school shooter been using a pump shotgun with buckshot, or even Molotov Cocktails the death toll would have been much higher to say the least.The problem here folks is not the tool, but the user of the tools. Until the USA decides that the mentally ill can no longer be ignored we will see this again and again. That a politician, yes even our President will use a tragedy such as this to destroy the Bill of Rights without solving the problem is truly disgusting!
 @None Had the killer used a pump shotgun, he could have fired 3 times or perhaps 5 times, and then had to spend enough time reloading that any teacher with the traditional "blunt instrument" could have taken him out.
It is not the type of ammunition that counts here: 6 and 7 year old children are not made of Kevlar! Neither is the average mall shopper or moviegoer. The problem here is a gun that can fire 30 rounds, and then "whip - slap" 30 more - and more - and more.
 @JLS1950  @None So I guess you are unfamiliar with the KelTec KSG - a15-round pump shotgun. If using 00 buckshot, at 12 pellets per shot, that *180* 33-caliber projectiles downrange without reloading.
@JLS1950 @None He had 10~ minutes in the school. Plenty of time to reload anything really + multiple weapons. For that amount of time, the damage seems pretty low really. Considering 1 round per 1-2 seconds, or as fast as he can pull it. This was a school, now consider that response time when someone is in your house. On the same day, a guy in China went on a stabbing spree of 20 in a grade school. No deaths, but the next guy will use a bigger knife.
 @JLS1950  @Romey_Rome The fact a couple have been stopped is hardly representative of everyone. If a person spends a little time practicing its easy to become fast. To whit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhknaDjLFRI
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 @JLS1950 Do some research on the deadliest shooting in US history, Virginia Tech. He used 10-round handgun magazines, 17 of them. Why do you want to ban "high capacity" magazines again? It won't save anyone's life. Kinkel in Oregon wasn't trying to slap in another rifle magazine, he exhausted his only 50-round rifle magazine, that's why he went for another gun. He could easily have had multiple magazines for the rifle....
 @Romey_Rome I suggest you read up on how many of these mass shooters have been stopped when they themselves stopped to reload or when their primary gun jammed.
In 1998, Kip Kinkel fired fifty rounds from a large-capacity Ruger .22 semi-automatic rifle; but when he ran out of ammunition and attempted to reload, he was immediately tackled by a wounded student assisted by several other students. He tried to retrieve and deploy a Glock 19, but was disarmed after firing just one shot (which further wounded the already-wounded student who had tackled him in the first place - and who survived.)
Other stories of shooters being tackled and disarmed while reloading abound.
The smaller the magazine, the less damage a shooter can do before being forced to pause and at least insert another magazine. Those precious seconds seem to permit defenders to tackle the killer, subdue him and disarm him. They are often as effective in that way as having an armed response in the building.
NOBODY not actually fighting a war or acting as part of law enforcement has any justifiable reason to need a 30-round or 50-round magazine, and IMHO, those who THINK they do should be required to undergo a mental evaluation and their right to "keep and bear" considered in light of the results thereof!
And of couse you've got extreme anti-gun politicians like Schumer, Feinstein and Biden getting national attention by the liberal media, hypocrits with their own armed body guards, given the go-ahead by Obama to push forward gun legislation. Of course there are Americans out there buying up all the guns and ammunition they can afford.
http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=10104
All Congress is trying to do is punish legal law abiding citizens pertaining to gun rights.... After all a criminal never adheres to any gun laws.... whatever.
Here we go again......Put fear in people and they will do whatever you want. Remember Y2K? How many generators and canned food items were sold for the end of the world? There was a run on guns when Obama was first elected because he was coming to take all your guns. Funny...No one came to my door looking for guns. Gun makers love fear.
 @MidnightRambler fear sells guns and condoms... ironic
Hello, everyone. I have some questions for serious and intelligent exhange. Why is it that banks and other financial institutions transport their currency and precious metals in armored trucks with armed guards? Why is it that banks employ armed guards? Is it because they want to have the means necessary to protect and defend these currencies and precious metals? There are laws and penalites to discourage and prevent these robberies yet they still happen. Most of these attempts are thwarted or at least the guards can defend themselves. Yet the most precious things of all-our children-are only protected by a sign that says "Gun Free Zone"? I am puzzled why the cargo of armored vehicles is afforded more protection with firearms then our schools are from armed assailants. It seems that money is protected with those same firearms; we cannot even think of using the same to protect our children. I am on the fence with gun control and submit these thoughts for discussion. Thank you.
@WildBreeze Not all banks have armed guards. One or two armored trucks with guards service many banks. The NRA is suggesting a police officer for every school for 6-8 hours a day. The two scenarios are vastley different.
@MidnightRambler. Yeah. Our kids aren't worthy of protection. Gun Free zones assure that. But our money is. Vastly different indeed. Â
Well Fair is Fair.I've got to had it to President Obama. With only one short speech he has maxed out a segment of the manufacturing here in the United States. That makes President Obama the greatest gun salesman since Samuel Colt!
I am sure someone else alread said it, but KOMO, she is not selling "assault rifles". The versions of the AK and AR sold are both semi-automatic rifles. End of story,. They would have been classified as "assault weapons" under the previous ban. If you want to become more educated (regardless of your stance on the issues) read this well written article http://kontradictions.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/why-not-renew-the-assault-weapons-ban-well-ill-tell-you/
 @watcher This fact is ignored or contested by the anti-gunners. They stick with the serving "assault weapons" definition conjured up by the anti-gunners to define whatever they wanted as an assault rifle. Well written articles or not, they are not interested in the facts. They are whipped up into an emotional frenzy and the facts be damned.
I like all the squirrel huntin' rifles in the photo (wink wink)
 @TruthinAdverts I guess you've never seen the "Varmit rounds" made for those rifles then.
 @dB for "them" rifles dB... you need to say it correctly... "for them rifles"
 @Gaikokujin   Yup Gaik... that's a log in your eye
 @TruthinAdverts  @dB typical comment from you belittling others
Hey - what are folks worried about?  The House Republicans won't pass anything the President or any democrat wants, so there's no danger to anyone's guns, no matter what kind they are!
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 @FormerMarineSgt I guess you haven't heard the term "executive order" or head anything about the UN resolution that Hussein, Hilary and Reid, are quietly slipping up our butts....
@dB, FYI, The UN Small Arms Trade Treaty was shot down last July.
 @SargeMcC clever use of "shot down" = )
 @dB  @FormerMarineSgt it wouldn't be the Christmas season without over-the-top ridiculous poltical rhetoric coupled with vulgar imagery... Ho Ho Ho
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 @svensson "and have not put the requisite time in at the range that carrying a gun requires". But there's the catch isn't it... no real requirements for proficiency (for example with a car... like having a driver's license). As a result, when some Joe-hero unleashes his firearm in a public setting... because a shop-lifter decided to run and knocked down a store clerk... well... there's no telling who they might hit. Maybe you or me
@TruthinAdverts You also don't hear about the 'Joe-heroes' who act responsibly with their firearms either, but that happens every day and far more often than anything you're scared of.
Remember 'Truth', cars kill far more people than guns do. In point of fact, more people are killed every year in DRUNK BOATING accidents than are killed with firearms.
And both sides of the arguement could eas up on the rhetoric any time now.
 @svensson  @TruthinAdverts I actually work in a profession where I see gunshot victims. Yeah... real ones... I have seen quite a few my friend... and they have all been suicide, homicides or accidental shootings... Actually I've never seen one instance where a "Joe-hero" has stepped into the fray and done something positive or negative with their firearm. I have however seen the deadly effects of firearms quite a few times now. So... I'm not speaking from TV shows or the gun range, or a high-fivin' NRA meeting. I'm speaking from a "patch the holes" perspective. I'm not against firearms my friend... I own. I keep them locked up and extremely secure. I worry about those who seem a little too anxious to use their weapon on someone. That's what concerns me out there. Not normal people with firearms who treat them with caution and respect, but the freaks... and yeah... that includes the Joe-Heroes who are itching to shoot someone. I will assume and hope that doesn't include you.Â
@TruthinAdverts @svensson Yes, because you hear about this happening all the time as it is, I love these remarks the pure idiocy makes me laugh.
 @JFR  @TruthinAdverts  @svensson I'm imagining you actually "cackle"
"Obama" best gun salesman around.
@Tacobender50 - nope, not even close.
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The paranoid Obama haters are the best gun salesmen around. They are the ones convinced that Obama's gonna take away all thier precious guns. The head salesman is Wayne LaPierre himself who's been trying to convince America that Obama has had a secret conspiracy plan to destroy the 2nd amendment during his second term - and the only proof he has is the complete and utter absence of any gun control actions whatsoever during his first term....  http://www.nrapublications.org/index.php/11920/obamas-secret-plan-to-destroy-the-second-amendment-by-2016/
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Yes, I dare say it that way. Even though I am a gun owner who respects the 2nd amendment.
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Here's the thing that these paranoids forget: A President has limited powers. He must get Congress to go his way to achieve any major changes in this country.  And to outlaw ANY guns, he must achieve one of two things: 1) Congress' approval via a bill introduced and passed by BOTH houses of Congress (and there ain't no way the current Right Wing disaster known as the House of Representatives will EVER pass any bill wanted by Obama).  2) do it by executive order and then not have it immediately canceled by Congress or stopped in the court of law by those who believe that any executive order of that magnitude is unconstitutional.
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In other words, a snowball has a better chance of existing for eternity in the pits of fire of Hades before Obama could pass anything that would take away your guns.
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BUT the folks like LaPierre and many of the right wing have created this false reality where they believe Obama WILL do it.
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It's pathetic, but it's true.
How many people die every year from lung cancer and other smoking-related deaths? Â A lot more (on several orders of magnitude) than die from gun-related violence.
 @wsmith_84 Ahh, yes the "other things kill people, so its ok that people die at the hands of gunfire" argument.Â
Its interesting, and yet we have worked to cut that number down by regulating cigarettes. SO, it looks like you have not quite thought your little argument all the way through.
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@wsmith_84 -- I take it that your position is 'to hell with people who needlessly die from _____ cause because not enough people die from that cause to make it worth it.
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I'm so glad that you care enough about needless death to not want to do anything 'because the body count isn't sufficient'.
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Go tell that to the parents of 20 children.  Oh - and the hundreds (if not thousands) of other children who've died needless deaths because of people who used guns do snuff them out over the last couple of years.
 @FormerMarineSgt  @wsmith_84 No, that is not my position at all.
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I am merely stating the obvious that there are many things that have a far, far higher body count that nobody is really worried about. Â
 @wsmith_84 "I am merely stating the obvious that there are many things that have a far, far higher body count that nobody is really worried about"
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And you thought cigarettes was an example of this? Â
 @wsmith_84 You are absolutely correct, and look at how many regulations, bans and taxes we've put on cigarettes!
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 @CenterFire Make you should order some more teeth too.
@cyclops @CenterFire He did, he`s waiting the 14 day waiting period for your teeth to clear a background check.
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Twenty little people died last Friday, and more than a 100 residents have died in the USA since then. Meanwhile, the gun manufactures laugh all the way to the bank and the lemmings that can't wait to throw their money at them, keep on shelling out. Just what junior needs for Christmas, an automatic weapon.
@justmyopinion You clearly believe every piece of hype in the media. They are not automatic weapons. Rifles are used in about 300 homicides a year (so called assault weapons would be a subset of that, let's say 150) Handguns are used in over 7000. Mass shootings kill about 100 people a year. Adam Lanza probably shot through 6 magazines. The size of the magazine didn't matter to him. But over 30 people A DAY are killed by handguns. Which problem should we save first?
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@scootdog5 -- "ban forks, automobiles, pencils,flatscreens. they kill more people than guns dumbass.... BTW its semi-automatic."   ---- Such a high quality response!! NOT.
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The only valid point you make (other than insulting your own intelligence is when you corrected his misuse of 'automatic weapon'.
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And to the lame old use of 'why don't you want to ban ______ becuase it kills more people than guns, my response is:
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1) So because the body count isn't big enough, we shouldn't do something to solve the problem? What an enlightened approach. We can save sooo much money and time by just ignoring those things that don't have a sufficient body count... Wow who'd of thought that we could do that? No go convince the parents of every child who died needlessly from violence perpetrated by people using guns that we should just ignore those needless deaths....
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2) forks, automobiles, pencils, flatscreens and just about everything else you could possibly mention are not inherently designed as a killing device. As soon as any of these 'distractions from the real issue' that you and others continually bring us as red herrings are designed inherently as killing devices, then we can talk about whether or not it would be right to ban them.  Until then, come up with an arguement that has a basis in reality, ok?
 @justmyopinion You know why? Because even though bans are counterproductive, and there are good reasons to want these types of arms, clueless pols like Obama and Feinstein and Schumer keep trying to ban or limit them. If they'd actually do things that might address the problem, people wouldn't be afraid of missing a chance at buying something they have been putting off. It's fear of *politicians* that fuel the buying sprees, it's the acknowledging of fact that criminals don't care about the law that make people want to keep them.
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if you actually want a clue on the whole ban/limit/guns are evil thing, try this for a read:
http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/an-opinion-on-gun-control/
 @justmyopinion You...are...ignorant. It's a good idea to know what you're talking about. You obviously don't know firearms, and apparently, you have no good ideas either.
 @CenterFire Why don't you try getting back to me, when you have something of value to add to the conversation. DA
 @justmyopinion  @CenterFire Maybe because none of the firearms mentioned in this article are automatic. That is what he is referring to. You clearly show a lack of understanding about firearms. Class III weapons are rarely used in crimes.