3 Years of Ammo Sold in 72 Hours, Says Gun Retailer Brownell Inc.
In the weeks since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., gun enthusiasts are ordering weapons and magazines at an alarming rate while manufactures are racing to keep up with the demand.
One such retailer, Brownell Inc., which had claimed to be the world's largest provider of firearms revealed that it has sold 3 ½ years' worth of ammunition magazines in just 72 hours.
The news of the increase in orders was made known by Brownell Inc., President Pete Brownell on the gun owner forum website AR15.com. The website also reassures gun enthusiasts that all guns are available and ready to be shipped. Consumer demand has been "unprecedented" recently, according to a statement published by Brownell
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The president stated that "the demand for magazines actually exceeded the ability for the system to keep up with the volume that was being ordered." Brownell also apologized to customers and insisted that all orders would be completed as fast as possible.
"To shed some more light on the magazine situation at present, it really has been unprecedented in the last 72 hours. We sold the 'average demand' equivalent of about 3 1/2 years' worth of PMAGS, and an even greater amount of our Brownell's magazines. We're working like crazy to get these orders to you as quickly as possible," according to the post on AR15.com.
Police say Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 semi-automatic rifle on Dec. 14, when he entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire on teachers and children that left six adults and 20 children dead. Police also revealed that he killed his mother in her home before the rampage, then took his own life before police arrived.
The surge in gun orders may be the result of new talk of stricter gun regulation specifically aimed at restricting or even banning military-style assault weapons and high capacity magazines in the wake of the Newtown shooting.
