LITTLE CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) – Local gun shops have been busy trying to reload their shelves in recent months, as sales of firearms and ammunition continue to boom – and production remains lower than usual.
Many stores are seeing a rise in first-time buyers as well. But most won’t sell to newcomers unless they can prove that they know what they’re doing.
“We’ve had some people come in that don’t even know what caliber they’re looking for. They were just told to come in and get a gun,” said Trigger Action Sports General Manager Gina Byrne. “It’s not safe, obviously, to sell them a gun. So there have been several that we’ve required to take a class to make sure they know how to handle it before we’re going to sell them anything.”
For Byrne, educating people about proper firearm safety is key. That’s especially true when it comes time to selling them a gun.
“Safety is huge for us,” Byrne said. “If you didn’t know how to drive, you wouldn’t just go to a dealership and buy a car. You’d learn how to drive it first, and then pick your car.”
That’s why the retail shop is attached to a shooting range. Trigger Action Sports, among many other spots across the Fox Valley, offer range time and classes for anyone who wants to train their trigger finger.
“We have our concealed carry classes to get that permit, but they have to know how to handle a firearm first. So if they’ve never had it, we require them to take some kind of [class] – whether it’s a private session or basic beginner class,” Byrne explained. “[We have] beginner classes, and then work them up. We can do private sessions to build on what they need to work on specifically…We go into advanced classes here for training, and then we also just help people in the range when they’re walking in. We check on safety and make sure they’re handling things correctly and operating correctly and all of that.”
Normally during the summer, Byrne says the number of visitors cuts down because people are taking part in outdoor activities. This year, however, she says they were within 20-percent of their busy winter season numbers due to the high demand in this industry for learning and buying.
Meanwhile, classes are filling up fast. Byrne says their classes are booked before they even reach the month that they’re held. October is completely booked out, and classes are already filling up into December.
If you are more comfortable with a gun and still need guidance – that’s always available at the range.
“There are tons of people training and practicing, and lots of new people coming in,” Byrne told WTAQ News. “We just go out there, free, to teach people on the range to make sure that they’re doing things correctly. That’s our biggest drive, is educating people…Learning, educating, and training – and continuing to train and practice is key.”
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