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Record high gun sales continue in June. Some retailers say they're running out of stock.
Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images

Record high gun sales continue in June. Some retailers say they're running out of stock.

2020 may be the greatest year for gun sales in American history

Americans continued to buy guns at record highs in the month of June as several states experienced coronavirus spikes and protests and riots erupted across the country over George Floyd's death.

According to estimates from industry analyst Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting (SAAF), more than 2.3 million firearms were sold in the past month — up 145% over June of last year. The whopping number of sales nearly matched the all-time monthly record of 2.5 million set in March this year.

SAAF makes its estimates based on raw data obtained from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Fox Business reported that the newly released numbers make June the fourth consecutive month to show huge year-over-year increases. March, April, and May saw reported increases of 85.3%, 71.3%, and 80.2%, respectively.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, June's estimates bring the total number of firearms sold in the U.S. since March to 8.3 million. That, the news outlet says, is a record-setting number that sets 2020 on pace to be the greatest year for gun sales in U.S. history.

Some retailers are running out of supply

The Free Beacon also said Wednesday that several gun retailers around the country have reported shortages in supply due to the unusually high sales volume. In other words, gun retailers are having trouble keeping up with the demand.

"Obama was the best gun sales in the country they claimed," Brandon Wexler, who owns Wex Gunworks in Delray Beach, Florida, said. "No, COVID-19 is."

"Pretty much everything is out of stock," he added. "We have been doing it since the late '70s and have never seen literally no supply available. As of last week, at all major distributors you could not get any guns. Everything was literally sold out. Can't even get hearing protection."

Rex McClanahan, president of massive online retailer, Bud's Gun Shop, said, "Our sales were within just a few thousand dollars of doubling in June 2020 as compared to 2019. Popular guns and ammo SKUs have been sold out for some time and now it is becoming a challenge to keep anything in stock that is among the higher demand categories ... things like handguns, home defense shotguns, AR/MSRs and the associated ammo, particularly 9 mm."

High gun sales have affected the ammunition industry, as well. Windham Taylor, who serves as the outreach manager for Ammo.com, told the Free Beacon that "things are not slowing down in the ammo world at all."

"Sales have continued to soar throughout June despite major shortages from nearly all suppliers due to the sustained demand from our customers," he continued. "We are working hard to keep up with demand and will continue to provide the best customer support possible."

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