St. Louis Area Gun Stores Busy As Many Try To Stock Up On Guns And Ammo

CBS St. Louis

January 07, 2021

Lines were long at gun stores across the St. Louis Metro Wednesday. At one point, the line was wrapped to the back of the store at Mid America Arms in south St. Louis County. “It was a line pretty much to the door when I got here and a bunch of cars parked in the lot," said Roy Rycraw. Rycraw stopped by to buy parts for his gun and ended up also buying ammo. “Ammo is one of the hardest things to get right now, even online," said Rycraw. “If they have it you gotta jump on it." Demand for guns and ammo is so high right now across the country, Mid America Arms co-owner Al Rothweiler said manufacturers can't keep up. The demand and lack of supply have forced Mid America Arms to limit the number of boxes of ammo customers can buy per visit. “This is a nationwide issue where there’s a shortage of inventory," said Rothweiler. Rothweiler said the long lines Wednesday are similar to what his South St. Louis County store has seen for months.

He believes the demand started during President Trump's impeachment hearings last January, increased when the pandemic started, again during civil unrest in the summer, then leading up to the election, and now the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
“With everybody going crazy and flipping going out you just never know what’s going to happen next," said Rycraw. Many of Mid America Arm's recent customers are first-time gun buyers.
“They feel they need a level of personal protection that they’ve not felt before," said Rothweiler.
That feeling was felt across the St. Louis metro as people watched the violence unfold in D.C. after protesters stormed the Capitol. "It's great to have a peaceful protest that's what it started out to be to show support for President Trump but what this is turning into is not what the republican party is about period. breaking into chambers, looting, that's not right," said Tom Shaw, who watched from St. Charles County.