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Steve Graves, right, notes the finer points of weapons modifications on semiautomatic rifles Wednesday for customer Rick Eggers at the Flying Cloud Trading Co. Inc. in Roseburg.
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A customer at Flying Cloud Trading Co, Inc., inspects a handgun Wednesday.
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Donna Ellison, owner of Flying Cloud Trading Co, Inc., in Roseburg, puts a price tag on a handgun Wednesday.
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As a matter of practicality, Steve Graves steers gun enthusiasts jittery about an Obama administration away from the handgun display case and over to a carousel of upright semiautomatic rifles.
The salesman at the Flying Cloud Trading Co. Inc. in Roseburg is quick to remind customers that if President-elect Barack Obama and a Democrat-dominated Congress ban any guns, the casualty would likely be semiautomatic rifles.
For that reason, Graves himself plans to expand his own collection of the guns.
“It’s a good investment,” he said, explaining a grandfather clause would still allow private-party sales of “pre-ban” weapons. “They could quadruple in value.”
Ever since it became clear in October that Obama would become the 44th president, guns sales have increased across the nation. Background checks for gun purchases beginning Nov. 3 until this past Sunday increased by 48 percent compared to the same time period in 2007, according to the FBI.
During the week of the election, Flying Cloud sold over 20 AR-15 semiautomatic rifles. It typically sells four or five in a given month’s time.
In Roseburg, Election Day spurred an arms rush to local gun stores.
“We were swamped all day,” said Flying Cloud owner Donna Ellison, figuring her store on Fullerton Street has seen its business double in the past few weeks.
On Monday, Ellison sold a Glock handgun and an AR-15 to a first-time gun buyer.
“If you call any gun store, they’ll tell you sales are through the roof,” added Graves, who attributes the hyperactivity surrounding gun purchases to one word: “Panic.”
Gun advocates like Ellison and Graves say they have reason. Noting Obama’s support of a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms as an Illinois state legislator, they anticipate the president-elect to enact similar measures that they say could bridle Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Obama, however, said leading up to the election that he favors “common sense” gun laws and does not plan to take anyone’s handgun away.
Larry’s City Sporting Goods in Sutherlin reports selling 50 percent more handguns in recent weeks and quickly selling out of AR-15s, though the store has commonly kept very few in stock.
“It’s phenomenal,” owner Larry Smith said of surging sales.
Typically, firearm sales ease up this time of year because many gun owners are spending money on hunting equipment, Smith said.
But at least one demographic, Smith added, are keeping sales brisk at his counter: “One hundred percent more women buying guns left and right.”
Smith, who also reports a boost in concealed handgun license sales, said he remembers how the Clinton administration stimulated firearm sales as well. He’s been in business since 1974.
“We’ve had several big bursts like this over the years,” Smith said.
With a troubled economy and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to contend with when Obama takes office in January, Smith doesn’t expect the president-elect to enact any measures that will curb sales of firearms in the near future. He also predicts Obama will increase the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition, making it more expensive to buy and fire weapons, before calling for any particular ban.
In the past couple of weeks, Smith said the low-end price for a AR-15 at his store has jumped from $900 to $1,050.
“Just about every time I talk to the supplier he’s going higher,” he said.
Besides banning certain types of assault-style weapons, the Clinton administration had banned modifications for semiautomatic rifles, such as collapsible stocks and 30-round ammunition clips. The ban on those modifications ended in 2004.
At Flying Cloud, Graves recommends his customers looking to purchase a semiautomatic rifle invest in modifications as well.
Business is booming at area gun stores and others across the country, but Ellison at Flying Cloud insists on tucking away the profits for a rainy day: “You’re worried about the future.”
• You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@nrtoday.com.
The salesman at the Flying Cloud Trading Co. Inc. in Roseburg is quick to remind customers that if President-elect Barack Obama and a Democrat-dominated Congress ban any guns, the casualty would likely be semiautomatic rifles.
For that reason, Graves himself plans to expand his own collection of the guns.
“It’s a good investment,” he said, explaining a grandfather clause would still allow private-party sales of “pre-ban” weapons. “They could quadruple in value.”
Ever since it became clear in October that Obama would become the 44th president, guns sales have increased across the nation. Background checks for gun purchases beginning Nov. 3 until this past Sunday increased by 48 percent compared to the same time period in 2007, according to the FBI.
During the week of the election, Flying Cloud sold over 20 AR-15 semiautomatic rifles. It typically sells four or five in a given month’s time.
In Roseburg, Election Day spurred an arms rush to local gun stores.
“We were swamped all day,” said Flying Cloud owner Donna Ellison, figuring her store on Fullerton Street has seen its business double in the past few weeks.
On Monday, Ellison sold a Glock handgun and an AR-15 to a first-time gun buyer.
“If you call any gun store, they’ll tell you sales are through the roof,” added Graves, who attributes the hyperactivity surrounding gun purchases to one word: “Panic.”
Gun advocates like Ellison and Graves say they have reason. Noting Obama’s support of a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms as an Illinois state legislator, they anticipate the president-elect to enact similar measures that they say could bridle Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Obama, however, said leading up to the election that he favors “common sense” gun laws and does not plan to take anyone’s handgun away.
Larry’s City Sporting Goods in Sutherlin reports selling 50 percent more handguns in recent weeks and quickly selling out of AR-15s, though the store has commonly kept very few in stock.
“It’s phenomenal,” owner Larry Smith said of surging sales.
Typically, firearm sales ease up this time of year because many gun owners are spending money on hunting equipment, Smith said.
But at least one demographic, Smith added, are keeping sales brisk at his counter: “One hundred percent more women buying guns left and right.”
Smith, who also reports a boost in concealed handgun license sales, said he remembers how the Clinton administration stimulated firearm sales as well. He’s been in business since 1974.
“We’ve had several big bursts like this over the years,” Smith said.
With a troubled economy and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to contend with when Obama takes office in January, Smith doesn’t expect the president-elect to enact any measures that will curb sales of firearms in the near future. He also predicts Obama will increase the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition, making it more expensive to buy and fire weapons, before calling for any particular ban.
In the past couple of weeks, Smith said the low-end price for a AR-15 at his store has jumped from $900 to $1,050.
“Just about every time I talk to the supplier he’s going higher,” he said.
Besides banning certain types of assault-style weapons, the Clinton administration had banned modifications for semiautomatic rifles, such as collapsible stocks and 30-round ammunition clips. The ban on those modifications ended in 2004.
At Flying Cloud, Graves recommends his customers looking to purchase a semiautomatic rifle invest in modifications as well.
Business is booming at area gun stores and others across the country, but Ellison at Flying Cloud insists on tucking away the profits for a rainy day: “You’re worried about the future.”
• You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@nrtoday.com.
