River Cities Business Journal: Cover Story

Firearms boom despite economy; Recreation is most common reason for gun purchases

River Cities Business Journal

The economy is lagging and many businesses are feeling the pinch, but despite the sluggish economy business is good at area gun shops.

It may seem strange because firearms are not a necessity and sales are down in the region for many necessities, but despite guns being a luxury item people are buying them and the accessories that accompany them.

Different people have different reasons why business is strong.

“They're fun,” Chuck Farnau of Longhorn Traders in Bullhead City said.

He also mentioned that there is a fear among gun owners that the fall election may spark a new round of laws and restrictions on firearms ownership.

“There are so many people who want to take your gun rights away,” Farnau said. “Some people want to make sure they have what they want.”

In Kingman, where the economy is more blue collar than in Bullhead and Lake Havasu City, Shane Burlingham, owner of Accurate Arms & Ammo II, has a different view of why people are buying guns now.

“It's kind of a pro and a con. The economy is down and crime is going up,” Burlingham said. “Every single week somebody comes in that just got robbed and wants to buy a gun.”

Despite the easy opportunity for a sale, Burlingham said he will counsel customers to see if a firearm is the best answer for their particular situation.

If they do decide to buy a gun Burlingham recommends they take a class.

“We're very successful with our concealed carry classes. I teach home security, how to lock and prevent problems at your house and how you can avoid being a victim,” Burlingham said. “I teach more than just how to use a gun. I teach about civil lawsuits and what will happen to you emotionally in the aftermath of a shooting.”

But, self defense is only a small portion of what keeps the industry afloat. The Mohave Sportsman Club that operates the Seven Mile Hill Range near Kingman has more than 1,000 members and dozens of events on its calendar each month that are almost all recreational.

Burlingham enjoys the social aspect of the business.

“When I grew up there was a gun shop that had a room in back with peanut shells on the floor. People felt free to come in and talk,” Burlingham said. “That's why I have stools sitting around the place. People will come in here and just sit around and talk.”

At Longhorn Traders, Farnau didn't start out to be a gun shop.

“I've been here 18 years and this is the best store in Bullhead City. Look around. There is a lot of history here,” Farnau said. “I started as a Western trading post. A year after I started everybody wanted a gun.”

Longhorn retains the atmosphere of the trading post and still has many antiques scattered throughout the store, but it also has a specialty.

“We make Civil War cannons,” Farnau said. “People from all around the country buy them.”

Even though the markup on guns is low the businesses survive and do well.

“You don't make 10 percent on a gun,” Burlingham said. “You need to make money elsewhere, holsters and other accessories.”

And the business is probably the most-regulated retail industry in the country. Paperwork takes a huge chunk out of the day.

“I take paperwork home and log guns and fill out (form) 4473s,” Burlingham said. “It's one simple form per gun, but you have to do it on every gun and they take 15 minutes apiece.”

In the past 18 years Farnau has seen a lot of changes in requirements.

“It's tremendously harder. The stuff they put on us you wouldn't believe,” Farnau said. “When we first opened it was just a simple form you fill out. You'd do it in the store and you'd take the gun.

“When the Brady Bill came into play they wanted to know a lot more about you. You had to have the correct ID and had to be a resident. Then they started the NICS check and you had call the FBI and read the whole application. They'd either deny, delay or approve. If you ever had a misdemeanor they'd deny you.”

It still comes down to basic business principles that make people successful in the firearms trade.

“I made this business grow being honest and fair,” Farnau said.