TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Gun sales are up in Tucson. Gun shops say incidents like the mass shooting in San Bernadino are driving people to buy more weapons.
Several gun shops told KGUN9 News they have seen a real surge in gun purchases and a surge in interest in gun training.
The mass shooting in San Bernadino has more people buying guns of their own.
The AR-15 rifle is a favorite form of firepower. Based on a military design it's actually less powerful than many hunting rifles but it can fire a lot of rounds very quickly. It is light with a mild recoil that makes it fairly easy for women or even children to use.
Wayne Semenko at SNG Tactical says sales jumped 75 to 80 percent after San Bernardino, with rifles like the AR-15 about 60 percent of the sales.
Semenko says, "They're worried about the immigration issues, with the refugees and everything, the terrorism going on with ISIS. They just don't know what to expect and they'd rather be prepared for it than regret it."
At Diamondback Shooting Sports, Paul Parks says the shop sold 96 guns the day after San Bernardino, compared to 56 the same day last year.
There, he says about 30 percent of the sales were long guns, with 70 percent hand guns.
He says when President Obama called for tighter gun controls it drove a few buyers in but that was not the main motive.
"Rather than what we see traditionally which is a fear of banning, a fear of gun control, a fear of what the government might take away now it seems people are interested in getting them so they can protect themselves. They want the training. They want the tools to be able to defend themselves so it's a little different flavor this time."
All the gun dealers we talked to made it clear anyone who buys a gun needs to train with it, to be sure they can use the gun safely, learn to use it effectively in an emergency and learn when to not use it.
