- March 9, 2025
Local gun dealers are having trouble keeping up with the increased demand for guns and ammunition.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
Simply the discussion of stricter gun regulation has created a demand for guns that some local businesses can’t keep up with.
Adam Erdelyan, sales manager at Florida Gun Exchange, 1050 S. Nova Road, said the store has seen “unprecedented” sales of assault weapons, and the AR-15, particularly, in recent weeks.
Dennis Kroh, owner of Empire Arms, the Ormond Beach based company that sells antique and collectable guns online, said, dating back to November, he’s seen his monthly sales to federally licensed buyers increase from about 180 or 200 per month, up to 300 per month.
The increased demand, Erdelyan said, is the result of a fear that legislation will be passed to ban assault weapons, specific ammunition and high capacity magazines, along with other measures, which were among the 23 actions President Barack Obama either initiated through executive order Jan. 16, or will push Congress to enact.
The push for greater gun regulation, however, isn’t something shared by the Florida’s governor.
“Governor (Rick) Scott supports the second amendment,” Jackie Schutz, the governor’s press secretary, said in a statement. “He will listen to ideas about improving school safety during the legislative session, but he continues to support the second amendment and is not proposing any gun law changes.”
Among the legislative actions Obama is pursuing is a background check on all gun sales, including those at gun shows, which had previously been exempt.
Erdelyan, a critic of increased gun regulation, says that’s a piece of legislation he does support, saying it will help keep guns in responsible owners’ hands.
“People who are not allowed to have guns shouldn’t have access to guns,” he said. “The everyday person who wants a gun for defense or sport, shouldn’t be punished.”
The demand on Florida Gun Exchange’s website has been so intense, the company posted a disclaimer, apologizing for not being able to return questions quickly.
“We have been inundated with a huge increase of internet inquires due to the current situation in the industry,” the disclaimer said. “Bear with us, we are diligently trying to get back to all of your questions.”
A reinstatement of the assault weapons ban is among the 23 legislative items Obama proposed. It’s a ban that would include the popular AR-15, the semi-automatic civilian version of the military’s M16 rifle.
Erdelyan said the store currently has a tenth of its normal stock of AR-15 assault rifles.
Kroh said there’s such an “extreme shortage” of assault weapons in the market, that he’s not only getting calls from local dealers looking to replenish their stock, but also citizens who can’t find the guns from storefront dealers.
“Over the past, like, month, we’ve been getting from 15 to 30 calls per day, from people looking for ammunition,” Kroh said, adding that he doesn’t carry ammunition. “They, particularly, wanted to know if we had assault rifles.”
Empire Arms exclusively sells curio and relic guns, and Kroh said none of the proposed legislation would have any impact on his business. His customers, he said, are collectors.
But Kroh said he’s still a critic of the proposed legislation.
“I think its stupid,” he said. “It wouldn’t have stopped anything that’s happened, any of these so called mass killings. That wouldn’t have stopped anything.”
Relic guns are those more than 50 years old, like guns from World War I or World War II. Curio guns are those that have been designated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives because they are “novel, rare, bizarre or because of their association with some historical figure, period or event.”
Among the measures proposed by Obama is an end to the freeze on gun violence research, ensuring health insurance plans cover mental health benefits, and increasing the tools to law enforcement to help track guns and enforcem the current gun laws.
