US gun and ammunition sales surge ahead of election

Demand for guns and ammunition is accelerating in the US ahead of November’s election, driven by consumer concerns about protests and civil unrest and by Americans seeing hunting as a socially distanced leisure pursuit during a pandemic. 

Ammo Inc, an ammunition manufacturer based in Scottsdale, Arizona, reported on Thursday that its revenues had surged 125 per cent to $9.7m in the three months to June. 

“Extraordinary” demand from its commercial segment, which sells to the hunting, sports shooting and self-defence markets, had powered its order backlog to a record $45m, said Fred Wagenhals, chief executive.

Mark Hanish, Ammo’s president of global sales and marketing, told the Financial Times it had seen intense demand for bullets for semi-automatic handguns and the AR-15 “modern sporting rifle”.