Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Gun shop owners in New York State say new background check laws for ammunition purchases are forcing some of their customers to travel south to Pennsylvania to get their ammo. Gun shop owners in Pennsylvania WBEN reached out to tell us they're indeed benefiting as a result.
Josh Hawkins of Just Holster It in Elma says he has several issues with the new background checks. Constitutionality for one, he says, but the fact the site also doesn't work irks him too. "Probably about 65% of the checks for ammunition get delayed, to the point where you can't leave the store with your ammo," says Hawkins. He says all his life it's been legal to buy ammo and walk out right away, but now his customers have to jump through hoops.
Hawkins says he's losing business. "There's a lot of customers that have told us, 'Sorry, but I'm never buying ammunition in the state ever again,'" notes Hawkins. He says other stores are finding themselves shutting down because they don't want to deal with the hassle of the background checks. He says this is usually his busiest time of year. "We should be slammed right now," says Hawkins. "We would have that many people in the store trying to get ammo before hunting season opens."
Valley Gun Shop is just across the state line in North East Township, Pennsylvania and owner Kory Edwards tells us business has been booming. "Probably half of my clientele are from Chautauqua County at any given day. But that number has increased to maybe 75%," says Edwards.
But he has what he describes as a good problem: his inventory is dwindling. "New York State residents have been carrying it out here in bottles, and armloads and bagfuls. The ammunition has outsold firearms in the past couple of weeks, which is pretty unusual," says Edwards. He says he wasn't surprised the influx would happen, only at how much more New York customers have bought.
He says keeping that inventory up is challenging. "Distributors are limiting what I can buy. For instance, I bought some 9 millimeter ammo to sell and I was limited to one case, which is 20 boxes, and that'll go in one or two days," explains Edwards. But he says some NYS gun shop owners are offering to sell Edwards their inventory of ammo because of the governor's new laws.
The law took effect in September.