116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Sale of guns decreasing in Iowa
‘The industry has changed since COVID,’ gun shop owner says
Jul. 27, 2024 5:00 am
Gun sales in Iowa, and across the country, dropped notably in 2023 after hitting record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and metro-area gun retailers say they aren’t seeing a return to those high numbers this year.
Iowa doesn’t have a system in place to track annual gun sales, but most firearm sales require a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. The FBI tracks the number of NICS checks, but it isn’t a perfect representation of total sales.
In Iowa, those NICS checks jumped from 182,802 to 270,614 in 2020. They remained high in 2021 and 2022, but dropped to 185,840 in 2023, according to the FBI.
An NICS background check is not required in Iowa if the person buying a gun has an Iowa gun permit. NICS checks also don’t account for private transactions, including some sales at gun shows.
In April 2022, CBS News reported that 43.6 percent of Iowa adults have guns in their homes. That number was based on the number of 2021 gun permits — 54,178 — when the state still required gun permits before someone bought a gun in Iowa.
“The industry has changed since COVID,” said Wade Puffer, owner of Midwest Shooting, 1490 Ketelsen Dr. in Hiawatha. “During the pandemic, and then during all the civil unrest in 2020, we sold a record number of firearms. Industrywide, they estimated eight (million) to 10 million new customers, but that's just completely understated.”
Customers buy guns for personal safety, novelty
Puffer said the majority of people buying guns in the last few years are buying them for personal protection. And even though sales have slowed, that’s still what most customers are after.
Ernie Traugh, the owner of Cedar Valley Outfitters at 1177 Grand Ave. in Marion, agreed. While a lot of the sales in 2020 were politically motivated, most customers today are seeking self-defense for personal reasons, he said.
Traugh said he didn’t see a notable increase in gun purchases after the July 13 attempted assassination of Donald Trump or any other recent news that drew attention to firearms.
“All kinds of people would text me to say, ‘Oh, gun sales are probably crazy,’ and they’re really not, not at all,” he said. “There are people that are unsure of where the country is going. They’ll voice their opinion of that, but that is not the majority of who comes in here and buys guns.”
Traugh said in the past six months or so he’s seen an increase in people buying guns as collectibles, for the novelty of owning the newest thing for deer hunting or a gun that looks like it belongs in an old Western movie.
“Fifty percent or more of my business is always people that are sincerely interested in self-defense, but I didn’t used to have people coming and saying, ‘I want a single-action cowboy gun like I saw in the movies,’ ” Traugh said.
Recommendations for first-time gun owners
The guns Puffer and Traugh recommend on potential buyers depends on the needs of the buyer and the price range they have in mind.
“There are literally hundreds of models of firearms, and every person's situation is slightly different,” Puffer said. “If you want a gun for home defense, it's a different gun than if you want something for concealed carry.
“Do you live in a rural area or do you live in an urban area? Basic differences like that will alter what I recommend.”
Traugh said when he talks to someone looking to own a gun for the first time, he will usually talk them through all the safety precautions they already are taking, to see what kind of firearm they would be comfortable with or if there are other options they want to try first.
If someone isn’t comfortable owning a gun, but is worried about their safety, he’ll go over other options like carrying pepper spray or a knife when walking alone, or adding more safety features to their home, like automatic locking doors.
The sellers said they also go over gun safety tips with a first-time buyer, like making sure the gun is locked up when not in use and keeping it out of unauthorized hands. It’s also important to be trained in best practices for using the firearm and to practice shooting it.
Midwest Shooting has a gun range attached to the store where it offers training classes for first-time gun users and for those who are more experienced. Puffer said one of the most popular classes is a women’s-only gun safety course.
Buying a gun in Iowa
To legally buy a gun in Iowa, you must be at least 21 years old.
The gun has to be purchased in person at a licensed gun shop, where the customer will fill out a 4473 form, which asks questions about the buyer’s criminal history, drug usage, mental health and citizenship status.
Then the seller will run a NICS check on the buyer unless they already have an Iowa gun license.
Gun licenses are obtained through a county sheriff and include a background check. The licenses once were required, but Iowa lawmakers removed that requirement July 1, 2021, in the same law that allowed people to “open carry” a gun into public places.
These days, the NICS background check usually comes back in just a few seconds. If the check doesn’t find anything that would prevent the buyer from owning a gun — such as addiction to alcohol or conviction of a felony — then the sale can go through.
If a buyer is under age 21, but older than 18, they can purchase long guns like rifles and shotguns, but they can’t buy a handgun. The NICS check for those younger buyers also will take longer, usually 10 days or more, according to Puffer and Traugh.
Anyone under age 18 cannot legally purchase a gun. Some larger retailers, like Walmart, won’t sell any guns to anyone under age 21.
Guns can’t be purchased online and shipped to a consumer’s home, but if there is a specific gun that someone wants to buy from an out-of-state retailer, they can have it shipped to a local gun shop, where they can go in-person to fill out the 4473 form and complete the background check.
The cost of owning a firearm isn’t prohibitive for most people, according to Traugh. Although prices for guns have increased slowly over the last several years, Traugh said they have stayed consistent with inflation.
“I would say guns are as cheap as they’ve been in years and years,” he said. “When I say as cheap, if you come in and say I need something in a $200 range or $400 dollar range or $700 range, there’s bazillions of options.”
9 mm handguns, with their purchase price displayed, sit in a case July 19 at Midwest Shooting in Hiawatha. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
A revolver is shown July 19 at Midwest Shooting in Hiawatha. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
An AR-15 rifle is show July 19 at Midwest Shooting in Hiawatha. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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