Huntsville- AL,
In July alone, 21,000 guns were sold in Alabama.
To put that number in perspective, 4 years ago, Alabama gun sales hit just over 14,000.
Since 2008, gun sales have steadily climbed each year.
You may think people are purchasing guns for safety. While that's true, it's not the main reason.
The economy is causing firearm sales to soar.
The number of FBI background checks preformed this year alone is at a record high number.
Gun sales have steadily climbed each year since 2008.
There are many theories exactly why gun sales are on the rise across the country.
Some are driven by fear that gun ownership and sales will be banned.
"I think people are afraid of what might happen in the future. The government may make it more and more difficult to get weapons," said gun collector, Stan Kullman.
Some blame the struggling economy.
"The boost that we have seen in the past few years, especially since the economy has gone down, is that a lot of people are without work right now and people are getting desperate and the crime rate has gone way up. A lot of people are arming themselves for personal protection," said gun salesman, Zach Brock.
Many are finding that gun collecting is a promising financial investment.
"When times get hard, people tend to buy more guns and ammunition because it's a good investment," said the own of
JC's Gun and Tackle Shop, JC Vaughn.
"Right now it pays out a lot better to put money in firearms then it does in the bank," Brock said.
Stan Kullman collects Finnish weapons from WW1 and WW2.
"I'm fascinated by history, and history is really what got me in to gun collecting," said Kullman.
Kullman says the supply and demand of collectable guns keeps increasing every year.
"Guns you could have bought for $500 to $1,000 20-years-ago could be worth $15,000 today," Kullman said.
Kullman is a "regular" at many gun shows across the South, where he buys, sells and trades his rifles.
He enjoys his hobby because it lets him exercise his second amendment right.
If you are interested in starting your own gun collection, there are several steps you'll have to take.
First, you will fill out a federal form called a
4473. Then your information will be run through a FBI database.
The background check could take anywhere from 2-minutes to one week.
