This year’s Black Friday shopping spree turned out to be another massive day for gun sales. FBI Spokesman Stephen Fischer Jr. told NBC News that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) processed 185,713 background checks on Black Friday, a record high and an increase of nearly 400 from the same day last year.
According to CNNMoney, shoppers flocked to RTSP, a Randolph, New Jersey gun shop and range, to try and take advantage of 5 percent to 10 percent discounts for guns, ammo and accessories.
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Dr. Joseph Feldman, a surgeon who lives in nearby Montville, told CNN he was buying a $500 Sig Sauer scope for his LWRCI R.E.P.R. He also purchased ammo for the four AR-15s he owns, and was pondering buying a Henry lever-action rifle as well. He says buying all these items on Black Friday allowed him to save around $500.
RTSP co-owner Rick Friedman stocked eight to 12 months worth of guns and ammo in the event that Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“We were gearing up for a much different result,” he said. “[But] if you’re in this industry you’re obviously very happy about the result.”
Ron Reyes, manager of LI Outdoorsman in Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York, also reported a huge turnout on Black Friday as his gun shop offered discounts of 10 percent to 50 percent. He told CNN he sold 15 guns on Black Friday instead of two or three, and that’s before the day had ended.
“It’s just crazy in here with all the discounts,” Reyes said. “We’ve been getting calls all week about the discounts, and it was a slow week.”
Meanwhile, News4Jax reports that Shooters, a gun store in Jacksonville, Florida, had lines wrapped around the building as Black Friday shoppers descended on the establishment to get a deal on guns, ammo, cases and hearing protection.
