Local gun store struggles to stock inventory

Inside Absolute Arms & Ammo in Cape Girardeau, a small white dog rested between a bottle of hand sanitizer and a baby carrier atop a glass cabinet filled with pistols. Owner Jeff Poole and employee Christopher Williams stood behind the glass, dressed casually and looking at ease.

That wasn't the case two years ago.

Two years ago, almost to the day, Poole and Williams remember sales jumping into high gear. Americans bought a record 23 million firearms in 2020, according to Small Arms Analytics, a surge fueled by social unrest and fears the COVID-19 pandemic would crumble society -- a scenario Poole contended is still "very possible." He also suggested stimulus checks may have had just as much to do with the surge as fears of apocalypse.

"During COVID, it was getting crazy, people were buying up all the ARs along with home-defense shotguns," Williams recalled.

Now, according to Poole, high demand for home-defense weapons has been replaced by supply-chain shortages. Today, Poole has plenty of AR-type rifles but a hard time getting ammunition, bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic shotguns or most steel-frame firearms.

Poole said simply, "inventory is still a pain. ... It's a struggle every day."

Asked why polymer-framed firearms such as the ARs have been easier to stock than steel frames and ammunition, Poole said he doesn't know.

"I just can't answer your question. I wish I could," he admitted.

The store, like all American gun shops, is also prohibited from doing business with certain countries. Russian ammunition -- for example, bullets for an AK-47 -- are currently still in stock, but can no longer be restocked. Restrictions on Russian imports were in place before the Ukrainian crisis, although no one at the store is quite sure why.

Asked about the small dog and 3-month-old baby in the store, Poole said. "We're dog-friendly, kid-friendly, baby-friendly, we're just plain friendly ... unless you push one of our buttons."

Business in general seems to be going well.

"I'm not gonna say it's booming, but it's steady," Williams said.

AR-type modern sporting rifles aren't flying off the shelves at Absolute Arms & Ammo in Cape Girardeau as they did a couple years ago, as upply chain issues have hindered stock of ammunition and accessories.Michael Leifer