A gun shop (also known by various other names such as firearm store and gun store) is a

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

that sells

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

, such as

handguns A handgun is a short-barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced a ...

and

long guns A long gun is a category of firearms with long barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held with a single ...

, to individuals in an open shopping format. It may also provide repairs for firearms and their parts. Other items such as

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other we ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

accessories,

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natura ...

, and even

souvenirs A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a ...

may be sold in the store as well. Often having designs reminiscent of other establishments such as

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

and

grocery stores A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

, gun shops operate under widely different

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

laws depending on the specific nation, locality, and jurisdiction involved. Some locations may only employ a single

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

in a small space, while others might have many individuals working in a large space. Although the advent of

online shopping Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of t ...

has changed the business of gun stores, the ability for customers to interact face to face with store dealers often is seen as having advantages, examples being personally guiding individuals buying firearms through the regulated purchase processes set up by local and national laws. Employees may also offer specific advice about firearm specifications. Various firearm-related websites exist that partner, either directly or indirectly, with physical stores In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, gun shops are required to have a permitting notice known as a

Federal Firearms License A Federal Firearms License (FFL) is a license in the United States that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale o ...

. These licenses exist in order to administer federally mandated regulations such as bans on

straw purchasing A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent (economics), agent agrees to acquire a good (economics), good or service (economics), service for someone who is often unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service thems ...

Services and trends

Europe

Gun laws in Europe vary dramatically from nation to nation, with some areas having what amounts to a near total ban on civilian access to firearms while others have systems of moderate regulation. Nearly all nations contain stricter laws than that of the United States, particularly in terms of measures to require firearms training, mandate background checks, and impose confiscation of weapons upon the committing of felony crimes. Gun legislation in Germany provides as a contrast. Individuals who desire to acquire a firearm have to meet stringent standards to receive an ownership license (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Waffenbesitzkarte'' or ''WBK''). Personal characteristics such as mental fitness and ability to physically handle the weapons well are evaluated. Germans under the age of 21, unable to prove their citizenship status, possessing a documented history of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

, or otherwise failing to meet the guidelines will not receive the license.

Mexico

Retail gun shops are not legal in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. The Directorate of Commercialization of Arms and Munitions (''Dirección de Comercialización de Armamento y Municiones'' - DCAM) is the only outlet authorized to sell firearms and ammunition in the country. The business is located in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

near the headquarters of the Secretariat of National Defense. No other legitimate sales may take place in the country. Examples of specific companies with items sold in Mexico City include

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and milita ...

and Colt; rifles used in

are particularly available. The privately owned firearms are registered with the Mexican military and may be transported outside of the home only with a specific permit, which must be renewed annually. Prospective customers go through a system of strict regulations. Factors such as the amount of ammunition that an individual can buy each month are controlled.

United States

T & T Guns & Ammo gun shop in Rozet, Wyoming

As of early 2019, there were approximately sixty-three thousand licensed gun dealers in the U.S. Akin to other general-interest shopping stores, sales at firearm shops tend to increase during the

holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

, with the month of December providing stores with the best margins. In the

, prices for many firearms decreased in the aftermath of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, even as general sales remained relatively high. Gun store customers in places such as the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

often report various reasons for purchasing guns. One motivation is the fear of future gun control. Another is personal protection. Some individuals express interest using their gun purchase as a

store of value A store of value is any commodity or asset that would normally retain purchasing power into the future and is the function of the asset that can be saved, retrieved and exchanged at a later time, and be predictably useful when retrieved. The mos ...

because, according to one shop owner, "Game boxes break. Firearms don't." Although it is commonly thought that most gun purchases take place in the context of a firearm-specific

independent business A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

, data from the U.S. shows that many purchases actually take place in large

chain stores A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

in particular is the best-selling small arms retailer in the U.S. Firearm distributors need to comply with rigorous checks from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on a local, state, and federal level.

References

{{reflist Firearm commerce Retailers by type of merchandise sold

Services and trends

Europe

Mexico

United States

See also

References