Gun Businesses See Uptick In Training Classes After Permitless Carry Law

Oklahoma's gun-related businesses say they're actually busier with training classes now, three months after the state's permitless carry law took effect.

At 2A Shooting Center in Tulsa, manager Jason Perryman said just a few months before the permitless carry law took effect last November, he saw a significant change in people attending concealed carry classes.

"Within a couple of months before November it was just a pretty drastic nose dive," said Jason Perryman, the Manager of 2A Shooting Center in Tulsa.

According to statistics released by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation between 2016 and 2019, the number of Self Defense Act Licenses approved dropped from about 53000 in 2016 to just under 30000 in 2019.

Perryman said during the decline in class signups at his shooting center he lost about $20,000 to $30,000 in revenue.

"If that had been for an entire year I mean you could multiply that by prob four or five times that so yeah it's a pretty significant loss in revenue for us," said Perryman.

Fast-forward more than three months after permitless carry took effect, Perryman said it’s a different story.

“We are seeing a very significant increase in our concealed carry classes again," said Perryman.

Over at US Shooting Academy, David Reeh said he's seen an increase as well

"People were really afraid of doing something wrong with a weapon," said David Reeh, Managing Partner of US Shooting Academy.

Both Reeh and Perryman said they believe the uptick is due to the fact that people just want to understand the laws.

“They do want the training," said Perryman.

"People are afraid to do the constitutional carry without having the knowledge," said Reeh.

And they said knowing how to handle a firearm safely and understanding what you can and cannot do is always a good thing.