CHAD PLAUCHE-ADKINS The Marietta Times Greg Smith shows new options for Ohio hunters Monday at Henderson Wilds.

Black Friday gun purchases were at their lowest in four years, dropping 10 percent to 182,093, according to the FBI.

Statistics from the FBI say there was a drop last year as well, with about 2,000 fewer background requests from 2016 to 2017. Even though the number of background checks has decreased the last few years, it is still more than double the 10-year low from 2007 of just more than 11,177,000. The number of background checks isn’t the direct number of guns sold, though. People may purchase more than one firearm on each check, skewing the data. This isn’t indicative of the number of people that own firearms, either. A Harvard/Northeastern University study said that nearly half of all guns in the United States are owned by only 3 percent of the population.

But the data isn’t suggesting a single dip in the number of guns sold just over the holidays, it’s following a trend that according to the FBI, has been happening since the Trump administration has been in the White House.

Gun enthusiast Jay Shrewsbury, 48, of Parkersburg, said he has noticed a significant change in the market over the last two years.

“When Obama was in office the gun shows were always packed,” he said. “Now the crowds are less and the amount of things you can buy aren’t as much.”

Shrewsbury also said the prices radically changed when the former administration was in office.

“Before (Obama) got into office the price of a SKS (AK-47 style weapon) was $300,” he said. “Then when he was president I saw idiots paying over $700 for the same gun.”

Ronald Shumake, owner of Shumake Gunsmithing in Marietta, said the issue was people’s fear of having their guns taken away during the Obama administration.

“People would be waiting at Walmart for .22 (caliber) shells all day,” he said. “The day they knew the trucks would deliver, they would buy all they could.”

Greg Smith, owner of Henderson Wilds in Williamstown, said Obama-era regulations on brass and lead were the cause of the shortages four years ago.

“We’re not having that problem now,” he said standing next to the store’s fully stocked ammunition shelves.

Smith also said that Henderson Wilds has seen an increase in sales this holiday season, bucking the national trend. He said that new hunting laws in Ohio are a main reason for that.

“Last year Ohio went from shotgun to straight wall casings,” he said.

He said the new law gave more accuracy and power for the Ohio deer hunter to use. He said his increase in sales is largely due to people upgrading their firearms to the new limits.

Diana Nonnenmacher, co-owner of Magnum Get Your Shot On in Whipple, said sales at her business really didn’t see a drop this year during Black Friday. But she did say her overall sales have changed since Trump won the 2016 election.

“We have seen a slight decrease in long guns and ARs,” she said. “But everything else has been pretty steady. Overall the industry has leveled out over the last couple years.”

Even though sales have plateaued recently, some items desired by gun collectors are still not readily accessible.

“The 450 Bushmaster is hard to find,” Nonnenmacher said. “The ammo for it has run out and isn’t available.”

The assault weapon styled rifle uses a significantly larger bullet that is almost double the diameter of a standard .223 caliber Remington shell used in typical AR-15s. Bushmaster’s website says that the larger caliber allows hunters to kill bigger game at farther distances.

With sales of gun related merchandise staying steady locally and hunting season in effect, Smith said there are two things responsible gun owners need to remember.

“Know your firearm and how to be safe with it,” he said.