TheGunBlog.ca — Following is a Q&A with Scott Patience, the owner of Bullseye London, a gun store in London, Ontario.

He responds to questions about the demand for “Restricted” firearms, the outlook for business, gun politics and gun bans.

Patience will be running a panel at Taccom, the Tactical and Competitive Shooting Sports Show organized by Firearms Outlet Canada Inc. in Toronto in September. His session will focus on how the shooting community can come together to promote the sports and stop the government’s moves against us.

Patience spoke with TheGunBlog.ca today by e-mail. The text has been edited for clarity.

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Why is demand for “Restricted” firearms so high?

Demand for “Restricted” is so high due to the huge growth in the shooting sports, as well as the generation of people in their 20s to 30s realizing that they can participate in the shooting sports much more easily than they may have thought.

 

How is that affecting your sales?

In our store we are seeing growth across the board, particularly with firearms related to shooting sports such as 3 Gun, IPSC, IDPA and PPC.

Those sports require “Restricted” firearms which obviously drives demand, but 3 Gun is getting big and sport-style shotguns are gaining substantially.

 

How has the market shifted over the past few years?

Overall, there is no question that the sale of “Restricted” firearms has grown each year for the last five years as more and more people join clubs with active sections in handgun-related sports.

At Crumlin Sportsmans Association, where I am on the board of directors, we have seen our now 960-member club grow by 20 percent year over year for the last five years, with the newer members mostly interested in handgun-related activities.

 

What would happen to Bullseye London in case of a ban on handguns and AR-15s, which the government says it’s exploring?

If there were to be a handgun and/or AR-style rifle ban, it would be very damaging to Bullseye London.

Not only would it mean reducing the number of people we employ, it would take away from both how we all make a living and how we spend our recreational time.

There is no question that a gun ban of any kind will greatly damage the shooting sports as they are today, potentially eliminating all the success we have seen in the past few years.

 

What do you make of the current political and legislative context?

It is frustrating to see the Liberal Party continually ignoring the facts of gang violence and trying to appear as being pro-active by accosting and insulting legal firearms owners.

The Liberal government seems intent to only listen to the people in their own bubble while ignoring the facts of gang violence and the reality that law-abiding, legal firearms owners are simply not the problem.

As I am sure many people who follow the firearms debate in Canada are aware, the long-delayed Blair report was essentially buried when it was released on a Friday afternoon, most likely due to its content not supporting the Liberal agenda.

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Correction 05 Feb. 2020: Corrects spelling of Bullseye London in headline and article.