Del City Gun Shop Struggling To Keep Up With Demand

Talk of a ban has gun makers and retailers struggling to meet constant demands. People are worried their options may soon be limited, which means gunsmiths are now working overtime to meet the needs.

Gun shops can barely keep firearms on the shelves. Local rifle maker, Retired Colonel Steve Russell says while business is good, many of his suppliers are under the same strain trying to provide the public with fire arms.

At Russell's gun shop in Del City, the goal is to make as many 1,200 Iraqi style rifles.

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"These are made to a high standard and very high quality," said Russell. "And we are the only ones that make an Iraqi version of this rifle, and we have the patents on the rifle also."

Russell and his crew of four have been busy making the rifles now for about two years. War Veterans, collectors and area professionals are their biggest customers. But he says, in the last two months, the already growing demand for these fire arms has skyrocketed.

"We have flown through our parts, we have flown through our rifles, and now we're trying to get ahead of that," said Russell."

"It's one executive order way from being a closed business, so people are trying to press us for time," said one of Russell's employees, Caleb Hader. "We're trying to press on as hard as we can."

Russell, also a former state senator, says there's enough regulations on firearms. He says the rifles represent less than .2 percent of crime across the country.

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"We need to enforce the laws that are currently on the books," said Russell.

In the meantime though, Russell says he and his crew will continue working to meet the needs of his customers.

Vice President Joe Biden met with Senate Democrats Thursday urging them to support the gun restrictions the president has proposed. They include bans on assault weapons and on high-capacity magazines for ammunition, and requiring all gun buyers to undergo background checks.

Biden says lives can be saved by curbing firearms, without restricting the right to bear arms.