Atlanta resident Syra Arzu, 38, wanted to buy a Glock pistol. But the store was completely sold out, so she settled on a Smith & Wesson.
The single mother of three young children says she never felt the need for a gun, until now.
"It just seems like we live in chaos and this is giving me some kind of control over that chaos," Arzu said.
Once Arzu got hers, her friend was convinced to purchase one of her own. And another friend who accompanied Arzu to the gun store picked up his new gun last week.
"So you're welcome, gun industry," Arzu said.
Ken Baye, owner of Stoddard's Range and Guns in Atlanta, said he's seeing a different kind of customer these days: new shooters.
"We see a lot of women come in, a lot of couples, people with children," he said. "We're really seeing pretty much every walk of life."