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Industry experts have warned that new gun buyers are facing delays and that gun buying itself will be very different when shops do reopen.
John Butler, who is the youth development officer with the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC), pointed out that buying guns would be more difficult as social distancing wouldn’t allow for people to be directly fitted.
“We’re in the same position as opticians. You can fit a gun by observing, but it will be harder and every gun they tried would have to be put aside and sanitised," Bulter told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“I can’t see the purchasing of guns happening until August and that will only be if everything goes to plan and we don’t get a second wave of the virus that pushes the reopening phases back.”
It is estimated that there are over 200,000 legally held firearms in Ireland. Many farmers own guns as a means to control pests on their farms.
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