According to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check numbers, more Americans are on pace to seek guns, 20 percent more this year than in 2011.
Thursday, 58-year-old Horry County resident Jamie Sawyer fired a gun for the first time ever, and many Americans seem to be following suit by purchasing their own gun of choice.
"I would just like to be more prepared than what I am right now," said Sawyer. "It's something that my husband and I talked about and finally just did it."
Though always in the back of her mind, Sawyer finally pulled the trigger on buying her first gun because of the mass shooting in Colorado.
"I had a good friend whose daughter was in the theater with the shootings in Aurora and was able to escape unscathed," said Sawyer. "It just really kind of boosted my thoughts as far as purchasing."
"One out of ten to fifteen people that come through the store, browsing and are first time gun owners," said The Gun Store(http://scgunstore.com/) owner Jason Wallace.
In his three years in business, Wallace has seen an increase every year in his Horry County store.
He believes, while the mass shooting tragedies may inspire more to protect themselves, it's not the only reason more people are buying guns.
"I do think it's a contributing factor, unfortunate instances like that are, but I think it's a totality of everything, the uncertainty of the economy, the uncertainty in politics, the uncertainty in future gun laws, the uncertainty in a lot of areas," said Wallace.
According to the FBI, the number of people getting background checks to buy guns has nearly doubled since 1998 and with nearly a quarter of a million more Americans wanting to buy guns this June compared to last, the hunt for guns isn't slowing down.
