Jackson gun shop closes amid regulation trouble

Jackson Guns and Ammo Shop in Henrietta closed its doors last week after the owner decided it was too difficult to continue business under New York state's gun regulations.

Kordell Jackson ran his gun shop out of two locations in Henrietta and Scottsville, and had a large following of firearm owners on the south side of Rochester. The closure was in Jackson's mind for months, he said. He closed the Scottsville location on Jan. 1, and the Henrietta location on Jan. 17.

"The SAFE Act killed us in terms of business," he said. "It was very difficult with sales and regulations with transferring and obtaining firearms, so I decided to close up."

The SAFE Act went into effect in 2013 following the elementary school killings in Newtown, Conn., and restricted the kinds of firearms and ammunition that could be sold in gun shops. Republican politicians have introduced several bills this year to repeal or reform parts of the act.

Jackson was embroiled in a debt collection situation last year when police seized some of his inventory to settle his advertising debts to WHEC-TV. The dispute was resolved and Jackson reclaimed his possessions a few weeks later. This closure has nothing to do with that or any other lawsuit, he said.

"This was not done by any circumstances other than what I decided to do," he said. He sold his building in Henrietta back to the plaza's new owner, and absorbed whatever inventory he hadn't sold into his personal inventory.

He plans to open a gun shop in North Carolina near the end of 2015, where gun regulations are less stringent, he said.

"We've talked to a lot of customers, and everybody is very upset about the fact that we're closing," he said. "This was not an easy decision, but they have to understand that with the new regulations, it's impossible to survive."

Other gun shops in the area struggle to reconcile state regulations and business, and some have gotten creative to boost their sales. Beikirch Ammunition in East Rochester opened two Northern Pennsylvania locations to supplement their New York business after the SAFE Act restricted firearm and ammo sales.

"The SAFE Act was the straw that broke the camel's back" in the decision to open stores in a different state, said Handgun Manager Ryan Farnung. "Sales dropped off almost entirely in 2013, and 2014 wasn't a great year either."

The SAFE Act caused a drop-off of between 10 percent to 20 percent of the business' overall revenue, he said. Beikirch can now sell firearms at its Pennsylvania stores that it can no longer sell in New York due to SAFE Act regulations.

"Between the stores we have, our sales are little bit higher than before," Farnung said, adding that the extra stores haven't moved the needle that much for the overall business revenue. "It was a necessary step we had to take," he said.

Victor gun shop Pro-Gun Services may close soon when its owner retires, but it won't be closing because of regulation trouble, said Manager Tim Kinton.

"We make sure we don't break any rules," Kinton said. "We're not having a bad time with (the regulations), but it's causing less product to be available to us."

While Farnung said the East Rochester Beikirch store will remain open for the foreseeable future, having another gun shop close nearby is disconcerting.

"Even though Kordell's business was our competition, no one likes to see another business closing," he said. "You look at that and wonder, 'if it happened to him, it can happen to anyone.' "

STADDEO@DemocratandChronicle.com

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