Gun-maker Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. on Tuesday thanked the gun-control debate for record quarterly sales and announced plans to expand.

“Strong demand from consumers, coupled with the current political climate, resulted in unprecedented levels of orders from retailers to distributors,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

The Connecticut-based company also announced it was scouting for a third factory to boost production.

Sales jumped about 39 percent to $155.9 million in the first quarter from a year earlier. It rose 10 percent from the fourth quarter, Reuters reports.

Net income rose to $23.7 million, or $1.20 per share, from $15.5 million, or 79 cents per share, a year ago, Reuters reports.

The new LC380 and SR45 pistols represented 35 percent of firearm sales in the report.

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