For Brown Bear and hundreds of gun shops across Michigan and beyond, the coronavirus outbreak has sparked the biggest rush on guns and ammo since (and because) Barack Obama was president, several store owners told Bridge Magazine.

Ammunition website Ammo.com reported a 222 percent increase in transactions in the past three weeks and a revenue jump of more than 300 percent, which it too attributes to the virus gaining traction. A report in Newsweek, said FBI background checks soared 300 percent Monday over the same day in 2019.

Which begs the question, why?

The answer is complicated.

Israel, for the record, said he doesn’t ask customers that question. But he speculates that many have been thinking for a while about getting a gun for personal and property protection and coronavirus-fed fears pushed them to the brink.

Take viral videos of shoppers globally hoarding food, hand sanitizer and toilet paper, mix in terrifying reports of hemorrhaging financial markets, and add the potential of a U.S. death toll exceeding 2 million, and some folks can get a tad uneasy.

“Is it preparedness or paranoia? Is it fear or is it protection?” asked Terry Johnson, a Detroit lawyer and vice president of Firearms Legal Protection, which offers legal insurance plans to people who use a firearm to protect themselves or others and face legal consequences.