Sales of guns and ammunition have skyrocketed in some areas since Tuesday's terrorist attacks, as have sales of plastic knives similar to those believed used by the hijackers of four commercial jetliners.

"People are worried about being on a hijacked plane and want some defense," Mark Koscielski, of Koscielski Guns & Ammo in Minneapolis, says of the knives. "I guarantee you they can pass through an airport," because plastic won't trigger metal detectors.

"They literally have to do a pat-down to find these kinds of things," says Irv Miller at J & L Self Defense Products in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Some of the nylon knives, known as "CIA letter openers" or just "CIA knives," come camouflaged as combs and brushes. Others look like ordinary knives. They have sharp points for stabbing, but can't cut.

"I've probably sold about 75 non-comb models and about 125 of the comb/brush ones since Tuesday. Normally, we'd sell four or five a month," Koscielski says.

The FAA won't discuss specific procedures for dealing with the knives but says it "will continuously monitor security measures to make sure they meet current threats."

Koscielski says he's also about doubled sales of firearms and ammunition since the attacks.

"We've talked to our members and, yes, sales are up substantially, both firearms and ammunition," says Andy Molchan, director of the Professional Gun Retailers Association, representing about 4,000 gun shops, although he couldn't be specific.

"It's understandable. People react to extraordinary situations in different ways," says Nancy Hwa, spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "It's a sad commentary on what has been done to this country," she says, predicting that the sudden interest in weapons "is a short-term deal" that will fade.

She praised companies, such as K-mart, that halted gun sales temporarily, calling that "the responsible thing." Still, most of the 73,000 licensed gun dealers kept selling, and many saw big jumps.

Gun and ammunition sales are running about 50% above normal since Tuesday's attacks, estimates salesman Rob Tittenhofer at Shooters' Den in Winter Park, Fla. "Not a lot of commentary, just a lot of buying ó ammo, shotguns and handguns."

"Big increase in sales; marked increase. Probably four times what we normally do," since the Tuesday attacks, says Scott Hoffman, owner of Hoffman's Gun Center in Newington, Conn. "People are buying guns and ammo because they're scared. A lot of people have been coming in never having owned a gun before."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2001-09-14-guns.htm