President Barack Obama's ban on the import of Russian Kalashnikov rifles - intended as a punishment for Moscow's incursion into Ukraine - has had an unintended consequence: an AK-47 buying frenzy in US gun stores.
Firearms dealers reported a surge in demand. "They pretty much cleaned us out," said Brian Bunting, the president of Atlantic Firearms, a gun business in Maryland.
He estimated that the White House announcement on July 16 led to a tripling of demand for Kalashnikovs, with prices for a mid-range rifle rising from US$850 to US$1050.
It is still possible to import AK-47s made in former Soviet bloc countries such as Poland or Romania. But the Russian-made weapons are considered the best by gun aficionados. "If you think wine, you think French wine. If you think Kalashnikovs, you think Russian Kalashnikovs," Bunting said.
