Gun safety courses are swamped with new students

"At one time I had 600 guns on the shelf, and now I'm down to 200," said Kap Gun owner Kenny Polhamus.

So, what's driving this?  Polhamus thinks two major things, the prospect of a new concealed carry law coming to Illinois and fear lawmakers will outlaw certain types of guns in the near future.

"We've had a lot of new gun owners in here with the talk of the bans," said Polhamus.  He believes about 25-percent of people buying guns from him, are first time buyers.

"We've done a whole lot of business," said Polhamus.  "And a lot of them people are new gun owners."

Along with gun sales, safety classes are packed.  Polhamus says he thinks people are doing this to be ready should Illinois require people to take a class as part of a new concealed carry law. 

"It's a very wise thing to do before you just go off and think you're going to figure it out," said Polhamus.

Gun experts says the three most important safety tips for shooting a gun is always point the gun in a safe direction and never put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot, "and always keep the gun unloaded until you're ready to use it," said Polhamus.

But whether or not business stays this good could be in the hands of lawmakers.  Polhamus fears if congress outlaws semi-automatics and high capacity clips, his shelves will be nearly empty.

"People are like 'oh, business is great,' said Polhamus.  "It's like well now, what's it going to be like in two months, you know?"

Polhamus also worries that any new gun legislation won't really do anything to deter gun violence.  Gunfacts.info says that 93-percent of guns used in crimes were obtained illegally and not at a retail store or gun show.