Full Breakdown
Turner’s Outdoorsman Linked to Record Numbers of Crime Guns in California
8/21/2026, 7:46:46 PM
Core Event
A California Department of Justice (DOJ) data release covering 2023-2025 shows that Turner’s Outdoorsman, the state’s largest firearms retailer, is tied to more than 8,500 crime guns—firearms used, suspected to be used, or illegally possessed in crimes. In Bakersfield alone, law-enforcement traced 83 guns sold by the chain’s Mohawk Street store to criminal investigations, the highest count for any licensed dealer in the state’s ten most populous cities. Across the three-year window the Bakersfield outlet accounted for 183 firearms later recovered as crime guns, surpassing the combined totals of the top five dealers in any other city.
Background & Context
The report builds on earlier investigative work by *The Trace*, which first highlighted Turner’s outsized share of crime-gun recoveries in May 2026. Turner’s Outdoorsman operates more than 30 locations statewide and has been licensed since late 2020, succeeding the former Second Amendment Sports shop that recorded 100 crime-gun sales in Bakersfield. State law defines a “crime gun” as any firearm used, suspected of being used, or illegally possessed in a crime. The DOJ’s new analysis is the first California-wide, retailer-level accounting of such traces.
Data & Statistics
- Statewide trace totals (2023-2025): > 8,500 crime guns linked to Turner’s — the largest single source in California.
- Store-level Bakersfield data: 83 guns traced to the Mohawk Street store; combined with the predecessor’s 100, the location totals 183 crime guns.
- Sales volume: Turner’s sold 540,000 firearms during the period, representing 21.8 % of all state sales and 25.9 % of guns later identified as crime guns.
- Time-to-crime: Guns from Turner’s reached crime scenes 36 % faster (under one year) than those from other dealers, a metric regulators use to flag possible trafficking.
- Other city hotspots: Turner’s stores in Los Angeles, Fresno, Anaheim, Long Beach and a Sacramento-area outlet (38 crime guns) also rank among the top sources.
Criticism & Opposition
Community-based violence-intervention workers, such as Juan Avila of Garden Pathways, highlighted the new “crime-gun tracing” metric as a wake-up call, noting that “many of those were being traced to Turner’s.” Their observations underscore concerns that the retailer’s pricing, inventory breadth, and location may facilitate illegal diversion.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Many of those were being traced to Turner’s,” — Juan Avila, captain
- “That’s really what grabbed my attention is to see how many guns actually can be traced back to a local shop,” — Juan Avila, captain
- “Turner’s is doing something on a corporate level — or they’re not doing something on the corporate level — to prevent this,” — Christian Heyne
These statements capture frontline observations and expert criticism directly tied to the DOJ findings.
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The DOJ data, combined with earlier *Trace* reporting, paints a picture of Turner’s Outdoorsman as a central node in California’s firearm-related crime landscape. While law-enforcement agencies deny evidence of illegal sales, elected officials and advocacy groups are pressing for deeper investigations into background-check procedures, corporate oversight, and the rapid “time-to-crime” pathway that appears unusually short for this retailer.
