Mississippi’s third annual Second Amendment Weekend is right around the corner.

With the incentive of saving money drawing in larger-than-normal crowds, local businesses are gearing up to meet the demand.

“We usually have a big group of people that come in and sales go up,” Ryno Martin-Nez of Hobie’s Outdoor Sports on Pemberton Square Boulevard said. “It’s nice to save that little 7 percent.”

The tax-free holiday will be in effect from Friday, Aug. 26 through Sunday, Aug. 28, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, with discount applying to firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies.

“We’ll have deals along with the tax free to attract a lot of people,” Martin-Nez said.

“It’s a good many more people than normal. A lot of people do come in and see us, and we pull in a lot of people who haven’t shopped with us before.”

Hobie’s will have discounts on shotguns, rifles and Glocks ranging from $25 to $50 dollar discounts, he said.

Greg Brown of Brown’s Gunsmith and Repair on Sherman Avenue agreed the weekend normally draws in a larger crowd, with most of his sales coming from special orders placed to take advantage of the tax-free holiday.

“They’re going to be running after these sales,” he said. “From 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., there’s no telling how busy it could get. I’ve stayed busy until I had to walk into the house, change clothes and head straight to work. I’ve already ordered a couple of handguns for a gentleman that’s going to be coming in this weekend to pick them up.”

Brown said he is expecting to sell more new than used guns this weekend and has refreshed his stock in preparation for the tax-free holiday.

“I order to fill the shelves, and that’s what I did for this weekend,” he said.

Both Brown and Martin-Nez agreed the sales tax holiday corresponding with dove season’s opening on Sept. 3 will bump sales.

“We’ll have all of our shotgun shells out for people to come (prepare) for the (next) weekend because ammo will be tax free,” Martin-Nez said.

He added moving up the tax holiday a week earlier compared to last year allowed for two weeks of increased sales.

“We’ll have another good weekend as well with it being dove season with people getting their knick knacks for dove hunting,” Martin-Nez said.

Hobie’s will maintain their normal hours of 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday but will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Brown’s will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with possible extended hours on Friday if business is good.