Guns and ammunition have been flying off the shelves in area gun shops since Barack Obama won the presidential election.
"There has been a huge increase in sales," said Jim Losie, owner of Losie's Gun Shop in Oneonta, on Monday. "Gun manufacturers can't keep up with supply and demand.
"A lot of manufacturers are totally out of guns," Losie added. "I have never seen anything like this in 29 years of business."
Losie said his gun sales have increased 22 to 25 percent, and he is seeing people coming from a 100-mile radius to purchase firearms.
Gun enthusiasts nationwide are stocking up on firearms, partly out of fear that the combination of an Obama administration and a Democrat-dominated Congress will result in tougher gun laws.
As a U.S. senator, Obama voted to leave gun manufacturers and dealers open to certain lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.
Gun advocates are reassured somewhat by the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled, 5-4, this summer to strike down the District of Columbia's 32-year ban on handguns.
"It's very frustrating. We know the Democrats want guns out of our hands," Losie said. "The government is anti-gun, but what are they so anti-gun about? They are surrounded by bodyguards who are all carrying guns."
Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but that he favors "common sense" gun laws. Gun-rights advocates interpret that as meaning he'll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault and concealed weapons.
Linda Fitzgerald, owner of Lyn's Used Guns in Davenport, said she has been busy but hasn't seen a big increase in business.
"People are interested in buying assault weapons, and a lot of them don't realize that New York already has a ban on assault weapons," Fitzgerald said Monday. "And there are a lot of rumors flying around.
"I do find that some people are coming in to buy guns because they think they will be grandfathered in if something does happen," Fitzgerald said. "Others are just picking up anything before the inauguration."
Fitzgerald said she deals mainly in used guns, but added that she did try to put in an order for Colt AR-15 rifles, the semiautomatic civilian version of the M16 and M4 assault rifles, and couldn't find a dealer anywhere who had one.
Published reports quote shop owners nationwide as saying sales are up 40 percent since Obama won.
Handgun sales have also soared because of concerns over Obama's voting record in favor of gun control, as well as statements on the Obama-Biden website indicating they plan to tighten gun-ownership laws and repeal legislation that restricts police from releasing the names of citizens with concealed weapons permits.
Currently, police share that information only in cases where an individual is under investigation for specific crimes involving the use of a handgun.
A fear of higher taxes on ammunition also have people stocking up, Fitzgerald said.
"People have been buying ammunition by cases," she said. "I have been in business since 1992, and I have seen things like this before, like during Clinton's administration when they were talking about the Brady bill, after 9/11 and when everyone was worried about Y2K.
"Every once in a while, there is something that causes gun sales to skyrocket," Fitzgerald added.
Dick Gifford, owner of Gifford's Sport Supply in Walton, said gun sales have been better than expected this year, but he doesn't consider it a run on guns.
"I hear my customers talk about it a lot," Gifford said. "But it's the ammunition that is the biggest concern. People are worried about that."
Marilyn Olsen, Delaware County pistol clerk, said she hasn't seen a marked increase in the number of people applying for handgun permits, but added that she is always busy, so it might not be obvious.
"I can't believe how many people keep coming in," Olsen said. "You would think that everyone that wants a handgun would already have them. A good one-third of Delaware County's population has a handgun permit.
"There is a lot of false information and a lot of rumors going around," Olsen added. "But why would people go to all the trouble to apply for permits and get guns if (Obama) is going to take your guns away? We tend to see this every time there is a new regime."
Vice President-elect Joe Biden owns shotguns, but he has supported a ban on assault weapons and has said private sellers at gun shows should be required to perform background checks.
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Patricia Breakey can be reached at 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com.
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