For the moment, it’s good to be in gun sales. Demand is up almost across the board and your share price is on the rise. Why? Some fear President Obama could swoop down at any moment and swallow the best tactical stuff in your inventory. Anthony Mirhaydari of MSN Moneycentral reports that gun buffs across the nation are stocking up on various rifles and pistols – even assault weapons.

Assault weapons? Yes. The ban on their sale expired in 2004, but President Obama is considering reinstituting the old ban. According to Mirhaydari, the president’s main concern is the flow of the weapons south of the border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

A growth industry

Gun makers Smith & Wesson and Ruger, as well as retailer Cabela’s, are reaping the benefits of increased sales. Smith & Wesson projects it will double its revenue within the next three years. Ruger showed an 81 percent fourth quarter increase on new products. It currently has an order backlog that amounts to $48 million. Cabela’s reported a 2.2 percent same-store sales increase over the holiday election season. Normally, that is a difficult time for retail merchants.

Share prices are on the rise. Recently, Smith & Wesson was up 56 percent, Cabela’s 35 percent and Ruger 44 percent.

“A good time to buy them”

Mirhaydari interviewed Wedbush Morgan analyst Rommel Dionisio, who revealed that much of the guns people have been buying are “self-defense firearms like military-type semi-automatics or pistols. Sales of traditional bolt-action hunting rifles and shotguns remain steady.”

Cabela’s spokesman Joe Arterburn admitted that many of his chain’s gun customers of late have been first-timers who “have never had a handgun in their home but believe now … is a good time to buy them.”

Has it hit the fan?

Why so much concern about self-defense lately? And for that matter, why has there been such a huge increase in the popularity of gold ownership? Bankers say that many vault customers are “hording gold.” Is the paper money system going to collapse? Mirhaydari poses – only half seriously – the scenario of a “Mad Max”-style wasteland. Will a down economy lead to something so drastic? I don’t think so, but there are plenty of people in America who are preparing for that “what if” world. Statements from President Obama about people who “cling to guns and religion” during times of economic stress are hard for them to ignore.

While President Obama says he believes in a “common sense gun safety law” and the Second Amendment, gun sales and gold hoarding continue. Perhaps Warren Zevon sang it best. “Lawyers, guns and money… they’ll get me out of this.”