In the midst of a sluggish economy, Jeff McIntyre is receiving an unexpected boost to his business.

The owner of Nebraska Gun, 302 S. 19th St., said his inventory of military-style weapons — particularly AR-15 rifles — is flying off the shelves after the presidential election earlier this month.

“A month and a half ago, it would have been no problem to buy $20,000 worth of AR-15s,” McIntyre said.

But since the election, demand is high for that type of rifle, he said, and supply can’t keep up.

He thinks buyers are concerned President-elect Barack Obama’s  new administration will favor more restrictive gun laws.

Gun sellers are feeling the demand nationwide. Through October, the FBI conducted 9.7 million background checks on people purchasing guns — an 8 percent rise over the first 10 months of 2007.

For the week of Nov. 3-9, the FBI conducted 374,510 checks — a 49 percent jump over the same week last year. The numbers are not a precise measure of gun sales because one person may buy multiple firearms with one background check.

The FBI could not break out the number of checks conducted on Nebraskans.

But several area sheriff’s offices reported an increase in the number of people applying for handgun purchase certificates.

* In Lancaster County, 254 people submitted applications for a handgun purchase certificate in  October, compared with 182 in October 2007, Sheriff Terry Wagner said.

As of Tuesday, there had been 243 applications for handgun purchase certificates this month, compared with 128 applications in November 2007.

* From Nov. 5 to Nov. 10, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office saw a 300 percent increase in the number of applications for certificates  compared with the period last year, said Chief Deputy Martin Bilek.

His office received 262 applications for certification in October, compared with 129 in October 2007.

And for November, his office had received 399 applications, compared with 95 applications for all of last November.

* The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office had 158 applications for certification in October, compared with 97 in October 2007, said Capt. Monty Daganaar.

There were 158 applications Nov. 1-19 of this year, compared with 85 applications in all of November 2007, Daganaar said.

The handgun purchase certification is valid for three years, Wagner said. People do not necessarily buy guns the same time they receive certification, he said.

McIntyre said a fair percentage of the increase in sales since the election has been in sales of military style rifles — guns that traditionally have been regulated or banned most often, he said.

For instance, President Clinton signed a law in 1994 that outlawed the sale, manufacture and import of 19 types of so-called “assault weapons” and ammunition magazines that contain more than 10 rounds. It expired in 2004.

Now gun buyers are bracing for more restrictions.

“President Obama will most likely be our most unfriendly to guns president that we’ve seen,” McIntyre said. “We’ve never had a president previously say, ‘I don’t really like how things are in regard to firearms right now.’”

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.