At a time when many stores are scrambling just to keep their doors open, one Skagit County business is doing better than ever.

“It’s supposed to be a recession, and we’re seeing like a 300 percent increase in business,” said Keith Kesselring, whose family owns Kesselring Gun Shop in Burlington.

Sales aren’t the only measure showing an increase where firearms are concerned.

The number of new concealed pistol license applications in Skagit County spiked this fall, as well, nearly doubling when comparing September 2007 to September 2008.

In September 2007, 47 people applied to carry a concealed firearm in Skagit County. This September, 88 applied.

Those numbers were compiled from data collected from the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments in Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Burlington and Sedro-Woolley.

Officers noticed the application increase, but they can only speculate as to the reasons.

The biggest jump in applications locally was seen at the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, and it began days after the Sept. 2 shooting rampage in Alger left six people dead and four others wounded.

“(Applicants have) said that they’re concerned with the situation up in Alger and the general state of Skagit County in the news lately,” said Laurie Jarolimek, who processes concealed pistol licenses for the Sheriff’s Office.

As for gun sales, Kesselring attributes the increase to President-elect Barack Obama. He said it started in the weeks before Nov. 4, as some gun enthusiasts predicted Obama would win the presidential race.

After Obama’s sweeping victory, guns flew off the shelves into the hands of those fearing they might not have the same gun options in years to come, Kesselring said. Democrats entering the White House usually increase gun sales, he said, but this time is unlike anything before.

“That’s why I’m here,” said Big Lake resident Tony Nelson. “Just in case.”

Nelson is not alone, and neither is Kesselring Gun Shop.

Not just here

“It’s happening all over the country,” said Dave Workman of Bellevue. Workman is the senior editor and western bureau chief of the national magazine Gun Week. Gun Week is a publication owned by the Second Amendment Foundation.

“The prevailing opinion is that people are afraid that an Obama administration, with support of a fairly far-left leaning leadership in the Senate and the House, is going to bring up a lot of new gun control legislation,” he said.

Nationwide, gun dealers are seeing record sales as a wave of buyers worry that Obama will curtail their right to bear arms, the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press have reported.

“We believe that the reason for this increase is that gun owners simply do not trust President-elect Obama to preserve and protect their Second Amendment freedoms,” said Rachel Parsons, a spokeswoman with the National Rifle Association.

Parsons said Obama could re-enact a 1994 ban on military-like semi-automatic handguns, shotguns and rifles that expired a decade later during George W. Bush’s administration.

Kesselring said semi-automatic firearms are slightly more popular than other guns in his store since the election, but every kind of firearm has seen a sales increase in recent weeks.

“People just buy them if they think they won’t be able to get them,” he said. “A lot of them will just put them in a closet and never open the box.”

Not all gun fans fear that Obama will restrict their gun rights, though.

Dick Alescio, an avid hunter from Bainbridge Island, said he voted for Obama and that the new president will not limit his rights.

“That’s stupid,” Alescio said. “It’s not going to happen. It’s going to be fine.”

Standing amidst rows of shotguns in Kesselring last week, Alescio browsed for a new water-resistant duck-hunting gun. He said his trip from Bainbridge Island to what he called “the best gun store in the state” had nothing to do with the election.

“I need a new gun,” he said. “That’s all.”

Reaction to the sales

The recent spike in gun sales runs counter to national statistics, said Kristen Comer, a Seattle spokeswoman for the CeaseFire, a national organization that advocates reducing gun violence.

Gun ownership has decreased steadily for the past 20 years, Comer said. And most of the people who are buying guns right now already own firearms.

What worries her are the increased dangers that may be associated with having more guns out in the public.

“We already have plenty of firearms in the United States to worry about,” Comer said.

She said guns can easily fall into the wrong hands through burglaries or can be turned against the owner during a confrontation.

“You aren’t more safe with a gun in a home, you are less safe,” she said.

Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Will Reichardt said guns are a popular item taken during burglaries, and are sometimes used in other crimes.

The guns used in the Alger shooting were stolen from a neighborhood home, according to Skagit County Superior Court documents.

But gun-advocate Workman said a spike in concealed weapons permits is typical after a major deadly crime like that of Sept. 2.

“That’s a natural human reaction,” he said. “I think it’s the responsible thing to do because ultimately all of us are responsible for our own safety. People understand that the police and the county sheriff cannot always be there to protect them and particularly in this case where there was a sheriff’s deputy shot.”

Jarolimek of the sheriff’s office said concealed pistol license applicants reach across all ages and are both male and female.

One woman, who lives in the Alger neighborhood where five of six people were slain Sept. 2, said she applied to carry a concealed weapon two weeks after the shootings.

Reichardt noted that while gun safety classes are not required in order to carry a concealed weapon, he urges anyone with a firearm to take a gun safety course.

“I’m not concerned about the amount of guns out there,” he said, “so long as they’re being handled responsibly.”

• Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at .