The reasons for the spike, last seen in 2009, include fears that a second Obama administration might restrict gun ownership and the popularity of TV shows devoted to doomsday preparation and killing zombies.

So far, Parsons insists, Obama has been "pretty coy" about his antipathy toward guns, and he likely will remain so during the campaign.

Alan Korwin, author of nine books on gun laws, including "Gun Laws of America," says gun owners are worried that the president, as a lame duck, will clamp down as never before on gun ownership.

Parsons says about 40 percent of Armory customers cite this fear as their reason for stocking up on guns and ammo now, before the election.

Parsons thinks his stores performance is indicative of sales nationally, based on what he hears from dealers, suppliers and other store owners.

Gun maker Sturm, Ruger says that in the first quarter it received orders for more than 1 million firearms, so many that it has now had to stop taking orders.

Says a notice on its website: "Despite the companys continuing successful efforts to increase production rates, the incoming order rate exceeds our capacity to rapidly fulfill these orders.

" It expects to resume accepting orders, it says, at the end of May.

"Therere the preppers," explains Parsons, "and then theres this whole Zombie Apocalypse thing.

The first is a National Geographic TV show called "Doomsday Prepers" that chronicles the preparations being made by people convinced that a doomsday of some kind is coming.

A whole industry has sprung up to sell preppers survival and self dense goods, including guns and ammo.

Then there are zombies, zombie movies, zombie comics, zombie novels, zombie TV shows.

Americans fascination with all things zombie, Parsons says, has grown to such proportions that arms manufactures now have come out with zombie specific firearms and ammo.

Products include a line of Zombie Max ammunition (slogan: "just in case") made by Hornady Manufacturing.

"There are more than a dozen manufacturers, says Parsons, making zombie riffles, some with a picture of a zombie on them The two position on a zombie rifles safety, instead of being marked "safe" and "fire," are labeled "dead" and "undead.

"Gun maker DPMS Panther Arms is taking sign ups now for its fifth annual zombie shoot, "Outbreak: Omega" set for June 23.

"DPMS Outbreak: Omega," says the companys website, "is the Original Zombie Shoot, and the largest.

Says Parsons, summing up the reasons for record gun sales, "You got zombies, you got preppers, and you got Obama.

Katie Lennard is a business journalist based in Townsville, Australia. Katie has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Katie spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.