Firearm sales have skyrocketed since Barack Hussein Obama was elected by the media, and many gun owners say they are concerned the nation's next president and a Democratic-controlled Congress will impose a ban on assault rifles and firearm ownership.

From Nov. 3 to Nov. 9, the FBI reported 374,000 background checks on people purchasing guns – a 49 percent jump from last year. Dealers are reporting larger-than-usual sales since Election Day, according to the Chicago Tribune. The rush to buy weapons is more intense than in the days following Y2K and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Post-election gun rush

Dallas, Texas, gun shop owner DeWayne Irwin said the election, combined with an unstable economy, triggered a firearms dash at his store.

"People are terrified of losing their right to protect themselves," Irwin told the Tribune. "The volume is 10 times what we ever expected. It started with assault rifles, but at this point people are buying ammunition, high-capacity magazines, Glocks – it's all flying off the shelf. With the economy the way it is, people are worried about instability. They are scared of civil unrest."

Likewise, Manassas, Va., gun store owner Bernie Conatser told CNN firearm sales have almost tripled at his shop.

"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11, Katrina," Conatser said. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now."

Managers at a shooting center in Houston reported selling out of assault weapons the day after Obama was elected. It now has a month-long waiting list for weapons costing more than $1,000 each.

Colorado and Illinois are also reporting record sales. Zion, Ill., gun store owner Jerry Bricco said Obama's gun policies have his customers worried.

"We've had a lot of people concerned because our president-elect is extremely anti-gun and so is his running mate," Bricco told the Tribune. "They're afraid of future gun bans and what you will be allowed to get."