BENTON TOWNSHIP - The stock market may be on a wild roller coaster ride, and retail sales might be suffering as shell-shocked consumers keep their wallets closed, but one business category is thriving - gun sales.At the Point Blank Shooting Range store in Benton Township, sales have gone up 60 to 70 percent since the presidential campaign got under way, according to owner Roy Daugherty."People are buying them, and maybe they're worried about a little ban going on later, once the new president gets in," Daugherty said.

Besides the shooting range, Daugherty's building has a store selling old and new rifles, handguns, hunting bows and lots of accessories.

Daugherty said people starting buying handguns when the presidential campaign began in earnest. "Now, since (Barack) Obama has become president-elect, rifles and ARs (assault rifles) and stuff have been going," he said.

Daugherty has been in business for just about two years, and his business is evidently going well. Traffic was brisk on Friday afternoon, and he's remodeling and expanding his store, too.

"Hopefully that will help people come in and buy more stuff," Daugherty said with a smile.

Daugherty wasn't surprised by the sales spike. He's seen it before.

"It's happened with other presidents, too, especially when you've got one from the Democratic Party," Daugherty said. That's not exclusive to the Democratic politicians, as "some of them like to hunt," but a Democratic president "does help gun sales," he said.

Similar increases have been reported all across the nation. Sales have surged as some people worry that Obama will limit their gun rights.

Daugherty is happy to see sales going up, though he's not particularly concerned about what Obama might do.

"I'm not worried," he said. "He hasn't banned anything yet." And even if he did, it would take a good deal of time to get anything enacted, he added.

The Second Amendment reads, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." It was not a big issue during the presidential campaign.

Some gun owners are afraid Obama will appoint liberal Supreme Court justices who will overturn Second Amendment safeguards.

In an interview in the October issue of Field & Stream, Obama said he thinks a ban of assault-style weapons makes sense, but added he has no other plans.

"I'm more interested in enforcing the laws that we do have," Obama said in the interview. "... I don't anticipate that there's going to be a whole slew of efforts at the federal level when it comes to gun control."

So where did people get the idea of being fearful of more gun control by Obama's administration?

Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" had no doubts. It comes from conservative commentators on Fox News, he said in a show last week.

In the meantime, Daugherty is just happy that sales are up - and that buyers are taking classes.

Even disregarding political considerations, Daugherty said it's a good time to buy a gun.

"If you're in the market and you've thought about it, buy 'em," Daugherty said. "The more people that's got something, the harder it is to take away. And with that, be safe about it. Take the classes. I like selling firearms, but I sure like to see people take the class too, so they learn. There's nothing worse than someone getting hurt with it. Safety comes first with anything."

If nothing else, a gun "is a good investment," Daugherty said.

"The stock market sure ain't no good," Daugherty said. But if you invest in a good weapon such as a Colt AR-15, which can cost around $1,400, in a couple of years "it's going to be worth more than $1,400, if you take care of it."

Some other gun shop owners in the area declined to be interviewed or could not be reached.