Gun enthusiasts are loading up on semiautomatic rifles ahead of a possible federal ban on the weapons, according to Tooele gun dealers.

President-Elect Barack Obama supports reinstating the expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed by Congress in 1994, which mandated that all U.S. gun manufacturers stop making semiautomatic assault weapons and ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds, unless they were for use by the military or police. The ban also included a prohibition on the sale to civilians of certain semiautomatic assault weapons manufactured after the date of the ban’s enactment.

The ban was allowed to expire in 2004 under President George W. Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress.

Cindy Mosteller, manager of Oquirrh Traders, said she has sold more semiautomatic guns and high-capacity magazines over the past few weeks.

“We had about 50 people come in this past week for guns after the election was over,” she said. “We’ve been selling a lot of the guns that are 10 rounds or greater, and anything that has a 20- or 30-round capacity we’re now out of.”

Mosteller said two of her most popular guns are .223-caliber rifles and 7.62 x 39-caliber rifles, both of which would be unavailable for purchase if the ban was put into effect again.

She said fear of the ban is broadening her customer base considerably.

“I have been getting phone calls from all over the state for the kind of guns that may become harder to get,” Mosteller said. “We are trying to get some of them in before the ban, but not many people have them in stock. I’d say Obama will start working on getting this ban in place as soon as he gets put in January, but I hope he will work on the economy first.”

Mark Rich, manager of Hy and Mike’s Tooele Pawn, said he has also seen an increased interest in semiautomatic weapons. He said it is not unusual to see certain guns fly off the shelf the minute they come in.

“We had two assault rifles here recently, and as soon as we got them they were gone,” Rich said. “We have noticed an increase in calls from people looking for semiautomatic guns, which is probably up to about eight or 10 a day now since Obama was named president.”

Leon Hadley, instructor for the Volunteer Hunter Safety Program of Grantsville, said the ban caters to the fear that semiautomatic guns will be used for unlawful purposes.

“As part of a hunter safety group, you can’t help but be worried that people might not be able to purchase certain guns, and that the price of ammunition will become more expensive too,” he said. “Guns are an inanimate object, and they are what helped this country be what it is today. If you think about, cars can kill people and more kids die in bathtubs than by guns, but do you see people banning cars or bathtubs?”

Lynn Taylor, also an instructor with Grantsville’s hunter safety program, said that although is ban is geared toward banning the make of semiautomatic guns, he said it could lead to even more bans on other types of guns in the future.

“This ban is a terrible idea, and I think it’s just one more step to try and further take away all of our firearms,” he said. “Sure, they need to do things to keep these kinds of guns out of the hands of criminals, but what they’re doing is taking them out of the hands of honest, law-abiding citizens.”

Hadley said he also hopes that all concerned individuals will take some sort of action to fight against the ban.

“People should be involved in writing letters and making phone calls to senators and legislators about this, and that’s about all they can do right now,” he said. “As a war veteran, this ban is like a slap in my face.”

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com