More Watauga County residents are looking to arm themselves as the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office issued several more handgun purchase and concealed weapon permits in 2009 than in 2008.

Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman released the numbers on Tuesday.

In 2008, the sheriff’s office issued 822 handgun purchase permits.  That number increased by 138 to 960 in 2009.

Concealed weapon permits were also on the rise.  In 2008, the sheriff’s office issued 183 permits, while they issued 377 in 2009.

Concealed weapon renewals also rose by 17 from 77 to 94 renewals over the past year.