CHL Licensed Instructor Michael Cargill owns Central Texas Gun Works.

He says the 140 percent jump in applications from December 2015 through February is caused by a combination of fears of terrorism brought on by the shootings in San Bernardino and President Obama's proposed gun control laws.

"Then you have the new law that went into effect January the first (Open Carry)…all of that plays into it, and that's why we're seeing numbers. For the first time the State of Texas will actually go over one million licensed holders," says Cargill.

From December through February, DPS received 136,000 License to Carry applications compared to just 57,000 over that period last year.

DPS has been forced to increase staffing to handle the volume of applications.