(CNN) Sen. Richard Burr privately mused over the weekend that gun owners may want to put a "bullseye" on Hillary Clinton, according to audio obtained by CNN. The North Carolina Republican, locked in a tight race for reelection, quipped that as he walked into a gun shop "nothing made me feel better" than seeing a magazine about rifles "with a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it." "I was a little bit shocked at that -- it didn't have a bullseye on it," he said Saturday to GOP volunteers, prompting laughter from the crowd in Mooresville, North Carolina. "But on the bottom right (of the magazine), it had everybody for federal office in this particular state that they should vote for. So let me assure you, there's an army of support out there right now for our candidates."Sen. Richard Burr apologized over tart remarks about Hillary ClintonThe North Carolina Republican is locked in a tight re-election bid
A Burr campaign official said that the senator's remark about feeling "better" was in reference to other _ candidates winning support from gun-rights groups -- not from Clinton potentially being shot.