Oh look! Another month of healthy gun sales. According to the NSSF’s latest adjusted background check data, Americans bought at least another 1.1 million guns in May. The NSSF’s Mark Oliva tells us that . . .
Background checks for firearm sales at retail continue to demonstrate America’s sentiment when it comes to exercising Second Amendment freedoms. This is, quite literally, a monthly poll of how Americans are voting with their wallets, each and every time they complete a background check through the FBI for the lawful sale of a firearm.
May showed that over 1 million Americans chose to exercise their Second Amendment rights, which starts by being able to freely approach the gun counter to make a legal firearm purchase. That streak over more than 1 million background checks has continued for 58 months, uninterrupted. Firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans is more than a luxury. It is essential to guarantee the freedoms and liberties we all enjoy.
Here’s the NSSF’s press release . . .
The May 2024 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,089,117 is a decrease of 7.2 percent compared to the May 2023 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,174,142.
For comparison, the unadjusted May 2024 FBI NICS figure 2,000,505 reflects a 14.6 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,343,850 in May 2023.
May 2024 marks the 58th month in a row that has exceeded 1 million adjusted background checks in a single month.
Please note: Twenty-four states currently have at least one qualified alternative permit, which under the Brady Act allows the permit-holder, who has undergone a background check to obtain the permit, to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits and NSSF does not adjust for these transfers.
The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an additional picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions for sales or transfers of new or used firearms.
It should be noted that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars. Based on varying state laws, local market conditions and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.
2 Responses
I bought Smith and Wesson Model 629 with a 4″ barrel. Powerful. Accurate. Just a gorgeous revolver. Just beautiful.
So, gun sales are DOWN substantially from a year ago. Got it! 👍
That means that prices are dropping and that this is a good time for buying more guns, if you still need anything.
Most of us here already have a good supply, but this is a good time to buy.