August Was the Seventh Straight Month With a Year-Over-Year Gun Sales Increase

It’s looking more and more like we’ve reached the bottom of the post COVID gun sales trough. The NSSF reports that gun sales adjusted NICS background checks were up 2.2% in August over the same month last year. That’s the seventh consecutive month showing a year-over-year monthly increase.

The NSSF’s Mark Oliva had this to say about that . . .

August’s NSSF Adjusted NICS figures show that firearm sales are still strong, despite the economic concerns. The fact that over 1.1 million times Americans purchased a firearm at retail to invest in their Second Amendment freedoms indicates that exercising lawful firearm ownership matters in America. The meteoric growth of over 200 percent of National Firearms Act items is especially telling that Americans continue to invest in suppressors and understand and appreciate the value of using a simple device that not only preserves hearing but makes recreational shooting more enjoyable. Gun owners demonstrate through these purchases that Second Amendment freedoms are fundamental to preserving personal safety and liberty.

Here’s the NSSF’s announcement of the numbers, which now includes NFA item statistics . . .

The August 2026 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,115,410 is an increase of 2.2 percent compared to the August 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,091,342. For comparison, the unadjusted August 2026 FBI NICS figure of 1,917,379 reflects a 10.0 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 1,743,509 in August 2025.

New for 2026 – Monthly NFA checks (Form 1 and 4) to provide improved market insights:

 Top-5 States for NFA Checks in August:

• • The August 2026 NFA figure of 185,744 is an increase of 201.6 percent compared to the August 2025 figure of 61,594.

Additional insights on the month-over-month NICS data from GunBroker, NICS Reporting & Analysis (July 2026 data), available in the member portal under Industry Research.

• • Top-5 States for Adjusted NICS Checks: TX, CO, FL, CA, PA
  • Top-5 States for FBI NICS Handgun Checks: TX, FL, PA, CO, CA
  • Top-5 States for FBI NICS Long Gun Checks: CO, TX, PA, FL, CA

Please note: Twenty-eight 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.

For additional information on NICS or to view a complete set of the current monthly reports, please visit the NICS website.