Fear & Loading: Another Double-Digit Jump in Gun Sales

by
posted on October 4, 2019
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
sales-up-10-points-words.jpg

Fresh off August’s gun-sales increase of nearly 16 percent, September’s NICS figures indicate purchases last month were up more than 10 percent when compared to the same reporting period last year. May, June and July also posted gains compared to 2018, although they were more modest at 0.7, 3.8 and 1.6 percentage points, respectively.

The trend is a welcome news to an industry caught in a “new norm” in sales that followed 2016, when a record-shattering mark of roughly 15.7 million firearm purchases took place. Annual figures that followed the highwater mark dipped to 14 and 13.1 million.

Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting (SAAF) Chief Economist Jurgen Brauer explained in an Oct. 3 press release, “…the industry will be pleased, having seen excellent sales numbers in August and September that have brought this year’s year-to-date unit sales just 100,000 units short of last year’s sales-to-date (Jan. to Sept. 2018).” Five straight months of improvement—coupled with the approaching holiday-buying seasons—buoys hope that total sales this year could be better than 2018.

SAAF dissected September’s NICS figures by category, estimating “…September 2019 U.S. firearms sales at 1,064,579 units, a year-over-year increase of 10.7% from September 2018. Likely handgun sales (536,306) increased year-over-year by 11.6% while single long-gun sales (439,468) increased year-over-year by 7.2%. All other likely background check-related sales (88,805) increased year-over-year by 24.7%.”

The number of NICS background checks conducted by the FBI—reported by the agency monthly—include a variety of administrative uses, as well as a large volume of carry permits processed through the system. As a result, “total sales” reported by any source are only an estimate and should not precise. Further clouding the issue is the fact multiple gun purchases made at the same time count as a single transaction for reporting purposes.

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.