The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) estimate of firearm sales nationwide for June 2026 was 1,123,006. The number reflects an increase of 11.7 percent compared to the organization’s June 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,004,986.
The improvement is welcome news for the industry. A significant portion of the double-digit growth was fueled by Virginia enthusiasts buying before July 1, when the state’s restrictive “assault weapons” and magazine-ban legislation was scheduled to become law and enforcement would begin.
Last month, 123,699 firearm purchases in Virginia resulted in a NICS background check, according to NSSF estimates. One year before, in June 2025, the figure was 36,217. That’s 87,482 more, a staggering 241 percent increase.
Gun sales would have increased nationwide, however, even without a political catalyst. The total volume of guns sold in June, using NSSF estimates, would have been 1,035,554 if The Old Dominion’s sales were identical to the same month in 2025. It’s good news for the industry and, despite the lower figure, this year’s string of monthly improvements would have continued.
An NRA-ILA challenge to the state’s restrictive law resulted in a judge issuing a temporary injunction preventing enforcement. That halted the measure while the case, Santolla v. Katz, winds its way through the judicial system. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice warned Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) that its Civil Rights Division intended to “commence litigation” against this and any law that infringed on the Second Amendment.
NSSF reported in June that Texas led the nation in NICS checks for both handguns and long guns. It also was atop the NFA list, with 23,133, followed by (you guessed it) Virginia (18,235) and Florida (11,782).
