Total gun sales in 2024 dropped for a fourth year in a row, according to an National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimate based on the volume of records processed through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). A decline in firearm sales isn't surprising following the record-setting demand during COVID-19, but failure of the contentious presidential election to bolster sales surprised many.
NSSF calculations put last year’s sales total at 15,239,011, a 3.5 percent decline when compared to 2023’s figure of 15,848,055. The slowdown accelerated toward the end of the year, a traditionally heavy holiday shopping period in which voters also went to the polls.
The fourth quarter of 2024 saw roughly 4,459,900 law-abiding Americans submit to a NICS check to purchase a gun, a 5.9 percent reduction compared to 2023’s total of 4,742,029. December was the 65th month in a row that more than 1 million Americans bought a firearm, but the month’s total purchases were down 7.5 percent compared to 2023.
The news isn’t all gloom and doom, however. There’s a reverse trend unfolding in a different corner of the industry.
During both the 2023 and 2024 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Shows (SHOT)—owned by NSSF—there were roughly 2,600 companies exhibiting their wares and services. At this year’s annual gathering in Las Vegas, 2,860 firms had a booth. That’s a 10 percent increase in a single year.
Firearm manufacturers occupy most of the floor space and dominate headlines, rightfully so, but they do not constitute most of the booths. The majority specialize in gear and accessories.
Admittedly, NSSF does a great job finding room for exhibitors and is constantly expanding floor space. Regardless, it is an expensive investment to have a presence at the event. Rooms, meals, air fare, car rentals and other costs add up fast, and the total largely excludes tightly budgeted startups from attendance. The fact that more companies can afford to attend the prestigious event speaks volumes about the industry’s health, in particular those companies that don’t make guns. Does it signal a shift in buying preference among enthusiasts?
The jury’s out on that one, but if suppressor sales* are any indication, gun owners may well be shifting their interest to accessorizing their firearms more than buying a new one. In October 2024, the NSSF issued a press release stating 1.4 million suppressors were sold to Americans in the first half of 2024 alone.
Had that cash had been spent exclusively on guns, we’d be talking about 2024 reversing the three-year decline in sales instead of it stretching to four.
*Suppressors are a National Firearm Act item and, despite requiring fingerprinting, approvals and a NICS background check, are not included in the monthly and annual gun sales estimates by the NSSF.
