March sees 15% increase in firearms sales checks over same month last year

The March 2011 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 990,840 is an increase of 15 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 861,408 in March 2010.

For comparison, the unadjusted March 2011 NICS figure of 1,437,709 is an increase of 11.3 percent over the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,291,618 in March 2010. The adjusted NICS data was derived by NSSF by subtracting out all NICS purpose-code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.

While not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide a more accurate picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.