August 2020 firearms sales hit new record

The wave of increased gun sales that followed the government's response to a pandemic, and unrest in some cities, continues this summer.

The unadjusted figures of 3,085,227 checks conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System in August 2020 is a 31.8 percent jump from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,341,363 logged in August 2019.

However, when the data is adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation by removing figures for gun permit checks and rechecks by states which use NICS for that purpose, the number of checks stands at 1,684,083 which is an increase of 51.2 percent compared to the August 2019 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,113,535.

The figure is the highest for any August in the NICS program's history and is the latest chapter in a surge in checks over most of this year

The month’s figures also put 2020’s NICS totals at 13.8 million, topping 2019’s annual totals with four months of sales remaining.

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.