June 2016 firearms sales jump 28.6% over prior year

The wave of increased gun sales that followed the December 2 terrorist attack in San Bernadino, CA and President Obama's ongoing attempts to intimidate peaceable gun owners through executive actions, showed signs of abating in May. But, as we predicted, the terror attack in Orlando, FL, and more political talk about blaming law abiding gun owners or blaming inanimate objects (instead of the terrorists themselves), has sent sales back through the roof.

The June 2016 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,140,088 is an increase of 28.6 percent compared to the June 2015 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 886,825. For comparison, the unadjusted June 2016 FBI NICS figure of 2,123,334 reflects a 39.8 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 1,518,852 in June 2015.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Connecticut, Illinois, and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.

Though 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.

With news in early July that the U.S. House of Representatives would be voting on an anti-terrorism legislative package that will include a measure to help prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns and also include due process protections, the debate will stay in the media, and gun sales will continue to surge as America votes with their pocketbooks.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.