(FreedomBeacon.com)- Gun sales in the United States have declined in 2022, but compared to pre-pandemic levels, they are still up considerably.
A new report showed that gun sales dropped only slightly in November, which continues the downward slide that firearms sales have experienced in 2022.
According to the NSSF — the National Shooting Sports Foundation — which is the trade association for the firearms industry, the NICS completed more than 711,000 background checks for people who wanted to purchase a firearm just during the week that led up to and included Black Friday.
That day is typically the busiest retail shopping day of the entire year, and it apparently applies to firearms sales as well.
All people who wish to purchase a firearm must go through a background check by the NICS, or the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System, produced by the FBI.
On Black Friday alone, the FBI conducted 192,749 NICS background checks. That represented a 2.8% year-over-year increase from Black Friday of 2021, when 187,585 background checks were done. That placed this year’s Black Friday sales in the top 10 single days for NICS checks in history.
The data above is raw data that comes from the FBI and is not adjusted. It’s inclusive of every background check that is related to firearms, and not just new sales. That being said, the NICS background check numbers are typically used as the benchmark data point for determining overall gun sales.
Joe Bartozzi, who serves as the president and CEO of the NSSF, explained:
“Background checks for firearm purchases were already trending to make 2022 the third strongest year on record, coming off of the outsized years of 2020 and 2021. These figures tell us that there is a continued strong appetite for lawful firearm ownerships by law-abiding Americans and that firearm manufacturers across the country continue to develop the quality firearms our customers have come to expect.”
Last month’s firearms sales reached roughly 1.6 total units, which represents a 1.7% decrease year-over-year, compared to November of 2021.
Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting (SAAF) said that the market for long guns decreased 5.2%, but the segment for handguns actually ended up increasing by 1.4%.
While November’s sales experienced a year-over-year decrease, it wasn’t nearly as much as the 12% decline that was seen from October of 2021 compared to October of this year.
November represents the 39th straight month in which firearms sales were more than 1 million. It’s not expected to slow down during December, as the last month of the year is typically a very solid month for firearms sales, due to holiday sales that are held as well as hunting seasons around the country.
Mark Oliva, who’s an NSSF spokesperson, commented:
“These figures are reflective interest and investment by law-abiding American to exercise their Second Amendment rights. This pattern has held throughout the year. Americans continue demonstrate that personal safety and responsible firearm ownership are worth their hard-earned dollars.”
