Estimated gun sales decline in April
Estimated gun sales declined 4 percent last month, according to federal data.
Dealers processed nearly 2.2 million applications through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in April. Estimated gun sales — the sum total of transfers in the NICS’s handgun, long gun, multiple and other categories — totaled just over 1 million, trailing last year by less than 50,000 checks. It’s the fourth strongest April on record, according to federal data.
NICS checks serve as a proxy measure for gun sales, albeit an imperfect one. Applications for concealed carry permits, periodic rechecks for maintaining licenses and a slew of smaller categories for pawns, redemptions, rentals and other rare situations undercut the total amount of checks processed in one month. Guns.com removes these categories from the total figure to more accurately assess actual transfers, though it’s still an estimate.
Dealers processed more than 563,000 applications for handguns and just under 376,000 applications for long guns in April. The numbers reflect a return to historic seasonal norms as gun sales slow in the spring and summer before picking up with the fall hunting season.
Share prices for major gun makers slipped marginally after the news broke. Analysts shrugged off the slump after NICS posted the second busiest March on record as a result of threatened gun regulations in the wake of the Parkland massacre.
Read More On:
Latest Reviews
-
The Baby Glock Centimeter: A Review of the New G29 Gen 5 10mm Carry Pistol
Whether straying into the backcountry or just a fan of the 10mm Auto, Glock has long had one of the smallest carry guns offered in that caliber and we have been kicking around its latest variant for a couple of months.
Read More -
AMT Backup .380 Review: Fun With a Retro Pocket Pistol
I’m rather fascinated with pocket guns, so when I came across this AMT Backup 380 in Guns.com's Certified Used stockpile, I had to give it a try. It's an interesting and affordable retro pistol.
Read More -
Winchester Model 100 in .243 Win Stands the Test of Time
Every now and then I happen upon a neat little rifle I’ve never heard of, like this Winchester Model 100. Let's see if this mid-century deer hunter chambered in .243 Winchester still has what it takes.
Read More -
Palm Full of Parabellum: A Review of the 9mm Bond Arms Stubby
Texas-based Bond Arms, the country's go-to maker of double-barreled derringer-style handguns in usable calibers, recently introduced an ultra-compact new 9mm-- the aptly named Stubby.
Read More
