Background checks conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) are showing a well-defined trend after hitting “just” 2,440,730 for February 2024. 

While up from the 2,237,496 reported last month, the figure is a slight decline from the February trend set over the previous four years. Or, put another way, it’s the 65th consecutive month of more than 2 million background checks done by the FBI’s NICS in a single month. 
 

The unadjusted numbers provide a bit more clarity with the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s adjusted figure of 1,343,478 — removing figures for gun permit checks and rechecks by states that use NICS for that purpose — showing a negligible decrease of 0.01 percent compared to the February 2023 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,343,593.

“February’s adjusted background checks reflects the steady appetite Americans have for exercising their Second Amendment rights,” said Mark Oliva, NSSF's director of public affairs. “This is noteworthy given the increasing attacks on lawful gun ownership by the Biden administration as White House officials pursue rules that would make nearly every private firearm seller be required to obtain a federal firearms license and the ‘whole-of-government’ approach by White House officials to suppress lawful gun ownership instead of holding criminals accounting for their crimes.”

Overall, it’s an underreported trend that continues to show Americans’ interest in exercising their gun-ownership rights as the nation heads into another election year.