NICS Adjusted Background Checks were down 17.0 percent in May to 1.32 million from 1.6 million a year ago. The May 2021 figures were the second strongest for the month on record, surpassed only by May 2020, when 1.6 million background checks for firearm sales were conducted.
For comparison, the unadjusted May 2021 FBI NICS figure 3.21 million reflects a 4.6 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 3.07 million in May 2020.
The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by several states including Connecticut, Illinois and Utah for CCW permit application checks and checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
NICS Adjusted Background Checks increased 0.9 percent in April, fell 14 percent in March, increased 7.2 percent in February and jumped 75.2 percent in January.
The 2020 annual total of 21.1 million, on an adjusted basis, represented a 59.7 percent increase over the 2019 annual total of 13.2 million. The 2020 total was the highest annual total on record, exceeding the previous record of 15.7 million set in 2016 by 34.3 percent.
NSSF estimates that in 2020, over 8.4 million people purchased a gun for the first time, based on retailer surveys.
Photo courtesy FBI
