NICS FBI background checks showed strong firearms demand on Thanksgiving week, culminating in 192,749 checks on Black Friday, a 2.8 percent increase from last year and the third-highest total, according to NSSF.
NICS background checks are unadjusted, representing raw data from the FBI, and include all background checks related to firearms.
NSSF data showed that the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) completed 711,372 background checks to purchase a firearm at retail during the week leading up to and including Black Friday.
“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,” explained Joe Bartozzi, NSSF president and CEO. “These figures tell us that there is a continued strong appetite for lawful firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans and that firearm manufacturers across the country continue to deliver the quality firearms our customers have come to expect.”
Annual background check data shows that firearm sales will rise during the final month of 2022, coinciding with hunting season and holiday sales.
Below are the breakout tables for each day of unadjusted FBI NICS background checks and the Top 10 highest days of FBI Background Checks.
- November 20, 2022—102,376
- November 21, 2022—57,665
- November 22, 2022—103,543
- November 23, 2022—109,895
- November 24, 2022—116,033
- November 25, 2022—29,111
Photo courtesy NICS
