The April 2022 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) slipped 19.7 percent to 1.36 million compared to the April 2021 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1.69 million.

For comparison, the unadjusted April 2022 FBI NICS figure of 2.53 million reflects a 27.3 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 3.49 million in April 2021.

The April 2022 figures are the third strongest for the month on record, surpassed by April 2021 and April 2020.

The first quarter of 2022 NICS figure of 4.2 million reflected a decrease of 23.2 percent compared to the 5.48 million figure for the first quarter of 2021, which remains the highest first quarter on record.

NICS firearms background checks were down 18.3 percent in March, 2.5 percent in February and 40.9 percent in January.