The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported that the NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure for the full year 2024 declined 3.5 percent year-over-year to 15.2 million checks, compared to 15.8 million in 2023.
The 2024 level represents the fourth annual sequential decline after peaking during the 2020 election year and falling to a level below the 2016 election year.
The fourth quarter 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 4.5 million reflects a decrease of 5.9 percent compared to the 4.7 million figure for the fourth quarter 2023.
For December, the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1.6 million decreased by 7.5 percent compared to the December 2023 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1.8 million. For comparison, the unadjusted December 2024 FBI NICS figure of 2.6 million reflects a 1.6 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2.7 million in December 2023.
December 2024 marked the 65th consecutive month that exceeded 1 million adjusted background checks in a single month.
The December 2024 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure slipped 5.0 percent year-over-year, missing a typical bump that has occurred in past election-year cycles.
NSSF-adjusted NICS were 1,370,719, compared to the October 2023 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,302.857.
“We are proud that NSSF member companies continue to serve the American public that chooses to exercise their Second Amendment rights by the millions each month,” said NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi. “These background check figures show strong sales and that today’s firearm manufacturers are delivering high-quality products. We are proud that our member companies continue to exceed the high standards that law-abiding Americans demand when it comes to the products that allow them to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
NSSF noted in its report that 24 U.S. states currently have at least one qualified alternative permit, which under the Brady Act allows the permit-holder, who has undergone a background check to obtain the permit, to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these U.S. states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits, and the NSSF does not adjust for these transfers.
“The adjusted NICS data is derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by [U.S.] states for CCW permit application checks and checks on active CCW permit databases. The NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016,” NSSF wrote. “Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an additional picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions for sales or transfers of new or used firearms.”
NSSF noted that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS and do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars.
Image courtesy Remington, Data/graphic courtesy NSSF
