We reported in early August how the nearly six-year-long streak of firearms sales above 1 million had finally come to an end. Many in the anti-gun camp even hailed the decrease as being a positive first step.
However, August sales jumped back up above the 1-million mark, with the National Shooting Sports Foundation-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,091,342. Most recently, figures from September show that the new monthly 1-million-plus streak has been extended.
According to the NSSF, the September 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,179,424 is an increase of 2 percent compared to the September 2024 number and also an increase over the previous month.
The third quarter NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 3,249,497 reflects a decrease of 5.7 percent as compared to the third quarter 2024 figure of 3,432,008. Still, Mark Oliva, managing director of public affairs for the NSSF, said the 1-million plus number is a good sign.
“September’s adjusted NICS figure of over 1.1 million background checks for the sale of a firearm is encouraging and reflects a steady interest by law-abiding Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Oliva said. “September is also the beginning of many hunting seasons across the nation and the firearm industry typically sees background checks for retail firearm sales increase during these months, as hunters go afield and want to take with them the latest in firearms to harvest clean protein for their tables. It is a matter of pride to those in our industry that Americans from all walks of life trust their safety and their treasured pastimes to the products our industry provides.”
According to the NSSF, the Top-5 States for Adjusted NICS checks were Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylvania and Colorado. For handgun NICS checks, the Top-5 were Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, while Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Tennessee topped checks long guns.
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 verify transactions for the sale or transfer of new or used firearms.
Notably, more than half the states—28 to be exact—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 states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits, so the real number of gun sales is likely much higher.
The adjusted NICS data are derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.
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