Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

NICS Numbers Tell a Story

Monday, May 10, 2021

NICS Numbers Tell a Story

We write about NICS numbers regularly because they provide a ready-made finger on the pulse of American gun owners. As we saw last year, NICS numbers confirm what were all thinking. Politicians talking about banning commonly owned firearms? NICS numbers rise. Bureaucrats releasing prisoners as a virus rages? NICS numbers rise. Readers know the rest. Self-reliance and firearms ownership are time-honored American traditions.

We usually look at NICS numbers on a month-to-month basis. Wed say something about how the NICS office conducted 3,514,070 total checks last month. We talk about how the latest batch is the most ever for that calendar month (it was) or how it was an about 21% increase over April 2020. Wed note that there were 961,947 handgun-related checks, 549,244 long gun related checks, and 602,540 permit checks last month. Thats what weve done in past months, and we have quite a streak going. Wed try to put those massive numbers into context.

Thats an increasingly difficult task, as each month brings several million more NICS checks. Readers, and the public in general, may become conditioned to these large numbers. That, when taken in conjunction with a media framing any month-to-month decrease as symbolic of a declining gun culture, presents a problem. 

So lets look at the numbers differently. First, the necessary caveats. Not every NICS check results in a sale. Twenty-four states allow permit holders to purchase a firearm from a dealer without a NICS check (based on their permit status). Now lets look at the overall growth of NICS checks since the system came online by looking at the total number of checks run to date each month since November 1998.

 

There have been 388,665,770 total NICS checks – of all types – since the system went live. The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that the total population was 331,449,281 as of April 1, 2020. The number of NICS checks conducted since November 1998 is 17% higher than the most recently reported U.S. population.

NICS checks related to long guns started off high. Handgun-related and permit checks started to narrow the gap in the spring of 2016. The line chart below really demonstrates the difference in rates well. Note the significant shift in the slope of the handgun and permit related checks; Americans exercising their right to keep and bear arms – emphasis on the bearing piece – present a clear example of bending the curve upwards. 

Long gun related checks, on the other hand, represent a nearly perfectly linear upward trend through the history of NICS. This category includes bolt action rifles, shotguns, and semi-auto rifles – including Americas rifle, the AR-15 and its variants.

Lets take a closer look at permits. Permit data, especially early permit data, is limited by both the availability of permits and the near-constant run of permit checks in some states. Some states would check as many existing permits in a year as they could. NICS later added a recheck” category which helped alleviate some of the visual imbalance between states, but we have to work with the data we have. The map below shows the rate of permits-related NICS checks per 100,000 total population per state since NICS went live.

Nearly every state moves into the yellow on the color scale, indicating a higher rate of permit-related NICS checks per capita, by 2018. This is only federal NICS data and so the states that use internal systems to process permits are not represented. 

The key takeaway, of course, is that the number of law-abiding Americans keeping and bearing arms is growing. Our community is growing, even while President Biden and Vice President Harris work to claim to the mantle of most anti-gun Administration in history. Out of touch politicians are, well, out of touch.

The American people are not out of touch. The continued high pace of NICS checks – were a third of the way through 2021 and have already conducted 40% of the total NICS checks run last year – shows that this was not a fleeting surge. Remember, firearms are durable goods. They are not typically disposable. The continued growth in the gun owning community shows that law-abiding Americans will continue to exercise their right to keep themselves and their loved ones safe and to engage in the shooting sports.

It is an American tradition.

IN THIS ARTICLE
Background Checks/NICS
TRENDING NOW
U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

ATF Invites FFLs Zeroed Out Under Biden-Harris to Reapply

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

ATF Invites FFLs Zeroed Out Under Biden-Harris to Reapply

Among all the infringements of the Second Amendment perpetrated by the Biden-Harris regime, one of the most punitive and consequential was ATF’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). 

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

Excellent news for gun owners came last week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes the complete removal of suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA). 

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

On May 21, two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging that body to pass H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

When the Biden-Harris administration made clear they intended to use a “whole-of-government” approach to suppress Second Amendment rights, few could have predicted their efforts would extend all the way to the dentist’s office.

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

Everything is relative, so the saying goes, which means that once in a while, it’s instructive to read about the gun laws and the state of gun rights in other countries. 

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Challenge to Machinegun Possession Ban

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Challenge to Machinegun Possession Ban

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation filed an amicus brief arguing that the federal prohibition on machinegun possession is unconstitutional as applied to the defendant in the Fifth Circuit case, United States ...

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

We have been reporting on recent reforms by ATF to make its operations more transparent, professional, and public safety focused and less openly hostile to law abiding gun owners and the industries that serve them. 

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

The pro-Second Amendment community understands that guns are not toys.

Maine: Floor Votes on Extreme Anti-Gun Bills Imminent

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Maine: Floor Votes on Extreme Anti-Gun Bills Imminent

This evening, lawmakers will caucus with their respective parties to discuss firearm bills before these bills head to the floor for their final votes. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.