2017 Was Second Best Year Ever for Gun Sales
Predictions of a “Trump slump” were premature.
When Trump won the election, most people believed that the Obama inspired boom in gun sales was over. Early gun sales statistics in 2017 seemed to support that theory. Now the final numbers are in and it turns out early speculation was incorrect. 2017 was a fantastic year for gun sales.
Paul Bedard reports at the Washington Examiner:
2017 gun sales surprise: Second best ever, 25 million, more ‘socially acceptable’
The long predicted crash of the gun market following President Trump’s election victory over gun-banner Hillary Rodham Clinton never showed up and 2017 became the second highest year of sales after 2016, the FBI reported Wednesday.
According to the agency, there were 25,235,215 gun background checks conducted in 2017, and many in the industry say the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is the best gauge of sales.
Only 2016 was better since the system began in 1998. More than 27.5 million background checks were recorded last year.
The year of gun sales surprised many especially in May and August when monthly sales records were set. December was the top month with 2,586,138 checks taking place.
Tom Knighton of Bearing Arms has more on this:
2017 Second Busiest Gun Buying Year On Record
Earlier this year, there was a lot of talk of a Trump Slump, a drop in gun sales because there’s no longer a fear of more gun control. Those concerns have been thoroughly debunked over the course of the year, but the perception still persists in some circles.
Well, maybe the fact that 2017 was the second-best year for gun sales will finally kill it.
2017 saw the second-most gun-related FBI background checks on record, a report released on Wednesday showed.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) conducted 25,235,215 checks last year. That’s nearly 2.3 million checks fewer than the record-breaking year of 2016 but also nearly 2.1 million checks more than 2015, the third-best year on record.
The number of checks conducted by NICS is generally considered a leading indicator of how many gun sales have been processed in a given period of time in large part because nearly all sales—including all new gun sales—made through a federally licensed dealer must include a background check.
Numbers for 2017 seemed to get a significant boost on Black Friday.
Aaron Smith reported at CNN Money:
Black Friday was huge for gun sales
Gun sellers did brisk business on the biggest shopping day of the year, providing a respite from a year-long slump under the Trump administration.
RTSP, a gun store and range in Randolph, New Jersey, surpassed last year’s Black Friday for sales, and that carried through the weekend for the store’s highest-grossing week since February, said Rick Friedman, the CEO.
SharpShootersUSA, a gun store and range outside Atlanta, beat last year’s numbers and at a higher profit margin.
“Our Black Friday was very good indeed,” said Tom Deets, the company president.
Black Friday was the biggest day on record for FBI background checks, which loosely track nationwide gun sales. The FBI reported 203,000 background checks for gun sales on Friday.
In the end, the good news for gun makers and sellers is the same. It’s also a good sign that support for the Second Amendment is as strong as ever.
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Comments
2nd best in units sold but I’ll bet the dollar value was way off.
Just heard a radio program discussing the lower prices for rifles and I’ve seen lower prices for ammo. Time to go to the range for some practice!
God news for gum makers? Juicy fruit going strong?
Oops! Thanks for catching that. Fixed. 🙂
This isn’t just current owners buying more, we’ve seen lots of new shooters buying their first firearms.
I am reminded of a picture of Senator Schumer firing an H&K MP5 in full auto …. with a big smile on this face. (I also have had a big smile on mine emptying a full mag of an MP5 and a golden arch of brass streaming from it.)
The controller/banners must try to stigmatize firearms because they know that once the forbidden fruit is tasted… and demystified … hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
But I’ll bet Schumer wasn’t paying for his ammo.
As Clint Smith has said, full auto converts money into noise.
Well, if you empty the mag with one squeeze of the trigger, it sure does convert money into noise with little to no practical effect on the target. OTOH if you shoot an MP5 correctly (3 to 4 round bursts) it is highly effective and doesn’t convert money into noise without practical effect.
Many new people discovering the logic of having a CCW and a gun readily at hand while out and about. Good life insurance.
The violent behavior of members of “the resistance”, Antifa and BLM have shown normal citizens that there actually may come a time, and soon, when you may have to defend yourself or your family. Add in the foolishness of California in its emptying the prisons and the issue comes into focus.
The Obama stimulus was based on a “get one while you still can” and now we have seen many demonstrations of why its good to have an equalizer: “God may have created Man, but Sam Colt made them equal”, said someone who knew what was what.
State-level abuses are still grotesque. No country with respect for law and order—or the civil rights of all citizens—should tolerate what New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, etc. get away with.
Also recall that the current primary driver of the American consumer economy and the hot trend in sales—that is, online, as opposed to traditional brick-and-mortar outlets—is closed to most of the gun biz by the GCA ’68.
https://ijr.com/the-declaration/2018/01/1044229-agents-try-72-times-buy-guns-illegally-online-result-will-shock-gun-control-advocates/
Agents Try 72 Times to Buy Guns Illegally Online — Result Will Only Shock Gun Control Advocates
The GAO revealed its methods in a recent report:
Our covert testing involving GAO agents attempting to purchase firearms illegally on the Surface Web were unsuccessful. Specifically, private sellers on Surface Web gun forums and in classified ads were unwilling to sell a firearm to our agents that self-identified as being prohibited from possessing a firearm. In our 72 attempts to purchase firearms from private sellers on the Surface Web, 56 sellers refused to complete a transaction once we revealed that either the shipping address was across state lines or that we were prohibited by law from owning firearms. The scenarios we applied to the purchases were derived from provisions in the GCA. The five scenarios disclosed status information that would disqualify our agents from purchasing a firearm. For example, in one scenario we stated that we were a convicted felon; in another scenario, we informed the seller that we had a dishonorable discharge from the military. In these 56 attempts, 29 sellers refused because they would not ship a firearm and 27 refused after we presented the scenario. Furthermore, in five of these attempts, the accounts we set up on several forums were frozen by the websites, which prevented us from using them after we disclosed our prohibited status or requested interstate shipment and attempted to make a purchase.
Senator Lieawatha and Rep Cummings commissioned this little demonstration. Keep these results handy to ask them if they start running their mouths about gun control loopholes.
People are worried that America is liberalizing as a Weimar Republic that will progress to National Socialism, including its policies of diversity, abortion chambers, Planned Parenthood/Mengele clinics, witch hunts (public lynching), baby hunts (private lynching), etc.
It’s probably premature to predict the future, but if there are sufficient “good” Americans, then anything is possible.
Yet, my ARs are technically illegal in MA. Molon labe
Speaking of Guns.
Fast and Furious takes on a whole new meaning now that we know the Obama Administration let the Hezbollah drug ring continue. Maybe getting rid of the opposition.
It may be leftists arming up:
https://www.npr.org/2016/12/25/506927780/gun-club-for-liberals-says-more-people-are-joining-post-election
and this:
http://www.businessinsider.com/liberal-doomsday-preppers-trump-2017-3
Did not purchase any new weapons in 2017 but did get a new barrel for my JM Pro shotgun. 28″ for hunting purposes.
And more ammo…
I sold a few a bought a few last year myself. You’re welcome.