With Hillary Clinton threatening more loss of gun rights with her possible seat at the throne, one thing is for certain: Gun-control rhetoric continues to be good for the gun business. And, since the results don’t speak highly of her and her ilk’s ongoing strategy to disarm Americans, one would think they’d change their strategy. Nope. Full steam ahead.The March 2016 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,297,275 is an increase of 9.2 percent compared to the March 2015 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,187,823. For comparison, the unadjusted March 2016 FBI NICS figure of 2,509,065 reflects a 25.4 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,001,245 in March 2015.
The first quarter 2016 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 4,147,993 is an increase of 17.8 percent over the 3,521,089 figure for first quarter 2015.
The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Connecticut, Illinois, and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.
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 of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns. FBI NICS and NSSF-adjusted NICS figures do not account for firearm sales using approved alternate permits such as a concealed carry license. Several states allow the use of such alternate permits. It should be noted that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars. Based on varying state laws, local market conditions and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.
