The American appetite for firearms shows no signs of abating as December’s retail gun sales continued to be strong. The old year saw a softening in raw numbers, but it ended on a positive note for the weapons industry.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported that the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS) conducted some 2,220,852 federal background checks in December.
While that number plunged 16.1 percent from December 2024, actual gun sales shrank a much more modest 3.4 percent.
Firearm sales remain strong following years of record-setting transactions
NSSF Public Affairs Officer Mark Oliva told Guns.com that December’s numbers once again illustrate how vital Second Amendment rights are for upstanding Americans.
“This is an undeniable fact that lawful gun ownership is a valued and treasured right exercised by tens of millions of Americans daily,” Oliva declared. “Certain political figures continue to rail against and restrict the free exercise of Second Amendment rights and do so at the peril of ignoring these law-abiding citizens who are voting with their wallets. Gun ownership continues to grow even as we see falling crime rates. These Americans are, quite literally, investing in their personal safety and freedom.”
Weapons industry finished 2025 strong and looks forward to an even better 2026
As for 2025 as a whole, the NSSF reported that an adjusted 14,612,314 NICS checks were conducted, just 4.1 percent below 2024’s 15,239,011.
The top three states for handgun sales in December were Texas, Florida, and California. Top states for long-gun sales last month were Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Note that 28 states allow a permit holder who has undergone a background check to purchase an additional firearm without another NICS inquiry. This indicates that the total number of firearm transactions is even higher than the FBI’s figures show.
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