People weren’t just buying TVs at Walmart on Black Friday.
Last Friday also went down in history as likely the third-best day for gun sales ever, with the FBI recording 192,749 background checks.
SUPPORT FOR MORE GUN CONTROL LAWS SAGS: GALLUP
Traditionally, Black Fridays are the best gun sales days of the year, and last Friday was bested by only two other recent Black Fridays, in 2017 and 2019.
Just those three days combined for sales background checks of nearly 600,000.
FBI background checks are the best way to figure gun sales, though not on a scale of 1 to 1. The industry’s representative, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said, for example, “The NICS checks are unadjusted, representing raw data from the FBI and are inclusive of all background checks related to firearms.”
Still, the numbers are stunning considering that sales have been at or near records since 2016.
“Background checks for firearm purchases were already trending to make 2022 the third strongest year on record, coming off of the outsized years of 2020 and 2021,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF president and CEO. “These figures tell us that there is a continued strong appetite for lawful firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans and that firearm manufacturers across the country continue to deliver the quality firearms our customers have come to expect,” he added in releasing the numbers.
Sales of guns typically rise during hunting season and for Christmas.
“This year’s Black Friday marked an all-time record for us, which I like to think is due to our promotional efforts, but the market is definitely speaking,” said Justin Anderson, the marketing director of Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the nation’s largest sellers.
“We’re seeing an upturn in business across the board. We’re also seeing growth in a few categories that have been stagnant for several years, including hunting and long range shooting. I’m projecting a record December that may match or even exceed our pandemic sales levels,” added Anderson, whom Secrets regularly turns to for information about gun sales.
NSSF said that for all of last week, there were 711,372 instant background checks.
The surge in interest and sales came as President Joe Biden threatened again to ban the sales of the most popular types of firearms, semi-automatic pistols and modern sporting rifles, and after recent highly publicized shootings.
Gun stores have told Secrets that Biden’s threat and shootings have boosted sales to women and minorities who are concerned about their safety. What’s more, support for more gun laws has melted away recently, according to Gallup, and concealed carry permits have surged past 20 million.
