February Gun Sales Still Up

Anyone who attended last weekend's Richmond Gun Show will not be surprised that gun sales continued to be brisk in February. The show was packed as it has been since election day.

NSSF reported that data from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) show background checks on the sale of firearms jumped 23.3 percent in February (1,259,078) when compared to February 2008 (1,021,130). The increase follows a 29 percent rise in January, a 24 percent rise in December and a 42 percent jump in November, when a record 1,529,635 background checks were performed.

In related news, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) announced yesterday that firearm retailers may continue to photocopy the Form 4473 -- the federal document required for purchase of a firearm from a licensed retailer -- in its entirety until they receive requested backorders from the Distribution Center.

It would be interesting to see how fast the purchase of firearms in the AR platform increased the last few days of February following Attorney General Eric Holder making it clear on February 25th that the administration wants to reinstate and expand the ban on semi-auto firearms.