March Gun Sales In Virginia Jump 75% Over March 2019.

The Times Dispatch reports that he Virginia Firearms Transaction Center recorded 80,228 transactions in March.  That's a 75% jump over March 2019 and the highest total for any month on record since state police began tracking the data in 1990, according to mandatory criminal background checks on Virginia gun buyers.

The March number surpasses the previous Virginia record of 75,120 transactions in December 2012, which experts said was fueled by fears of increased gun restrictions after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut.

The March record also adds to what has become Virginia’s longest sustained spike in monthly gun sales ever. It began with December’s 73,849 transactions and continued in January and February with 65,839 and 64,070 transactions, respectively.

State firearm dealers say the surging sales can be attributed to the virus scare, along with the lingering effects of increased gun control measures passed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.

With so many first time firearm purchasers, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has created the below resource that will help in making the purchase, and safely storing the firearm at home when not in use.

With indoor ranges still considered "non-essential" by Governor Northam, and most outdoor ranges are private gun clubs, it will be difficult for these new gun owners to receive training (VSSA is working to get the Governor to change his order on indoor ranges).  There are resources however that can be helpful.  Gun Talk Radio's Tom Gresham has the "First Person Defender" video series.  There is also Rob Pincus' Personal Defense Network web site which has numerous free training videos as well as videos behind their pay wall.  While not the same as live fire training, you will learn valuable information from such training videos.  Besides the info graphic above, NSSF has a number of resources for first time gun owners.  If you know someone that has purchased their first firearm and you have access to an outdoor range, offer to take them so they can learn to safely use their new firearm.

Washington Free Beacon: Virginia Gun Sales Surge as Dems Pass Gun Control

Stephen Gutowski at the Washington Free Beacon writes that firearm sales in Virginia surged as Democrats in the General Assembly were busy passing new gun control laws:

Nearly 66,000 background checks were performed in Virginia in February as the state's Democratic-controlled legislature weighs a number of strict background checks—a steep increase from the 40,381 checks performed in February 2019. Virginia experienced one of the most dramatic upticks in background checks—a strong indicator of total sales—in the nation, according to data released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Gun sales are up nationwide with average growth rates of 16.7 percent, according to the report, but the surge was especially dramatic in Virginia where checks rose by 63.4 percent compared to 2019.

The spike in Virginia gun sales, which have increased for four consecutive months, shows that guns remain at the forefront of many residents' minds. While Democrats dropped a proposal to ban so-called assault weapons after facing public backlash from Second Amendment activists, they have moved forward on seven other gun-control measures; five have already passed through both chambers while two more are slated for a conference committee. The remaining proposals—including a red flag bill, a one-gun-a-month purchase limit, and a universal background check bill—appear to be enough to drive Virginians to their local gun stores.

The story quoted a representative of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) as saying the increased sales numbers should send a clear message to lawmakers as they weigh additional restrictions.

"They see that their elected representatives are infringing on their Second Amendment rights and they're buying the firearms they want to provide for their own protection."

The General Assembly is scheduled to wrap-up work tomorrow. A number of bills, including reinstating handgun rationing and a red flag law are already on their way to the Governor. The handgun rationing bill does include an exemption for people who have a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) so expect the number of people with permits to increase along with the sales that have already surged.

Virginia Gun Sales Normalize in 2014

The Times Dispatch reports that Virginia firearm transactions through the state police instant background check system dropped 15% in 2014 from the number registered in 2013.  This is to be expected as 2013 saw a huge increase in sales driven by the gun ban push by President Obama after the Sandy Hook school shooting.  Things actually normalized with no major threats in 2014.

“It’s not surprising,” said criminologist Thomas R. Baker, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs who specializes in criminology theory and has an interest in gun-related issues. “There have been no highly sensationalized public events of firearm violence and no knee-jerk reactionary calls for increased gun control as a response. The drop in sales should be considered in that context.” 

Baker noted that 2013’s huge spike in sales occurred mostly in the first half of that year and followed the tragedy of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., and subsequent calls by politicians for increased gun control. 

Baker pointed out that firearm transactions from January through June 2014 fell by more than 25 percent from the same period in 2013. However, sales during the second half of both years were more even, declining only 3 percent in 2014. 

“So it seems that after the rush on guns following fears over (gun) control died down, gun sales normalized,” Baker said.

And one retailer contacted for the article noted even though his sales were lower in 2014 from the number he had in 2013, 2014 was still higher than 2012:

It’s hard to use 2013 as a barometer for gun sales, because it was an extreme (year) — it was off the grid,” said Mark Tosh, president of Town Gun Shop Inc., with stores in Collinsville and Chesterfield County. “Everybody could have sold more if they had more. The sky was the limit.”

Tosh said his stores saw a 16 percent sales decrease in 2014, but the numbers were still above 2012.

And while firearm sales decreased, Colonial Shooting Academy, a range in Henrico County that bills itself as the nation's largest indoor range, noted their range business increased in 2014.

Steve Satterwhite, chief executive officer of Colonial Shooting Academy in Henrico County and Virginia Beach, echoed Tosh’s assessment. “It’s definitely a case of having future demand accelerated,” he said. “In 2013, what people normally would have bought in future years, they bought in 2013.”

Satterwhite said that while 2014 firearm sales at his stores declined in line with the state average, the academy’s shooting range business continued to grow last year. “That activity — people wanting to shoot on the range — has been very good for our business,” he said.

It's definitely a buyers market right now so if you've been thinking about buying a new firearm, now is the time to do it.

Virginia Firearm Sales Level Off to Pre-2013 Levels But Still on Pace to Be Second Best Year in History

The Richmond Times Dispatch has this story today that notes 2014 firearm sales are running approximately 23% lower than the same period in 2013:

Gun transactions have fallen every month from Jan. 1 through the end of July compared with the same period in 2013. Cumulatively, the numbers dropped from 286,480 transactions for January through July last year to 219,491 for this year. 

Firearm sales at 45 gun shows across Virginia also declined during the first seven months of 2014, from 24,870 transactions in 2013 to 20,492 this year, a drop of 21 percent. Gun show transactions represented 9.3 percent of the state’s total transactions through federally licensed firearms dealers.

Last year's sales were driven by the direct assault on our rights by Obama.  But, while sales are down a little less 25% from last year, they are still higher than 2012 and 2014 is on pace to still be the second best year for firearm sales on record:

“While firearm transactions seem to be declining, it’s important to recognize that 2014 is still on pace to be the second-highest year for firearm transactions in Virginia, outpacing 2012 by nearly 5 percent,” said Thomas R. Baker, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs who specializes in criminology theory and has an interest in gun-related issues.

The number of firearm transactions through the first seven months of 2012 totaled 209,591, compared with this year’s 219,491.

Baker also rather than looking at this year's numbers compared to last year, we should look at the general pattern of firearm purchase over the last several years:

The percentage increase in Virginia gun transactions has grown steadily — in some cases dramatically — every year since Obama has been in office except for 2010, records show. The annual number grew 7.2 percent in 2009, dipped to 3.7 percent in 2010, and then climbed in the double digits over the next three years — 16 percent in 2011, 35 percent in 2012 and 11 percent last year.

It was to be expected that sales would not continue at the pace they set last year.  But it is also clear from the above numbers that firearms sales, at lease in Virginia, are still increasing at a healthy pace, and that's good news for Virginia's firearm retailers.

Trying Times In Virginia for Gun Control Advocates

Picking up where the paper left off on Sunday,  today's Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) editorial page points to the huge increase in firearm sales in Virginia and the reduction in gun related crime and notes it is indeed trying times for gun control advocates:

Time after time, progressives have greeted expansion of gun rights with dire warnings that the expansion would turn society into the Wild West, and the streets would run red with blood. They said so after the Supreme Court’s two major gun-rights rulings in Heller and McDonald. They said so after the expansion of concealed-carry laws across the country. They said so after Virginia eased restrictions on guns in bars and restaurants.

In every case, gun-related crimes fell.

The RTD points out that facts are stubborn, and the facts show that the liberal claim that mores guns leads to more crime is wrong.
However, the RTD should do a little more homework when it comes to determining just who is buying all those firearms.   

Foes of gun rights might point out, correctly, that the percentage of Americans who own firearms is declining — therefore, the increase in gun sales is owing to existing owners who are buying more guns, not more people buying a gun for the first time.

They should go up the road to Hanover just outside of Richmond and ask Green Top Sporting Goods, the retailer that the paper's database shows sold the most firearms in the seven year span, and ask them just how many were first time buyers.  Or go to Colonial Shooting Academy in the west end of Richmond, and ask just who is taking all of those firearm training classes they teach.  The RTD will likely find what those of us who pay attention to such things know, that, based on information from manufacturers who have compiled data from firearm warrenty registration cards, say that about 25% of the sales are to first time buyers.  That has also been a big reason why you can't find ammo - more people owning firearms mean increased demand for ammo.
WRIC Richmond News and Weather -

Virginia Sets Record for Single Day Firearm Background Checks on Saturday

Yahoo News reports today that this past weekend, Virginia recorded a spike of 42% over the same Saturday sales last year.

On Saturday, Virginia state police fielded 4,166 requests for background checks, a 42 percent increase from the same Saturday last year and the highest number of transactions received in a single day since the program was implemented in 1989. Sunday's 1,828 background checks in Virginia represented a 43 percent increase from a year ago. Colorado also set a one-day record for background checks on Saturday with 4,200, the highest number since the program began in 1999.

One Virginia firearm dealer said he saw huge sales in modern sporting rifles and "high-capacity magazines."