Most firearms industry observers knew that gun sales in excess of 1 million a month couldn’t continue forever. That’s why few were alarmed when the number of background checks for firearms transfers fell to 980,000 in July, the first time the number was below 1 million in nearly six years, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
While some anti-gun groups cheered the sub-1-million number as “progress” and as a sign that gun sales were hitting a slump, August figures once again jumped above the 1-million mark. The August 2025 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,091,342, however, was a decrease of 9.9percentcompared to theAugust 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS figureof 1,210,995.
Mark Oliva, NSSF managing director of public affairs, said the August figure jumping back above 1 million was a positive one.
“NSSF is encouraged to see the adjusted NICS background checks top 1 million in the month of August once again,” Oliva said. “We know there is a strong and continued interest in lawful firearm ownership, and these figures bear out the truth that Second Amendment rights are valued.”
As Oliva pointed out, these monthly figures are much more than just data points or statistics.
“They represent Americans from all walks of life who are, quite literally, investing in their safety, security and freedom,” he said.
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 verify transactions for the sale or transfer of new or used firearms.
Notably, more than half the states—28 to be exact—have at least one qualified alternative permit, which, under the Brady Act, allows the permit holder, who has undergone a background check to obtain the permit, to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits, so the real number of gun sales is likely much higher.
The adjusted NICS data are derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.
In August, the top five states for total background checks, handgun checks and long gun checks were Texas, Florida, California Pennsylvania and Virginia.
