Does this sound familiar? The March 2012 National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF) adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,189,152 was an increase of 20.0 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 990,840 in March 2011.
You should have heard or read something similar before, considering that this newest NICS update represented the 22nd straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased, as compared to the same period the previous year.
As NSSF explained, “For comparison, the unadjusted March 2012 NICS figure of 1,715,125 reflects a 19.3 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,437,709 in March 2011. The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Michigan for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.”
While not a one-to-one correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS statistics provided a more accurate picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.
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