After slow sales in July ended the nearly six-year-long streak of firearms sales above 1 million, that sub-1 million figure only lasted for a month. Based on recent sales information, the new 1 million-plus streak has now reached three months.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure for October was 1,299,312, up from the September total of 1,091,342. That number marks a slight decrease of 0.3 percent compared to the October 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,302,857.
For comparison, the unadjusted October 2025 FBI NICS figure of 2,289,774 reflects a 0.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,298,383 in October 2024. The adjusted NICS data were 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. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
Mark Oliva, NSSF managing director of public affairs, called the October numbers “encouraging,” as they indicate many are still very interested in acquiring firearms.
“October’s figures of nearly 1.3 million background checks for the sale of a firearm at retail is an encouraging sign that America’s desire to exercise Second Amendment rights remains strong,” Oliva said. “Historically, firearms sales during the Fall hunting seasons are robust, and October’s figures hold true to that trend. Firearm manufacturers continue to produce the high-quality tools that today’s gun buyers have come to expect, and these figures bear that out.”
According to the NSSF, the Top-5 states for Adjusted NICS checks were Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia. For handgun NICS checks, the Top-5 were Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, while Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Virginia topped long-gun checks. Interestingly, Virginia was not in the Top-5 of any of the categories last month, but a contentious governor’s election there could have spurred additional sales.
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.
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