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Gun sales surged in July to an all-time record for the month, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and industry forecasters, with Americans purchasing an estimated total of 2 million new firearms. Gun manufacturers are struggling to keep up.
“The incredible surge in demand outstripped our production capacity, ” Sturm, Ruger and Co. CEO Christopher Killoy told investors on a Thursday earnings call on Thursday. He said it was the “strongest level of demand” he had seen in 30 years and that it “has impacted all levels of the channel and the impact on inventory at all levels.”
More than 3.6 million background checks were processed through the FBI’s NICS database in July, nearly doubling last July’s high of 2 million. The number of checks are an indicator of how many guns are sold, though the correlation isn’t precise. Licensed dealers are required to run a check in the database every time they make a sale. Checks are also processed when individuals seek a license to carry a firearm.
The industry group Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting said the 2 million firearms sold in July represented a sales increase of 134.6 percent compared to July 2019. Handguns accounted for 1.2 million — or 60 percent — of sales, while long-gun sales accounted for 600,000 transactions.
“Our estimates suggest that the market for the first seven months of 2020 now has nearly matched that of the entire year of 2019,” said Jurgen Brauer, the firm’s chief economist.
Gun sales routinely hit new records during President Barack Obama’s tenure in office, when Americans feared his administration would crack down on gun rights. Sales declined briefly after President Donald Trump took office, but have surged especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide uprisings related to George Floyd’s death in May.