Report: April Gun Sales May Be Higher Than Last Year

Gun sales this April may be higher than last year, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

An NSSF analysis found that 1,111,596 gun-related background checks were linked to sales, a 0.04 percent increase compared to the April 2016 figures.

"Anyone looking to proclaim a continuing sales slump would be wrong based on the best number we have as a proxy for firearms sales for April 2017 compared to April 2016," Mike Bazinet, a NSSF spokesman, told the Free Beacon.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System ran 2,045,564 gun-related background checks in April, down about a hundred thousand from the record set in April 2016. But the NSSF’s analysis found the sales number to be higher than last year after removing background checks not related to sales from the NICS figure.

Not all states require NICS checks on sales between individuals, meaning metrics for gun sales are limited.

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