It's Small But Still An Increase

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported their adjusted NICS checks for the month of July 2013. It marks the 38th straight month in which the NSSF-adjusted NICS checks increased when compared to the same month a year previously.

The July 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 855,259 is an increase of 0.2 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 853,355 in July 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted July 2013 NICS figure of 1,271,571 reflects a 1.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,289,585 in July 2012.

The increase was only 0.2%. While still an increase, I think it may mark the end of the massive rush to purchase guns and ammo that started when President Barack Obama started proposing gun control measures in the wake of the Newtown shootings. That said, even if the August numbers come in lower than the previous period in 2012, we are seeing a new normal. Gun sales may have hit a plateau but it is a much higher plateau.

Of course, it is important to note that the adjusted NICS checks are not perfectly correlated with gun sales. The NICS background checks are used by many states for background checks on new and existing concealed carry permit holders.