Black Friday is always a red-letter day for retailers of virtually every type. So much so that the purchasing event has spawned Cyber Monday, and this has stretched into multi-day sales beginning the week prior, and often running past Cyber Monday as well. The firearms industry is no exception to this phenomenon. According to a November 28th press release from NSSF, the Firearm Industry Trade Association, this year’s instance saw over 5000 more NICS background checks for gun purchases than last year.
Black Friday @ TFB:
- 5 Items I’ve Used and I Trust are on Sale for Black Friday
- TFB Weekly Web Deals 33: Early Black Friday 2022 Deals
- Nearly 700,000 Background Checks Run During Black Friday ‘Week’
- NICS Checks From Black Friday 2019, Just Shy Of A Record
While Black Friday itself remains a high-water mark, there’s plenty of commerce in the lead-up week as well.
The NSSF’s full press release reads:
November 28, 2022
‘Black Friday’ NICS Checks Tick Up in 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, revealed that the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) completed 711,372 background checks for the purchase of a firearm at retail during the week leading up to and including Black Friday. FBI’s NICS recorded 192,749 background checks on Black Friday alone, ranking it third in the Top 10 Highest Days for NICS checks and a 2.8 percent increase from Black Friday 2021, when 187,585 background checks were completed. The NICS checks are unadjusted, representing raw data from the FBI and are inclusive of all background checks related to firearms.
NSSF has worked with firearm retailers to spread out special sales offers to customers throughout the week leading up to Black Friday so as not to overwhelm FBI NICS on Black Friday which can result in longer than normal wait times.
“Background checks for firearm purchases were already trending to make 2022 the third strongest year on record, coming off of the outsized years of 2020 and 2021,” explained Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “These figures tell us that there is a continued strong appetite for lawful firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans and that firearm manufacturers across the country continue to deliver the quality firearms our customers have come to expect.”
Annual background check data indicated that firearm sales will typically rise during the final month of the year coinciding with hunting seasons and holiday sales.
Below are the breakout tables for each day of unadjusted FBI NICS background checks and The Top 10 Highest Days of FBI Background Checks.
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2022: 102,376
Sunday, Nov. 21, 2022: 57,665
Monday, Nov. 22, 2022: 103,543
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2022: 109,895
Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2022: 116,033
Thursday, Nov. 25, 2022: 29,111
Friday, Nov. 26, 2022: 192,749
This year ranks number three on the all-time Black Friday list, with 2017 and 2019 ahead.Not bad, America! It’s always great to see our industry growing and succeeding, and ever more people exercising their inherent right to keep and bear arms. However, I think we can do better. Hopefully, next year’s season sees further increases. What about you, readers? Did you bag any deals this year? How did you contribute to our 2022 numbers? Please feel free to share your scores with us in the comments below. See you at the range!