Yet Another Impressive Month for Firearms Sales

by
posted on March 4, 2021
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
ar-and-handgun.jpg

February saw yet another impressive number of firearms purchased by Americans, maintaining a trend of each month eclipsing the number of firearm sales for the same month in the previous year that began last year. It’s a trend that’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Over 1.3 million background checks were conducted for the purchase of a firearm last month, a growth of more than 7% when compared to February 2019, according to new data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

“February’s adjusted NICS data shows us that Americans continue to purchase firearms in record numbers, while at the same time, their elected representatives in Washington, D.C., and the Biden administration plot to steal away their right to purchase firearms,” said Mark Oliva, director of public affairs for the NSSF.

To best reflect the number of guns purchased, the NSSF factors out checks processed through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that are unlikely to be used for the purposes of buying a firearm.

Oliva also said, “It’s not lost on the firearm industry that after a year of record-setting figures for gun sales, Democrats favoring gun control in both chambers of Congress are ignoring the will of their voters and introducing legislation to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens instead of concentrating efforts to reduce crime. It is staggering the tone-deaf response by politicians to attempt to curb gun owners’ rights and ignore criminals that break the law.”

If recent indicators are anything to go by, the Biden administration is about to try to gut our Second Amendment rights.

Nevertheless, Americans are continuing to exercise their Second Amendment rights in astonishing numbers.

February saw the third highest number of sales for the month on record, and though many retailers across the country are showing below-average inventory, the demand Americans are showing to exercise their constitutional rights is showing no sign of abating. 

Last year alone saw more than 21 million background checks conducted for the sale of a firearm, with some estimates that over a third of those checks being conducted for first-time gun owners. It’s clear that Americans are voting with their wallets. One reason for this is clearly that the Biden administration openly wants to take away our Second Amendment-protected rights.

Latest

The Armed Citizen
The Armed Citizen

The Armed Citizen® January 21, 2026

Around 7 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2025, near Los Angeles, a 79-year-old Vietnam War veteran heard his duplex tenant screaming. He found a naked 30-year-old man had forced his way into the woman’s home.

The DOJ Civil Rights Division is Hiring Second Amendment Attorneys

After Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, was a guest on Gun Talk Media with Tom Gresham, NRA-ILA reported that Dhillon is “embracing a new style of litigation on behalf of the Second Amendment.”

Cynical Strategies To Subvert The Protection Of Lawful Commerce In Arms Act

Since President George W. Bush signed the bipartisan Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) into law on Oct. 26, 2005, those bent on civilian disarmament have sought to bypass the legislation’s clear commands. In fact, 20 years later, gunmakers were fending off a frivolous nuisance suit from the city of Gary, Ind., filed in 1999, despite the PLCAA and state-analogue legislation.

The New York Times Tries to Explain the Drop in Crime

The New York Times is attempting to explain away the Trump administration's success at lowering crime rates with these explanations.

Winner-Take-All Elections Mark A New Chapter In The Second Amendment

Will a meaningful Second Amendment survive in Virginia? That this is even an open question shows how dramatically one election can reshape a state when it comes to the right to keep and bear arms.

Part 1: How the Mainstream Media Lost Touch With America—The Takeover by the Elites

Why is so much of the mainstream, legacy or corporate media opposed to our right to keep and bear arms? This three-part series attempts to answer these critical questions—understanding, after all, leads to solutions.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.