Background checks associated with firearm sales rose 7.9 percent in October compared with the same month last year, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The trade group counted 1,402,422 checks in the month before the midterm elections, up from 1,299,312 in October 2025.
The increase came even as the FBI processed fewer background checks overall, according to reports. The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System recorded 2,104,063 checks in October, down 8.1 percent from 2,289,774 a year earlier. The foundation removes permit checks and rechecks from the FBI totals to get a clearer picture of purchases at gun counters.
Firearm sales typically pick up in the fall as hunting seasons open and holiday shopping begins. Mark Oliva, the foundation’s public affairs officer, said the prospect of new gun restrictions may also have weighed on buyers. In an email to Guns.com after the election, he pointed to statements from lawmakers about what they intend to pursue when the next Congress convenes.
“The nearly 8 percent, year-over-year growth is an encouraging report for the firearm industry … It could be indicative of gun owners’ concerns that the newly elected Congress will target gun control efforts in January. In fact, after the election results came in, several members of Congress, and those who have been newly elected to their offices have said that they will, in fact, pursue restrictive gun control. The predictable pattern has shown that when those threats to Second Amendment freedoms are made, Americans purchase the firearms of their choosing while that right is available to them.”
The October figures offer an estimate of buying activity. According to the foundation, 28 states recognize permits that allow buyers who have already passed a background check to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without undergoing another federal check. Those purchases are missing from the monthly count.
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