A dramatic decrease in the level of firearms sales through the National Instant background Check System (NICS ) occurred for June of 2023. Monthly firearm sales in 2023 have been the third or fourth highest of the 25 years recorded in the FBI NICS records. In June of 2023, the adjusted sales dropped 21% from the 2022 figures.The number of gun sales in June of 2022 was about 1.35 million. In June of 2023 it was about 1.06 million. In spite of the drop in gun sales, the month continued the trend of over 1 million gun sales each month for the past 47 months, since September of 2019. The FBI total NICS check numbers for the month were 2.26 million. The background check numbers and the number of gun sales have become less and less correlated as the NICS system is used for more and more purposes. However the numbers for June of 2023 for both were the fifth highest for the month on record.
June and July tend to be low months for gun sales. Hunting seasons are at a low ebb. Christmas is past and yet to be anticipated for the next year. Summer sports take up more time. In 2023, the anti-Second Amendment activism of the Biden administration is off set by the effects of the Supreme Court treating the Second Amendment as an actual part of the Bill of Rights.
The sales of over a million firearms through the NICS system in the last month indicate the floor of gun sales may be approximated by the 1 million figure. Many new gun owners have been created in the past 15 years as President Obama and his allies have been working hard to fundamentally transform the United States of America.
As a partial reaction to the national and international uncertainty caused by Obama's policies and the reaction to them, people feel uncertain and unsafe The debacle in Afghanistan, the Russian-Ukrainian war, roaring inflation, rising urban violence, and an out of control border with Mexico all contribute to to feelings of uncertainty and a lack of security. A rational response is to seek more personal control and power in the form of personally owned firearms. The politics of restrictions on firearms sales and gun ownership are likely to become more important as the nation moves into the 2024 political season.
Gun owners are moving toward a majority position among voters. The way gun owners perceive the current administration is important to national politics. As more and more voters find the old media unreliable, the ability to paper over plausible threats to public safety and the Republic decreases.
As a corollary to the fall in gun sales, ammunition supplies are relatively high. Prices of some common calibers have dropped, and some reloading supplies are being seen on gun store shelves and advertised on the Internet. Availability has not reached the levels experienced in 2018, but it is higher than it has been. For the contrarian firearms enthusiast, this offers an opportunity to stock up on supplies which well hold their value during the current inflation.
Some people advise consumers to invest in precious metals such as gold and silver. In the right combination, metals such as copper, brass, and lead can be just as useful. The shelf life of ammunition is at least several decades. It is a known and useful commodity in difficult times.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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