The May National Instant Check Systems data, following the adjustment by the National Shooting Sports Foundation to focus on checks specifically linked to firearms transactions, shows a 3.2 percent increase in sales, compared to the May 2025 NSSF-adjusted figure.
This year’s adjusted figure was 1,105,758 compared to last year’s 1,071,685.
However, according to NSSF—the firearms industry umbrella group—the May 2026 FBI NICS unadjusted figure of 1,780,230 “reflects a 10.9 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 1,998,440 in May 2025,” NSSF said.
NSSF releases monthly reports on estimated gun sales based on NICS data released by the FBI.
“These are indisputable facts,” explained Mark Oliva, managing director of Public Affairs for the NSSF. “Over 1.1 million times, Americans exercised their Second Amendment rights by purchasing a firearm at retail. That is definitive proof that lawful firearm ownership is an American priority. The evidence is in the numbers. Background checks for firearm purchases nationally were 3.2 percent higher in May 2026 than they were a year ago. Background checks for National Firearms Act-controlled items, including suppressors, were 100 percent higher in May 2026 compared to May 2025.
“Further evidence can be found in Virginia’s background check figures, which topped 74,959 and were 103 percent higher, year over year,” Oliva added. “It’s not coincidental that firearm sales are skyrocketing in the Old Dominion at the same time that Governor Abigail Spanberger put a deadline for Virginians to legally purchase a Modern Sporting Rifle. That is cause and effect. The exponential increase of background checks in Virginia has been rising each month this year as the unconstitutional gun ban became clearer and is now a political reality. Americans – and Virginians in particular – are voting with their wallets. We expect that background checks will continue to increase through June and will be replicated in states that are now targeting some of the most popular pistols with unconstitutional bans as well.”
