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Gun Sales Reportedly Skyrocket Past Year-to-Date Annual Record by 2 Million

Last Monday, statistics were released that showed firearm sales surging in the month of October, which continued the upward trend for gun sales in 2020.

Many attribute the record-setting sales to civil unrest and uncertainty in our nation. During October alone, gun purchases spiked 65% in contrast to 2019 October sales. Officials estimate that 1.9 million guns were bought in October. The estimates were provided through data acquired by Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting (SAAF).

In a press release, SAAF Chief Economist Jurgen Brauer said that an estimated 18.6 million guns have been purchased so far in 2020. Brauer said that October sales have added to an impressive year’s total as 2020 “continues on its record firearms sales pace.”

Additionally, the SAAF reported that last month gun sales broke the previous annual high of 16.6 million firearms sold annually. That record total came from January to December 2016. This year, firearm sales have already broken that record from only January to September 2020. Sales have already surpassed the 2016 record with 16.7 million sales in the first nine months of this year.

Gun Sales Estimates Differ, But Still Prove Record Numbers

A different gun industry trade group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, came up with a slightly different estimate. Data based on their own sales calculation formula found that 1,769,553 firearms sold in October. In contrast to the SAAF’s estimate of a 65% increase, the NSSF is reporting a 60.1% increase. Yet, regardless of the discrepancy, both firearm groups have announced record-setting sales numbers.

Mark Oliva, an NSSF spokesperson, said each month since March “has been the strongest of that month ever recorded.”

“This much is clear as we head into Election Day. Americans of all political persuasions are exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and doing so in record numbers,” Oliva explained. “This hasn’t been a phenomenon of just red states, but also blue states. Never before have so many Americans chosen to exercise their right to firearm ownership, including the estimated 6.9 million who purchased a firearm for the first time this year.”

According to SAAF reports, every month from March to July of this year had an uptick in gun sales. In fact, June earned the highest increase as sales skyrocketed by 145% compared to 2019. More than 2.38 million guns sold in June. Those numbers from March to July correlate with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s anxieties over the unknown seemed to steadily increase, which may have prompted the spike in gun sales.

[H/T FOX News]