2017 is the Second Highest Gun Sales of All Time

2017 is the Second Highest Gun Sales of All Time

Background checks for gun purchases fell last year after a record-breaking 2016, in what analysts are calling the official end of the Obama-era gun boom.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System ran 25.2 million checks in 2017 — down from the all-time high of 27.5 million in 2016. The 2017 figure was still the second-highest on record but just the second drop in the past 14 years. The other drop came in 2014, as the post-Newtown buying spree receded.

Background checks don’t represent a correlation to gun sales but are used as a general approximation for the health of the market.

Gun dealers had been steeling for a potential dip after the election of Donald Trump, who proudly championed gun rights during his 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton…

But pro-gun advocates say that all things considered, last year could have been worse.

“The demand for buying firearms is still strong, given that gun sales in 2017 were the second highest of all time,” said Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America. “The record-setting year was 2016, and that is most likely attributable to panic buyers fearing a gun-grabbing Hillary Clinton presidency.”

Read More at The Washington Times