How Big Were Black Friday Gun Sales? Here’s A Glimpse

By Tom Knighton

Black Friday was big for the firearm industry. We already know this. Yet the question remains just how big was it?

Well, the state of Colorado has given us a bit of a glimpse into just how big the day was.

The CBI’s InstaCheck Unit, which is tasked with conducting the background checks for firearms transfers in accordance with the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), had 41 people running checks for 21 hours on Friday.

The team conducted 4,779 background checks between midnight on Black Friday and 9 p.m. that evening.

That was up from the 4,329 the team conducted on Black Friday last year. In 2015, the team conducted 4,115 checks on Black Friday; it did 4,119 in 2014, and conducted 3,804 in 2013.

In other words, background checks in Colorado have been increasing significantly. If we extrapolate that out throughout the nation–which, admittedly, is less than accurate–then it’s easy to see that the firearm industry is doing pretty well following Black Friday.

None of the numbers being thrown about, however, count those purchases which took place online but are then shipped to a federally licensed firearm dealer. Those background checks will take place after they arrive at …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms