Gun sales in the U.S. have started 2018 the same way they ended 2017 – at near record levels. The FBI recorded 2,030,530 background checks in January, the third highest for the month of January ever. And it was only a bit off the record of 2,043,284 which was set in 2016.
There were predictions that the election of President Trump would slow sales of firearms, but that has not proven to be the case. Gun sales in 2017 reached the second highest level ever for a year with 25 million guns being traded. The increase in sales was attributed to women and minorities entering the market.
Justin Andersen, director of marketing at Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, N.C., said the usually slow month of January for gun sales was above average this year at his shop, a trend he expected to continue for the year. “Historically, January is sluggish, but we were up over 10 percent from last January, so our outlook for the year is bright,” he said.
“While sales nosedived last February as the result of the presidential election, we don’t expect the same drop off this year. We are continuing to see new customers buying guns and we expect more new shooters to become customers this year,” he added