NSSF: Black Friday Highest Ever for NICS

With the establishment media reporting a significant drop in Black Friday sales in many retail outlets, the National Shooting Sports Foundation is reporting that no such "shopper fatigue" reported among firearms purchasers.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reports that it processed 175,754 transactions on Nov. 28, Black Friday, making the day the highest Black Friday ever and the second highest day in NICS history. That means an average of three transactions were being processed every second, triple the normal daily volume.

The highest day ever was Dec. 21, 2012 with 177,170 background checks. In a very welcome development, 74.66% of the federal checks were conducted via the E-Check, a secure internet connection, the highest total ever. NSSF has been encouraging retailers to use E-Check in order to get much faster approvals for their customers.

Click here to view a CNN report on the sales surge.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.