The ATF has restarted publishing the Firearms Commerce report in the US. The report for 2024 was printed in Could 2025, which is the “regular” time for the report back to be printed. One of many insidious actions throughout the Biden administration was the deliberate hiding of knowledge from the American public.
The Firearms Commerce in the US Statistical Replace has been regularly printed from 2011 to 2021.
Beneath the Biden administration, publication of the report stopped. There was no announcement. When questioned about it, employees from the ATF claimed there was no change. The report could be printed as regular. The report was by no means printed. No report was printed in 2022, 2023, or 2024. The publication of the 2024 report is a welcome return to normalcy.
The 2021 report confirmed whole firearms manufactured from 1986 to 2019, whereas the 2024 report reveals firearms manufactured from 2013 to 2023. The variety of firearms manufactured lags behind different reviews as a result of the data is taken into account delicate and could possibly be used for aggressive benefit. Due to this fact, it’s withheld for a 12 months.
Someplace, a choice was made to point out solely the earlier 11 years of information, from 2013 to 2023. The info overlaps with information from earlier reviews, so it’s all accessible.
The 2024 report reveals a drop in firearms manufactured in the US from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, the quantity was reported as 13,395,031. In 2023, the entire was reported as 9,772,259, a drop of 27%.
There are some areas that deserve additional consideration. The 2024 report reveals a complete variety of registered silencers of three,536,623 as of Could 2024. In Could of 2021, the quantity was reported as 2,664,774. Lower than 1,000,000 further silencers registered over these three years appears to contradict another reporting.
The NSSF obtained info displaying 4.8 million silencers registered to Individuals as of July 2024, with 2,193,123 added from Could 2021 to July 2024. It’s in all probability a reporting glitch. This correspondent suspects the variety of registered silencers is over 5 million at current.
The variety of quick barreled shotguns registered with the ATF elevated from 162,267 to 165,180 from the 2021 report back to the 2024 report. It’s a very small improve. That is defined with the ATF ruling that pistol grip firearms over 26.1 inches lengthy, chambered for shotgun shells, aren’t technically “shotguns”, however are merely firearms. Bullpup shotguns such because the Keltec KSG, KS7, and KS410 have important journal capacities, are simply over 26 inches lengthy, and have shoulder shares. They don’t require cost of a $200 tax and all of the intrusive Nationwide Firearms Act (NFA) paperwork. The Taurus Choose and Smith & Wesson Governor revolvers, which fireplace each .45 Colt and .410 cartridges ,can be found. There may be little motive to fabricate and register NFA quick barreled shotguns when these alternate options could be acquired with out the $200 tax.
The Biden administration was one of many least clear administrations in historical past. Whereas speaking to radio present host Russ Clark, this correspondent traded anecdotes on the problem of acquiring info from the Middle for Illness Management (CDC), the FBI, and the ATF. The knowledge was beforehand simply accessible over the Web.
The return of the Firearms Commerce in the US is a welcome instance of the return to transparency with the Trump administration.
To date, reviews that will usually have been printed in 2022, 2023, and 2024 stay lacking. They might by no means be reconstructed. This correspondent want to see the lacking reviews printed for historic continuity and as a test on accuracy. Errors that will be caught in annual reviews could be missed when a span of three years is unreported.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a navy officer, was on the College of Wisconsin Pistol Group for 4 years, and was first licensed to show firearms security in 1973. He taught the Arizona hid carry course for fifteen years till the objective of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has levels in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Division of Protection after a 30 12 months profession in Military Analysis, Growth, Testing, and Analysis.
