Newsletter: Gun Sales Drop Below a Million a Month

The gun market has now fallen previous a long-running measure of fine well being.

In July, gross sales got here in round 975,000. That’s the primary time in six years they’ve been beneath one million. That’s a grim milestone for the business, and I do my greatest to recreation out the place the market may go from right here.

The courts have been busy this week, too. A federal choose upheld Rhode Island’s open carry ban. A Washington choose denied Sig Sauer’s try to get its in style P320 pistol unbanned from a police coaching facility. Talking of which, we’ve Energetic Self Safety’s John Correia on the podcast to elucidate why he barred the Sig P320 from his coaching programs.

Minnesota’s state courts additionally delivered dueling rulings. First, a state appeals court docket upheld the conviction of a person arrested for possession of a selfmade, unserialized firearm. Then, the state supreme court docket tossed the identical precise costs in opposition to a special man.

In the meantime, the NRA and a set of main gun-rights teams filed a federal go well with in opposition to the Nationwide Firearms Act. I give a rundown of what they’re arguing and the way it differs from GOA’s beforehand filed NFA go well with for members.

Plus, we’ve a bunch of fascinating tales down within the hyperlinks, together with the most recent FBI crime numbers!

Gun Gross sales Drop Under One Million a Month for the First Time in Six YearsBy Stephen Gutowski

Gun-sales-related background checks slid greater than eight % year-over-year in July, touchdown beneath one million for the primary time in half a decade.

That’s in accordance with the most recent evaluation from the Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Basis (NSSF), the gun business’s commerce group. It discovered the variety of Nationwide On the spot Legal Background Examine System (NICS) assessments related to gun gross sales clocked in round 975,000 throughout July 2025. That’s down 8.1 % from July 2024, and it marks the primary time since July 2019 that the ultimate quantity got here in at lower than one million.

“July’s figures of 978,731 background checks for the sale of a firearm at retail beings an finish to the streak of over 1 million background checks every month that ran for practically six years,” Mark Oliva, an NSSF spokesperson, mentioned in a press release. “Summer time months routinely present decrease background examine figures than different occasions of the yr and we’ve watched because the background examine figures got here down from astronomical highs a number of years in the past.”

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Evaluation: The place are Gun Gross sales Headed? [Member Exclusive]By Stephen Gutowski

Gun gross sales simply dropped beneath a key metric for the primary time in years.

This week, we discovered July gross sales got here in below a million, breaking a six-year-long streak for the gun business. Gross sales ranges dropped to pre-pandemic ranges, making July 2025 one of many worst summer time months for the gun business of the final decade. And July wasn’t a fluke; it was the continuation of a half-decade downward pattern.

So, the place are gross sales prone to go from right here?

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Decide Rejects Sig Sauer’s Try to Un-Ban P320 From Washington Police Coaching FacilityBy Benjamin Owen

A Washington Decide rejected Sig Sauer’s plea to reverse the Washington Legal Justice Coaching Heart’s (CJTC) ban on the P320 pistol on Friday.

A choose in Thurston County denied the corporate’s movement to drive the legislation enforcement coaching facility to reinstate use of the weapon. She mentioned she was ruling solely primarily based on the transient proof heard within the early stage of the case, and issues may nonetheless go the opposite means throughout the deserves part of the trial, in accordance with KING 5.

“The court docket is denying the movement for a keep,” Superior Courtroom Decide Carol Murphy mentioned in a ruling from the bench.

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Minnesota Supreme Courtroom Guidelines Do-it-yourself Weapons Don’t Require Serial NumbersBy Benjamin Owen

The Supreme Courtroom of Minnesota dominated on Wednesday that selfmade weapons don’t fall below the state’s serial quantity requirement.

The Courtroom reversed an appeals court docket determination by acquitting a defendant who possessed an unserialized pistol. It dominated 4 to 2 that state legislation mirrors federal legislation, and the privately-made gun the defendant had doesn’t violate federal gun rules.

“We conclude that part 609.667(3) criminalizes possessing a firearm not recognized by a serial quantity provided that federal legislation requires that the firearm have a serial quantity,” Justice Paul Thissen wrote in Minnesota v. Valge. “The firearm Vagle possessed shouldn’t be such a firearm. We reverse the court docket of appeals and remand to the district court docket.”

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Minnesota Courtroom Oks Gun Serial Quantity RequirementBy Benjamin Owen

A Minnesota Appeals Courtroom upheld the state’s ban on possessing unserialized firearms.

On Monday, the panel unanimously affirmed the conviction of a person who was charged with possessing an unserialized gun. It dominated that the Second Modification didn’t defend the defendant, who had a selfmade pistol that by no means had a serial quantity engraved into it to start with.

“Primarily based on our inquiry into the historic custom of the boundaries of the appropriate to maintain and bear arms, we maintain that Minnesota Statutes part 609.667(3), which prohibits the possession of a firearm with no serial quantity, doesn’t violate the Second Modification to america Structure as utilized to Jones’s possession of a privately made firearm with no serial quantity,” Decide Sarah Wheelock wrote in Minnesota v. Jones.

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Federal Decide Upholds Rhode Island Open Carry RestrictionsBy Jake Fogleman

The flexibility to overtly carry a firearm for self-defense is a “privilege,” not a proper, a federal choose has dominated.

On Friday, US District Decide William E. Smith dismissed a lawsuit introduced by a gaggle of Rhode Island gun-rights activists difficult the state’s “may-issue“ system for distributing permits to overtly carry firearms. He did so regardless of the state’s requirement of a “correct displaying of want“ to obtain such a allow—an ordinary just like one struck down by the Supreme Courtroom in its 2022 New York State Rifle and Pistol Affiliation v. Bruen determination. He mentioned the distinction is that the state does problem hid carry permits on a shall-issue foundation.

“The Courtroom concludes that Defendants’ utility of the Act’s allowing construction to Plaintiffs is relevantly just like historic rules, and thus in keeping with the Second Modification,” Decide Smith wrote in O’Neil v. Neronha et al.

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Podcast: Is the Sig P320 Protected? (Ft. Energetic Self Safety’s John Correia)By Stephen Gutowski

Sig Sauer’s premier pistol has confronted a flood of dangerous information this week.

After a current deadly incident on Warren Air Power Base that concerned the M18, generally offered to civilians because the P320, the International Strike Command joined a rash of legislation enforcement and civilian coaching teams which have paused using the gun. Energetic Self Safety can also be amongst these teams. So, we’ve its president, John Correia, again on the present to elucidate why he determined to ban the P320.

You’ll be able to hearken to the present in your favourite podcasting app or by clicking right here. Video of the episode is out there on our YouTube channel.

Plus, Reload Reporter Ben Owen and I clarify the modifications the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation needs to see to the Division of Justice’s proposed rights restoration course of. We additionally talk about a federal court docket giving the inexperienced mild to Buffalo mass taking pictures victims’ go well with in opposition to a gun accent maker. And we have a look at how the NRA is utilizing a current DOJ transient to spice up its lawsuit in opposition to New Jersey’s silencer ban.

Audio right here. Video right here.

Evaluation: Why the NRA Says the Nationwide Firearms Act is Now Unconstitutional [Member Exclusive]By Stephen Gutowski

A month after Congress slashed Nationwide Firearms Act (NFA) taxes on suppressors and short-barreled firearms, the second of two promised lawsuits difficult the constitutionality of the reworked legislation has arrived.

On Friday, a coalition of gun-rights teams filed go well with in opposition to the NFA within the Eighth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals. The Nationwide Rifle Affiliation (NRA) joined with the Second Modification Basis, American Suppressor Affiliation, Firearms Coverage Coalition, and a set of particular person plaintiffs to sue. The NRA coalition comes a number of weeks after Gun House owners of America (GOA) spearheaded the same coalition of teams that filed the same go well with within the Fifth Circuit.

The 2 challenges share one core grievance with the newly amended NFA sections, however they differ considerably as effectively.

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Exterior The Reload

Homicide Formally Plunged in 2024 | Jeff-alytics | By Jeff Asher

Philly choose dismisses lawsuit in opposition to metropolis ban on gun switches and bump shares | Philadelphia Inquirer | By Robert Moran

Greater than two dozen gun legal guidelines in Colorado have reshaped firearm possession — and added obstacles | Denver Submit | By Nick Coltrain

May monitoring denied gun gross sales assist stop tragedies? | CPR | By Allison Sherry

Years earlier than Air Power base fatality, investigators discovered ‘failure’ in a Sig Sauer gun | New Hampshire Public Radio | By Todd Bookman

Hawaii Hardly ever Takes Weapons From Individuals In Disaster, Regardless of ‘Purple Flag’ Legislation | Hawaii Civil Beat | By Caitlin Thompson

That’s it for this week in weapons.

If you wish to hear professional evaluation of those tales and extra, ensure you seize a Reload membership to get our unique evaluation e-newsletter each Sunday!

I’ll see you all subsequent week.

Thanks,Stephen GutowskiFounderThe Reload