The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) recently surveyed firearm retailers nationwide. Based on this survey, the NSSF estimates that over 3.2 million people purchased a firearm for the first time during the first half of 2021. The survey was conducted to learn the buying habits of firearm purchasers during the first six months of 2021. Respondents indicated that 33.2% of customers, or 3,247,351, purchased a firearm for the first time, based on June’s total of nearly 9.8 million background checks for a gun sale.

New Gun Owners Create Massive Demand for Ammo Production
The fact that we have millions of new gun owners is a major cause of the continuing ammo shortage. Consider this — if those 3.2 million new gun owners each purchase just two, 50rd boxes of ammunition, that is 320,000,000 rounds that must be produced to meet the new demand.

“This survey shows that there is a continuing demand signal for firearms from the American public,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “We witnessed each month background check figures associated with a gun sale that are second only to those we saw in last year’s record-breaking totals. These survey results show not only is there a strong and healthy appetite from first-time gun buyers but that there is still room to grow. We are encouraged by the sustained interest in lawful and responsible gun ownership as well as by the manufacturing base which has been challenged to meet this remarkable demand.”

More Women and More Diversity Among Gun Owners
Survey results showed that in the first six months of 2021 there was a significant increase in the percentage of buyers who were female, compared to the period before the Pandemic. In addition, the percentage of gun buyers who were African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American increased significantly. So the ranks of USA gun owners are becoming significantly more diverse, and women are making up an ever-growing share of gun owners.

Training Resources for New Gun Owners

In response to the record number of first-time gun buyers in 2020-21, the NRA’s Education & Training Division is offering five Online Gun Safety Courses that can be completely online at home. The five NRA Online Gun Safety Courses ARE:

1. Gun Safety Seminar
2. NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course — Distance Learning
3. NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course — Distance Learning
4. NRA Basic Shotgun Shooting Course — Distance Learning
5. NRA Basic Personal Protection In The Home Course — Distance Learning

Each course, lasting from one to eight hours, is available online at NRAInstructors.org. To Access the 0nline training options, first CLICK HERE. Then under the Heading “DISTANCE LEARNING”, you will see options. CLICK the small gray box at the left of the title to select the course. IMPORTANT — Next you MUST SCROLL to the bottom of the NRA webpage to SEARCH. Select your state or Zip code, then you will get a list of the moderated online courses in your area.

C0VID-19 lock-downs and now riots and looting in America have caused Americans to be very concerned with the safety of their families and security of their property. Not surprisingly, gun sales have skyrocketed in 2020 compared to the year before. Notably, a significant percentage — 40.2% — of the firearms purchasers are FIRST-TIME gun buyers. And retail dealers say about 40% of those first-time buyers are females, a historically high number. Overall it is estimated that 2.5 MILLION Americans joined the ranks of gun owners during the first four months of 2020.

NSSF-adjusted NICS figures showing year-over-year increases of 80 percent in March and 69 percent in April 2020. These strong increases led to more than 6.5 million NSSF-adjusted background checks in the first four months of 2020, up 48% from 4.4 million during the same period in 2019.

NSSF May 2020 Survey of Firearm Retailers
In May 2020, NSSF surveyed firearm retailers to learn more about gun sales during the first four months of 2020. Retailers reported an increased number of first-time gun buyers, estimating that 40.2% of their sales were to this group. This is a huge increase — nearly double — over the 24% annual average of first-time gun buyers that retailers have reported in the past. Semiautomatic handguns were the primary firearm being purchased by first-time buyers, outpacing the second-most purchased firearm, shotguns, by a 2-to-1 margin. Modern sporting rifles, revolvers and traditional rifles rounded out the top five types of firearms purchased by first-time gun buyers.

All this equates to more than 2.5 million new gun owners in 4 months of 2020.

Retailers noted that these new customers were spending $595 on an average sale and that 40.1% of first-time gun buyers in the first four months of 2020 were female. The main purchase driver among the group was personal protection, followed by target shooting and hunting. Also of note was that 25% of first-time buyers had already taken some form of firearms safety course.

How many folks shoot at indoor ranges? What are their shooting preferences and habits? To answer those questions, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) commissioned a nationwide survey of indoor range shooters. The results of this Southwick Associates NSSF Survey are quite interesting.

The survey reveals that a LOT of folks use indoor ranges. In fact, roughly 38% of all U.S. firearm owners shot at an indoor shooting range at least once in the past year. Moreover, indoor range users spend roughly two-thirds of their annual target shooting days at indoor ranges. These target shooters also tend to shoot more often than the average firearm owner. That’s not surprising, since most indoor ranges are located fairly close to residential areas, while outdoor ranges may be 20-50 miles from town.

Photo courtesy Silver Eagle Group Shooting Range, Northern Virginia.

Indoor shooting ranges definitely stoke interest in firearms ownership. More than a third of people who go to indoor ranges ultimately buy a firearm after first trying it out indoors. That means we need to support indoor ranges because they are vital in bringing new shooters into the sport.

More Facts about Indoor Range Users in the USA:

Most users (over 80%) use indoor ranges for marksmanship training. Fun or entertainment and improving self-defense skills are also important factors.

Roughly 50% of indoor range shooters shoot at least once a month, while 13% shoot once a week (or even more often).

Semi-automatic handguns were shot by 96% of those who visited an indoor range last year. Revolvers were used by 66% of shooters and modern sporting rifles by 41%.

Indoor range users are 10% more likely to have purchased a new firearm in the past year compared to all other firearm owners.

The majority of indoor range users do not currently have a range membership, instead choosing to pay range fees each time they visit.

Three-quarters of indoor range users consider proximity to their home to be an important factor when selecting an indoor range. Location is key to the success of an indoor shooting range.

This NSSF Video Covers Basic Gun Range Safety Rules:

Double-Up on Hearing Protection When Shooting Indoors
When shooting pistols indoors we recommend quality muffs with earplugs underneath, offering double protection. When inside an enclosed range, with other shooters blasting away right next to you, you really need effective hearing protection. But you also need to hear range commands and be able to communicate with your fellow shooters. That’s why we recommend electronic muffs with plugs underneath.

For pistol shooting, we like the latest Howard Leight Impact Pro Muffs. These offer an impressive 30 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR). In addition, these muffs are pretty comfortable and offer Headphone Functionality so you can connect to your smartphone, MP3 player, or other audio device. These muffs are a good value. They are currently offered for $62.55 on Amazon.com.