txpilot wrote: ↑Wed Sep 14, 2022 7:53 am
Although I'm glad to see these types of numbers, I wonder if some of it isn't really gun sales, but instead background checks on ammunition purchases which are now required by a few states.
It would be interesting to separate gun sales from ammo sales in the stats.
I wish the data were separated, but I doubt that will ever happen. That's why there's always the caveat that the numbers aren't a direct correlation to gun sales, and why the NSSF uses other methods, like BATF reported manufacturer data, to estimate total new firearm purchases.
I've never had to do a background check for ammo purchases (thank goodness), and maybe this is a question for our FFLs. The last form 4473 I filled out was specifically titled "Firearms Transaction Record" and Section A was a list of firearms and serial numbers, and Section C, which the FFL fills out, starts out with the categories of firearms purchased.
Do "checked" ammo purchases use a 4473, or is there a different form? I can't find anything about ammunition at fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics. Some Googling leads me to believe that it isn't done through a 4473 and the NICS system. A description at
CalWaterfowl.org describes California's options like this:
BACKGROUND CHECK OPTIONS
Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check – $1 – estimated to take 2-3 minutes. This is only for people who are in the California Department of Justice’s Automated Firearm System (AFS). If you have purchased a handgun since Jan. 1, 1990, or a long gun since Jan. 1, 2014, in California, you are in the system, but the name and address on your ID must match the address in the system, which depends on where you lived when you bought your most recent gun and whether your address or name has changed since then (more information below). You can also get in the system by registering a gun, which costs $19. There is no option for non-gun owners to get into the system, so if you are a new hunter who is still borrowing a firearm, you cannot use this option.
Note: Though this system uses records of past gun purchases, it does so just to show you cleared a background check. There is no requirement for the ammunition you purchase to match the gauge or caliber of firearm(s) listed in your AFS records.
COE Verification Process – $1 – estimated to take 2-3 minutes: People who have a valid Certificate of Eligibility – usually people who work for ammunition vendors and/or handle ammunition in the course of their duties – may use this option. COE holders only need their COE number; they do not have to carry the actual certificate.
Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check – $19 – can take several days. This is for people who are not in the Automated Firearm System. Unfortunately, using this option will not get you entered into the AFS, so until you purchase or register a gun to get in the AFS, you have to pay the $19 every time you buy ammunition.
Note: If you purchase ammunition while purchasing a firearm, you do not need to get a separate background check for the ammo – the check for the gun will suffice. But you won’t be able to take home your ammo until you take home your gun.
The
California Attorney General's website clarifies that "Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check" this way:
Please note: this eligibility check requires a manual review of records by a Department analyst. As such, the Department may take longer to respond with a determination as to eligibility. Response times may take several days.
So it doesn't look to me as if, in California at least, background checks for ammunition purchases go through NICS; it looks like it's a purely state operation. And it makes me very glad to live in Texas.
That said, we know the NICS numbers do include all FFL transfers, not just purchases. And I believe that even includes transactions where people have pawned a gun, and then go back to get the gun out of the pawnshop (never done it, so don't hold me to that statement). And in some states going through an FFL is the only way to sell or give a gun to someone else. So even if without ammo data, I believe the NICS numbers will always be skewed on the high side.
But maybe not
that skewed: with Texas as one example, if I have a LTC my new firearm purchase has to be logged on a form 4473, but it doesn't go through the NICS; and, of course, in this state I'm free to sell a firearm to another individual without involvement of an FFL or an NICS check. So those LTC firearm purchase transactions will, I think, offset to a small extent the mandatory FFL transfer numbers in some states.
Speaking of which, something that may not be completely clear about the NICS is that it isn't used the same way throughout the country. From
https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics: "NICS provides full service to the FFLs in 31 states, five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The NICS provides partial service to six states. The remaining 13 states perform their own checks through the NICS."
Well, at least the satisfaction of guessing correctly.