Gun sales top 1-million for 38th straight month. Here's why that matters for the midterms

Americans might not be buying guns at the dizzying pace we saw throughout much of 2020 and 2021, but for the 38th straight month gun sales topped 1-million, according to the latest figures from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The NSSF estimates based on numbers from the National Instant Check System that 1,265,311 firearms were sold at retail last month. That’s a decline of 11.3% compared to October 2021, but it’s also the third highest number ever reported for October sales, trailing only 2020 and last year.

A closer look at the data going back to the year 2000 shows that while sales are off of their two-year highs they’re still far above the levels we saw between 2000 and 2012.