If 2020 is good for one thing, it’s shattering gun sales records. The first half of 2020 has seen more than 5 million first-time gun purchases in the United States. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported data taken from retailers, citing 40-percent of sales coming from first-time gun purchasers.

Gun Sales Records Smashed in 2020

The NSSF-adjusted NICS data for the first half of the year also smashed records. Data shows a record 12.1 million so far in 2020. The number represents a meteoric 71.7-percent increase over January to July 2019. Thusly, 5 million first-time gun purchasers joined the 2A community in seven months.

“This is a tectonic shift in the firearm and ammunition industry marketplace and complete transformation of today’s gun-owning community,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President of General Counsel. “These first-time buyers represent a group of people who, until now, were agnostic regarding firearm ownership. That’s rapidly changing, and these Americans are taking hold of their God-given right to keep and bear arms and protect themselves and their loved ones.”

NSSF surveys showed 58 percent of firearm purchases came from Black men and women, the largest increase of any demographic. Women also comprised 40 percent of first-time purchases. Retailers showed a 95-percent increase in firearm sales, with a 139-percent increase in ammo sales over the same time period. That might explain the current ammo shortage.

Several factors contributed to the phenomenal growth in sales. In March, sales first spiked when the novel coronavirus began impacting the U.S. Then municipalities across the country inexplicably began releasing violent criminals and felons. In May, George Floyd‘s senseless death triggered a seismic wave of civil unrest and protest. Then protest finally erupted in looting, violence, panic and fear.

Finally, “Gun Election 2020,” always simmering, returns to the forefront. Joe Biden named Kamala Harris as his running mate, officially cementing the most anti-gun ticket in this country’s history.

So far, 2020 has proven a bear for sure. And she’s not quite through with us yet. Stay tuned, as gun sales records will likely continue to fall.