When the data is adjusted — removing figures for gun permit checks and rechecks by states which use NICS for that purpose — the latest total remains a very decent 1,171,478, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade organization for the U.S. gun industry. This number is an 18.6% increase when stacked against the January 2019 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 988,160.
A big part of that increase came from gun dealers in Virginia which accounted for 67,699 adjusted NICS checks alone last month, an 84.6% increase over the January 2019 adjusted NICS figure of 36,678.