FBI gun checks in March break all-time record

There were nearly 4.7 million gun background checks run through the FBI’s national instant check system in March — the highest-ever monthly total in the more than 20 years since the system was set up.

The 4.69 million checks is a 25% increase from a then-record 3.69 million checks in March 2020, when there was a run on firearms as the scope of the coronavirus pandemic was becoming clearer.

The checks aren’t a one-to-one correlation to gun sales, but are used as a general approximation for the health of the market. Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Guns in North Carolina, said he saw a bit of a drop-off in February and part of March after what had been a steady clip of demand over the last year.

“But then they started talking about the gun control bills coming in and we saw a quick increase,” he said.