NSSF just dropped the numbers for 2025’s “Black Friday” week, and while they’re slightly lower than last year’s record pace, the appetite for firearms among law-abiding Americans is still running hot.
According to NSSF, the FBI’s NICS system processed 530,156 background checks for the week leading up to, and including, Black Friday. That’s down 13.6% from 2024’s 613,380, but still a massive volume by any normal year’s standard.
Black Friday itself saw 165,183 checks, a number that roughly tracks with retail firearm sales, though NSSF notes it also captures related checks like CCW permit approvals.
With hunting season rolling and holiday deals in full swing, the industry always expects a year-end bump, and 2025 looks no different.
NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi says the numbers match what the industry’s been seeing all year.
Even as the market naturally cools from the historic highs of recent years, sales remain “consistently strong,” and Americans continue showing a healthy, steady demand for lawful firearm ownership.
Manufacturers, he added, are keeping pace with what customers expect: quality guns and plenty of them.
To keep the system from getting crushed under peak-day demand, NSSF has been working with retailers to spread out deals throughout the week. That strategy seems to be paying off, helping avoid the long NICS delays that used to define Black Friday.
NICS Checks Top 530,000 for ‘Black Friday’ Week #NSSF https://t.co/ZI9oz76F8t
— NSSF—The Firearm Industry Trade Association (@NSSF) December 1, 2025
Here’s the daily breakdown of unadjusted NICS checks for the full week:
- Sat, Nov 22: 73,326
- Sun, Nov 23: 34,380
- Mon, Nov 24: 80,078
- Tue, Nov 25: 81,475
- Wed, Nov 26: 86,402
- Thu, Nov 27: 9,312
- Fri, Nov 28 (Black Friday): 165,183
- Sat, Nov 29: 169,906
NSSF will release its adjusted November number later this week, filtering out permit checks and other non-sales activity to give a clean look at true retail gun purchases.
Even with a slight slowdown from last year’s surge, 2025’s Black Friday week shows one thing clearly: America’s gun-owning public is still growing, still buying, and still showing up.
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