From the NSSF . . .
The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the firearm industry trade association, revealed that at least 5.4 million people purchased a firearm for the first time in 2021. Nearly 30 percent of all firearm purchases last year went to new gun owners, based on NSSF’s retailer surveys and adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks.
That figure is a 10 percent decrease from the 40 percent of first-time gun buyers revealed in similar surveys in 2020.