NICS Firearm Background Checks Continue To Ramp In October

Firearm background checks for the month of October continued a record-high trend for this year, with checks rising 17 percent sequentially and 18 percent year-over-year.

The Firearm Background checks data is released by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is followed in the United States to determine if the prospective buyer qualifies for buying a firearm or explosives.

The data shows that in October 2016, the checks rose to 2,333,539 from 1,976,759 in the same period last year. In September, background checks stood at 1,992,219. Notably, checks rose only 6 percent year-over-year in August, then 11 percent in September, now 18 percent.

Moreover, the rise in background checks is not a surprise given the increased number of shooting incidents in the country. According to Mass Shooting Tracker, 40 people were killed and 149 wounded in October in various shooting incidents across the United States. This was lower than the 51/157 number recorded in September.

The data comes amid the aggressive campaign from Hillary Clinton and other Democrats over potential changes to gun laws, which has been hurting investor sentiment over gun stocks.

At last check, shares of Sturm Ruger & Company Inc RGR were down 0.65 percent to $61.05, Cabelas Inc CAB fell 0.41 percent to $61.36 and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp SWHC also dropped 1.57 percent to $26.01.

Meanwhile, Sturm Ruger is reporting its third quarter numbers on November 1 after market close. Rival Cabela’s earnings for the third quarter of $0.53 missed consensus view by a wide margin of $0.28.