Yesterday, we reported that Smith & Wesson’s profits have cratered. The gunmaker’s bean counters fingered a general decline in gun sales. TTAG was born on a Thursday, but not last Thursday. In fact, we’ve been seeing stories around the ‘net indicating a slow, steady growth in gun sales. And now this from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF): “The FBI has released its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figures for August 2010. NSSF-adjusted figures (718,971) show a 4.6 percent increase over August of last year (687,252) . . . Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the adjusted NICS data provide a more accurate picture of current market conditions.” We “blame” liberalization (liberation?) of the concealed carry permitting process across the country.
