“There were 185,345 background hoicehecks on November 27,” fortune.com reported, “easily beating the previous all time high of 177,170 on December 21, 2012, which was shortly after the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut.” The Black Friday sales surge came hot on the heels of the San Bernardino terrorist attack and President Obama’s [most recent] civilian disarmament remarks. “The Bureau processed 2,243,030 checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in November, an increase of 236,111 checks over the previous record set in 2012,” freebeacon.com reported. Here are the top 5 guns Americans were buying in November a . . .
As for the semis listed at the top of this post, the Shield may have a loooong trigger pull, but it’s size and reliability have made it the pocket pistol to beat. The SIG P938 is an absolute jewel of a Colt clone. It’s not my first choice for a carry gun for a newbie, thanks to its external safety, but what do I know? Clocking the G43 and LCP on that list, and considering the other choices, it’s clear that concealed carry is THE thing in the semi-automatic pistol market. GLOCK 19? The safest full-size choice in semis, bar none, on every level.
Glad to see the Smith & Wesson 686 at the top of this its; it’s the sine qua non of modern revolvers, IMHO. As for the 629 and 642, let’s just say Smith’s domination of the revolver market is well-earned. They’re producing heirloom quality pieces in Springfield. Ruger’s LCR also deserves its custom; the pocket pistol has the best out-of-the-box trigger of any non-high end wheelgun on the market.
Interesting that Colt is doing so well. If the bankrupt company can focus its attention on the consumer market, their brand awareness could well keep the wolf from the door. Kel-Tec’s revised folding SUB-2000 is such an awesome trunk gun that it was only a matter of time before it zoomed to the top of the pops – now that Kel-Tec’s building them in quantity. Ruger and Smith are riding the AR surge with well-built, dead simple, keenly-priced products.
Ruger’s got to be happy that their Precision Rifle is a hit. Remington Outdoors must be relieved that their massive trigger-based recall of the 700 hasn’t kept the rifle from selling in bulk. It’s nice to see Savage doing well, too; the company’s AccuTrigger-equipped rifles are a blessing. Browning? Go FN-USA!
Again, it seems that bad publicity hasn’t kept a gunmaker from selling weapons. Freedom Group (as it was known at the time) did everything they could to kill Marlin. And yet, there it is. Henry Repeating Rifles must be grinning ear-to-ear at its popularity. An excellent choice for a lever gun from a company with customer service that’s second-to-none.
The quality of modern shotguns is astounding. All of the above are guns that will run and run and run for generations. If you’re waterfowl, be afraid. Be very afraid. Benellis are expensive as hell, but worth every penny.
Ha! The Kel-Tec KSG is a singular firearm with its bullpup design and 12-round capacity (plus one in the pipe). Not an easy gun to run, but the home defense shotgun of choice for buyers who want one of the most fearsome smoothbores extent. Of course, the 870 and 500 are on the list; they’ve earned their bones for value, reliability and versatility.