The Numbers: ATF 2021 Firearms Commerce In The United StatesThe Firearm Blog

Every year the ATF releases a statistical look on the firearms industry in the United States. Everything that comes in, goes out, gets made, and gets transferred is recorded for posterity. The 2021 Firearms Commerce In The United States report encompasses a wild time in American history. While some supply chains got crushed, the demand for firearms of all types skyrocketed. The data is comprehensive and is an interesting analytical look at the gun industry from the 50,000 foot view.

The most firearm imports in history occurred in 2020, eclipsing the 2016 frenzy by more than a million and a half guns. More than 51 million dollars in Form 1 and Form 4 NFA taxes were collected in 2020, second only to the ATF 41P mad rush in 2016. Our friends in Austria sent us over 1.2M handguns last year. And over half a million NFA applications were processed in 2020, more than any other year in history.

There are a lot of interesting data points in the report. I’ve included a link to the full PDF here. Somehow we missed reporting on the 2020 release, but it can be found here. I blame viruses and civil unrest for the oversight.

All images are credited to the ATF report.

Thanks to my friend IKH for the yearly reminder.