March 28, 2024
Grow Your FFL Business

Concealed Carry: Looking Back to Look Ahead

We’re about to wrap up another year. If the NICs reports are an accurate reflection, looks like it should have been another pretty good year for firearms sales and for adding to the nationwide ranks of gun owners.

If there’s one piece of data worth considering as a road map concerning your future sales and markets, it may be this: The number of women with concealed carry permits jumped by 270 percent since 2007. For men it’s up 156 percent in the same time period. Every indication is that the number of permit holders will continue to increase – perhaps not at the same pace, but definitely continue the uptrend.

Here are some more statistics from the Social Science Research Network and a report authored by John R. Lott, Jr.; John E. Whitely; and Rebekah C. Riley all of the Crime Prevention Research Center:

  • From July 2014 to July 2015 1.7 million new carry permits were issued – the most ever in a single year – so perhaps the pace will be maintained or even increase?
  • 5.2 percent of the total U.S. adult population has a permit.
  • Five states now have more than 10 percent of the adult population with a permit.
  • In 10 states, a permit is no longer required to carry in all, or virtually all, of the state.
  • Some evidence suggests that permit holding by minorities is increasing more than twice as fast as for whites.
  • Between 2007 and 2014, murder rates fell from 5.6 to 4.2 per 100,000. This represents a 25% drop in murder rates at a time when the percentage of the adult population with a permit increased more than 150%.

These stats should tell you a lot about where your FFL business will head in 2016 and beyond. And don’t just think about selling guns and ammo. Higher margin sales will be found in every day carry accessories, instruction, training, and even security consulting. Are you positioned to get in on the growth? How can your business take advantage of the trend?

Some important things to consider as the holiday cash register chimes!

Happy holidays from FFL Unleashed.