The numbers are in and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry trade association, has revealed that the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) processed 687,788 background checks during the week leading up to and including Black Friday. FBI’s NICS recorded 187,585 on Black Friday alone, ranking it among the Top 10 Highest Days for NICS checks and a .50 percent increase from Black Friday 2020 (186,645). The NICS checks are unadjusted, representing raw data from the FBI and are inclusive of all background checks related to firearms.

“This figure of over 687,000 background checks is truly remarkable,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “2021 has already been shaping up to be the second strongest year for firearm sales on record, second only to 2020s record-breaking number of 21 million background checks for a firearm sale. When tallied, we anticipate, based on annual data, that firearm sales will have increased in December 2021, coinciding with hunting seasons and holiday sales. This figure, though, underscores the appetite for lawful firearm ownership in America and the resilience of the firearm and ammunition industry to meet that demand.”

Attached are the breakout tables for each day of unadjusted FBI NICS background checks and The Top 10 Highest Days of FBI Background Checks.

ICE FISHING

So far Mother Nature has not been cooperating with ice anglers. Temperatures have been too warm to form safe ice on popular area lakes and ponds. There is only an inch or two of ice being reported on a couple of Pocono Mountain area lakes. This may change though as night temperatures this week are being forecast to be below freezing. This may produce thicker ice conditions up north. but still may not be enough to produce safe ice for local Leaser Lake or Ontelaunee Reservoir in Berks County. This pair traditionally requires at least two weeks of continued below freezing temperatures for ice fishing conditions. Stay tuned for updates.

WATERFOWL

STUDY

Attention waterfowl hunters: the Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking your cooperation in a study that will evaluate to what extent contaminants such as PCBs, dioxins and heavy metals are affecting ducks and geese.

According to the PGC, waterfowl, like fish, can store contaminants at levels that affect their own health and pose a risk to hunters who harvest and consume them. The agency says that existing statewide guidelines recommend mergansers should not be eaten; other diving ducks, if properly prepared, should be eaten only occasionally; however dabbling ducks and geese can safely be eaten if properly prepared.

Information from this study will help determine if the existing health advisory is still warranted, or should it be updated in any way. PGC assures hunters that results of the study will not impact hunting regulations.

Hunters wishing to participate in this study should be willing to donate mallards, black ducks, wood ducks, green-winged teal and Canada geese upon request. Participants will be asked to provide information on where and when the bird was harvested and provide a photo or two of the bird’s wing. The bird must then be stored frozen. The PGC will contact the hunter within 48 hours if the bird will be collected for testing. After which, the PGC will send a biologist to collect the sample.

Interested hunters should register at http://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/webform/contaminants-in-waerfowl.