Nearly all gun and related gear inventories at retailers dropped in the last 12 months. So have most prices paid at the counter, according to the year-over-year comparison detailed in the latest RetailBI report.
Seven categories were tracked in the study, which harnessed data compiled from the more than 800 stores that voluntarily share sales information—including 400 on their inventory levels—with GearFire, a service used by some 2,500 retailers nationwide. The only inventory increase was in the volume of ammunition on retailer shelves. It swelled by slightly more than five percent. Prices paid for cartridges, on average, dropped nearly one percent in the first quarter of 2025-to-2024 comparison.
The amount spent on optics went up, the only group with an increase in average price paid. It came in at roughly a 5 percent increase.
Overall
“Retail firearm sales continued to decline in Q1 2025, with total unit sales declining 9.6% year-over-year and revenue down 11.5%,” according to the report. “Rifles remain the most challenged category, falling 12.3%, while handguns and shotguns declined 9.0% and 7.5%, respectively.”
The results drill deeper into changing customer preference. “Semi-automatic handguns fell 7.4%, while revolvers declined more sharply at 20.5%,” it states. “Semi automatic rifles were down 13.2%, bolt-action rifles declined 12.0%, and lever-action rifles fell 9.2%… Pump-action shotguns led the contraction at -9.3%, followed by semi-automatics at -5.0% and over unders at -4.3%.”
Ammo And Optics
“Unlike firearms, ammunition inventory levels increased 5.4% year-over-year,” the study found. “Rifle [ammo] inventory rose the most at +12.0%, followed by shotgun at +7.1%, handgun at +1.4%, and slugs at +29.3% (not shown in graphs). Rimfire remained relatively flat, down just 0.2%.” Average price paid dropped 0.8 percent.
Optics showed the only increase in amount per sale. It went up 2.1 percent while stock on hand dipped 2.4 percent.
The Quiet Leader
Suppressor sales soared by 16.9 percent. The average price paid changed only slightly, with a decline 0.1 percent, despite the fact inventory levels went down a staggering 23.5 percent.
“Compared to Q1 2024, average inventory levels are now at their lowest point in over three years. This momentum follows the Q1 2024 ATF policy shift, which drastically shortened approval wait times for NFA Form 4 applications,” the RetailBI report states. “While not formally codified, the continuation of fast tracked approvals has reshaped buyer expectations and reduced a longstanding barrier to entry. Industry feedback suggests many customers are now experiencing approval windows of 10 days or less—down from the 6–12 month average seen in prior years.”
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