December 2020 New Record for Background Checks, Gun Sales for Year Ammoland Inc. Posted on Florida Carry sues FDLE for more Violations of Gun Background Check Laws U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- 2020 is over. The year set records for every month and for total National Instant background Check System (NICS) background checks done in a year. 2020 almost certainly set a record for the number of new firearms owners. New firearms owners are estimated at over 8 million, based on the NSSF figures of about 40% of firearms purchasers in 2020 have been new firearms owners. Precise records of new owners are not available, only estimates.