An estimated 18.5 million guns were sold last year.

The historic levels of sales came despite a worldwide supply chain disaster and a lack of critical raw materials used to make ammunition. As a result, prices remained high, and many weapons were sold after paying a premium, likely making 2021 total sales in dollars higher than in 2020, said a scattering of gun stores.

Gun groups said the year saw expanded sales to new buyers, especially women, black people, and Hispanic people worried about growing crime and eager to take charge of their own safety. Many of the guns sold last year were for personal protection.

What’s more, groups charting concealed carry permits estimated that they also soared to new records.

Secrets asked Justin Anderson, the marketing director of Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the nation’s biggest, to size up 2021. Here’s what he told us:

“We saw a slight increase from 2020, which is significant because we initially thought last year was a bubble. Now that the numbers are in, it appears to be the new normal. Our customer base has expanded by nearly 75% in two years, and sales are remaining steady. Despite negative rhetoric from the far Left, and lies being spread by the anti-gun groups, more and more people are becoming gun owners. The ultimate result? I expect crime rates to drop significantly.

“Women and minority buyers have led this charge, and we’re pleased to see these underserved folks stepping up to become responsible for their own personal security. I’ve seen many ups and downs in the 15 years I’ve been in this business, and I can say unequivocally that the last two years have been my favorite so far. It’s an amazing time to be in the gun business!”

NICS covers gun sales but includes other background checks. The industry’s National Shooting Sports Foundation estimated sales at 18.5 million.

Mark Oliva of NSSF said Tuesday: “The fact that over 18.5 million Americans chose lawfully purchase a firearm in 2021 is indicative [of] the value Americans hold of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The year 2021 was the second-highest year for background checks for gun sales, behind on the 2020’s record of over 21 million background checks for a gun sale. This has all occurred as Americans have taken stock of their personal safety concerns and their fundamental, God-given rights. This has also happened as the firearm industry faced significant challenges and new opportunities. NSSF led the opposition to defeat President Joe Biden’s nomination of a gun control lobbyist, David Chipman, to regulate the firearm industry, the single most important fight of the year to preserve the firearm industry and Second Amendment rights. At the same time, manufacturers announced significant investments in the expansion and relocation, signaling the anticipation for continued growth. The 2021 totals of 18.5 million background checks for a firearm sale prove the work to preserve and grow this vital industry is essential and the men and women of this industry are more than capable of meeting the growing demand for lawful firearm ownership.”

In addition to rising crime, some buyers have cited liberal efforts to defund police departments.

Those efforts were cited Monday by the Fraternal Order of Police in a report that 346 officers were shot in the line of duty in 2021, 63 of whom were killed by gunfire. Ambushes of officers soared 115%.

“At the same time crime skyrocketed across the country in our communities in 2021, the violence directed at our law enforcement officers surged. As we have said before, the recent erosion of respect for law enforcement and anti-police rhetoric has fueled more aggression towards police officers than what has been seen in previous years,” said National FOP President Patrick Yoes.

“It is our sincere hope, as we begin a new year, that Congress will pass the ‘Protect and Serve Act’ to address the national problem of ambushes and unprovoked attacks on our nation’s law enforcement officers,” he added.