http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/03/the-l ... most-guns/
If we use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System , or NICS, as a proxy for gun sales we see that Kentucky is the runaway leader in gun sales for 2012.
Four states exceeded one million Federal Bureau of Investigation NICS checks; Kentucky, Texas, California and Illinois. Kentucky is the only state to exceed two million background checks.
Background checks are only a proxy measure for gun sales. A buyer may purchase more than one gun through a gun dealer, depending on the local laws, once the background check comes back authorizing the purchase.
The list of states and their 2012 total NICS background checks is compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
State and Total NICS checks for 2012:
States with over 1,000,000 background checks in Bold.
Alabama 431,356
Alaska 85,342
Arizona 339,663
Arkansas 246,193
California 1,132,603
Colorado 414,838
Connecticut 237,496
Delaware 30,724
District of Columbia 449
Florida 834,319
Georgia 465,560
Guam 930
Hawaii 17,428
Idaho 136,482
Illinois 1,036,061
Indiana 475,607
Iowa 147,700
Kansas 210,972
Kentucky 2,589,358
Louisiana 326,290
Maine 91,834
Mariana Islands 5
Maryland 136,604
Massachusetts 210,453
Michigan 430,405
Minnesota 440,992
Mississippi 222,297
Missouri 513,303
Montana 134,455
Nebraska 85,860
Nevada 146,363
New Hampshire 128,178
New Jersey 85,851
New Mexico 143,419
New York 338,619
North Carolina 489,307
North Dakota 84,867
Ohio 629,215
Oklahoma 367,976
Oregon 267,041
Pennsylvania 968,534
Puerto Rico 15,545
Rhode Island 24,050
South Carolina 308,408
South Dakota 88,447
Tennessee 524,122
Texas 1,436,132
Utah 230,999
Vermont 34,507
Virgin Islands 399
Virginia 448,754
Washington 519,209
West Virginia 225,580
Wisconsin 469,375
Wyoming 63,356
