America's crime record
Firearms
Firearm traces
506,917
guns recovered and traced, 2025 · Down 0.7% from 2024
Timeline
Guns police recovered and asked ATF to trace to their first retail sale: traces, not crimes and not guns used in crimes.
Source and method
Agencies ask for a trace for any reason, and some trace far more of the guns they recover than others, so the count follows tracing practice as much as guns. Duplicate traces, gun buybacks, and guns turned in are left out.
No rate. A trace is a request police chose to make, and agencies trace at very different rates, so a rate over residents would measure tracing, not guns.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both · Calendar year · 2006 to 2025
- 2017ATF printed no national total, and its listing shows only some states' reports.
Breakdown
Guns recovered and traced by firearm type, 2025
| Pistols | 74%374,345 | 374,345 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rifles | 11%57,477 | 57,477 | |
| Revolvers | 7%36,173 | 36,173 | |
| Shotguns | 5%27,391 | 27,391 | |
| Machinegun conversion devices | 1%2,825 | 2,825 | |
| Receivers/frames | 1%2,744 | 2,744 | |
| Derringers | <1%1,816 | 1,816 | |
| Silencers | <1%1,228 | 1,228 | |
| Machineguns | <1%615 | 615 | |
| Combinations | 0%104 | 104 | |
| Destructive devices | 0%28 | 28 | |
| Flare guns | 0%20 | 20 | |
| Tear gas launchers | 0%8 | 8 | |
| Unknown types | <1%2,091 | 2,091 | |
| Any other weapons | 0%52 | 52 |
All 506,917 guns recovered and traced in 2025.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both
Every figure as a table
Firearm traces, guns recovered and traced, by year
| Year | Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 506,917 | |
| 2024 | 510,333 | |
| 2023 | 512,701 | |
| 2022 | 504,882 | |
| 2021 | 456,571 | |
| 2020 | 393,212 | |
| 2019 | 354,264 | |
| 2018 | 336,549 | |
| 2016 | 289,223 | |
| 2015 | 271,018 | |
| 2014 | 246,087 | |
| 2013 | 245,749 | |
| 2012 | 235,883 | |
| 2011 | 228,359 | |
| 2010 | 232,114 | |
| 2009 | 239,933 | |
| 2008 | 247,568 | |
| 2007 | 233,160 | |
| 2006 | 233,004 |
No rate. A trace is a request police chose to make, and agencies trace at very different rates, so a rate over residents would measure tracing, not guns.
2017 left out: ATF printed no national total, and its listing shows only some states' reports.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both · Calendar year
Guns recovered and traced by firearm type, 2025
| Firearm type | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pistols | 374,345 | 74% |
| Rifles | 57,477 | 11% |
| Revolvers | 36,173 | 7% |
| Shotguns | 27,391 | 5% |
| Machinegun conversion devices | 2,825 | 1% |
| Receivers/frames | 2,744 | 1% |
| Derringers | 1,816 | <1% |
| Silencers | 1,228 | <1% |
| Machineguns | 615 | <1% |
| Combinations | 104 | 0% |
| Destructive devices | 28 | 0% |
| Flare guns | 20 | 0% |
| Tear gas launchers | 8 | 0% |
| Unknown types | 2,091 | <1% |
| Any other weapons | 52 | 0% |
All 506,917 guns recovered and traced in 2025.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both
Guns recovered and traced by category, 2025
| Category | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Firearm under investigation | 128,502 | 25% |
| Possession of weapon | 90,749 | 18% |
| Weapon offense | 58,197 | 12% |
| Found firearm | 49,249 | 10% |
| Dangerous drugs | 34,356 | 7% |
| Aggravated assault | 18,922 | 4% |
| Family offense | 14,434 | 3% |
| Carrying concealed weapon | 14,069 | 3% |
| Property crimes | 11,442 | 2% |
| Homicide | 11,325 | 2% |
| Traffic offense | 10,949 | 2% |
| Suicide | 10,570 | 2% |
| Simple assault | 8,452 | 2% |
| Health - safety | 7,514 | 2% |
| Robbery | 4,895 | 1% |
| Firing weapon | 4,847 | 1% |
| Burglary | 3,549 | 1% |
| Homicide - attempted | 2,718 | 1% |
| Carrying prohibited weapon | 2,665 | 1% |
| Obstruction of justice | 2,244 | <1% |
| Suicide - attempted | 2,199 | <1% |
| Public peace | 2,186 | <1% |
| Weapons trafficking | 1,568 | <1% |
| Obstruction of the police | 1,480 | <1% |
| Threat | 1,430 | <1% |
| Sex crimes | 837 | <1% |
| Kidnapping | 692 | <1% |
| Fraud | 662 | <1% |
| Property damage | 561 | <1% |
| Flight - escape | 486 | <1% |
| Invasion of privacy | 455 | <1% |
| Money laundering | 405 | <1% |
| Immigration | 376 | <1% |
| Military | 300 | <1% |
| Liquor | 271 | <1% |
| Selling weapon | 262 | <1% |
| Smuggling | 228 | 0% |
| Vice crimes | 214 | 0% |
| Altering identification on weapon | 195 | 0% |
| Arson | 189 | 0% |
| Obscenity | 125 | 0% |
| Licensing - registration weapon | 123 | 0% |
| Extortion | 113 | 0% |
| Gambling | 74 | 0% |
| Explosives - possessing | 73 | 0% |
| Homicide - neglig mansl - veh | 58 | 0% |
| Threat to bomb | 54 | 0% |
| Sovereignty | 38 | 0% |
| Explosives - using | 34 | 0% |
| Bribery | 26 | 0% |
| Forgery | 17 | 0% |
| Abortion | 11 | 0% |
| Incendiary device - possess | 9 | 0% |
| Explosives - transporting | 8 | 0% |
| Incendiary device - using | 7 | 0% |
| Explosives - teaching use | 3 | 0% |
| Threat to burn | 3 | 0% |
| Incendiary device - teaching use | 1 | 0% |
| Other | 1,496 | <1% |
All 506,917 guns recovered and traced in 2025. The category is the offense or reason the agency gave when it asked for the trace.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both
Guns recovered and traced by possessor age, 2025
| Possessor age | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 17 and under | 16,241 | 3% |
| 18 to 21 | 42,558 | 8% |
| 22 to 24 | 32,258 | 6% |
| 25 to 30 | 54,804 | 11% |
| 31 to 40 | 81,154 | 16% |
| 41 to 50 | 50,396 | 10% |
| Over 50 | 50,075 | 10% |
| Possessor or birth date unknown | 179,431 | 35% |
All 506,917 guns recovered and traced in 2025; 179,431 name no possessor with a date of birth and are their own row, so every share is of the full total. Possessor age is CrimeDB's sum of ATF's state rows.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both
Guns recovered and traced by state where recovered, 2025
| Where recovered | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 56,550 | 11% |
| California | 53,822 | 11% |
| Florida | 35,572 | 7% |
| North Carolina | 31,700 | 6% |
| Georgia | 23,937 | 5% |
| Illinois | 23,080 | 5% |
| Ohio | 19,239 | 4% |
| Arizona | 14,890 | 3% |
| Pennsylvania | 14,314 | 3% |
| Virginia | 14,067 | 3% |
| Tennessee | 13,199 | 3% |
| Alabama | 12,516 | 3% |
| South Carolina | 12,367 | 2% |
| Kentucky | 12,045 | 2% |
| Louisiana | 11,546 | 2% |
| Michigan | 11,047 | 2% |
| Indiana | 10,852 | 2% |
| New York | 10,769 | 2% |
| Missouri | 10,624 | 2% |
| Maryland | 9,715 | 2% |
| Colorado | 9,381 | 2% |
| Wisconsin | 8,276 | 2% |
| Washington | 7,439 | 2% |
| Nevada | 6,871 | 1% |
| Oregon | 6,478 | 1% |
| Oklahoma | 6,008 | 1% |
| Mississippi | 5,717 | 1% |
| Minnesota | 5,363 | 1% |
| New Jersey | 4,443 | 1% |
| Kansas | 4,241 | 1% |
| New Mexico | 4,047 | 1% |
| Utah | 4,032 | 1% |
| Massachusetts | 3,850 | 1% |
| Iowa | 3,615 | 1% |
| District of Columbia | 2,937 | 1% |
| Connecticut | 2,684 | 1% |
| Arkansas | 2,552 | 1% |
| Nebraska | 2,276 | <1% |
| West Virginia | 2,202 | <1% |
| Idaho | 1,632 | <1% |
| Delaware | 1,460 | <1% |
| New Hampshire | 1,423 | <1% |
| Montana | 1,366 | <1% |
| Alaska | 1,316 | <1% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,221 | <1% |
| South Dakota | 971 | <1% |
| Maine | 723 | <1% |
| Rhode Island | 705 | <1% |
| North Dakota | 687 | <1% |
| Wyoming | 513 | <1% |
| Vermont | 439 | <1% |
| Hawaii | 117 | 0% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 70 | 0% |
| Guam | 11 | 0% |
All 506,917 guns recovered and traced in 2025.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both
Guns recovered and traced by state where first sold, 2025
| Where first sold | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 49,388 | 10% |
| Florida | 29,646 | 6% |
| North Carolina | 27,096 | 5% |
| Georgia | 24,890 | 5% |
| California | 22,516 | 4% |
| Ohio | 18,159 | 4% |
| Arizona | 15,952 | 3% |
| Virginia | 14,458 | 3% |
| South Carolina | 13,587 | 3% |
| Indiana | 13,259 | 3% |
| Illinois | 12,834 | 3% |
| Alabama | 12,675 | 3% |
| Pennsylvania | 11,955 | 2% |
| Tennessee | 11,034 | 2% |
| Louisiana | 10,370 | 2% |
| Missouri | 10,224 | 2% |
| Kentucky | 9,318 | 2% |
| Michigan | 8,674 | 2% |
| Wisconsin | 7,337 | 1% |
| Mississippi | 7,198 | 1% |
| Colorado | 7,129 | 1% |
| Nevada | 6,818 | 1% |
| Washington | 6,000 | 1% |
| Oklahoma | 5,503 | 1% |
| Oregon | 5,032 | 1% |
| Maryland | 4,772 | 1% |
| Utah | 3,848 | 1% |
| Minnesota | 3,817 | 1% |
| Kansas | 3,783 | 1% |
| New Mexico | 3,713 | 1% |
| Arkansas | 3,530 | 1% |
| Iowa | 3,149 | 1% |
| West Virginia | 2,584 | 1% |
| New York | 2,296 | 1% |
| Idaho | 1,989 | <1% |
| Nebraska | 1,725 | <1% |
| Connecticut | 1,548 | <1% |
| Alaska | 1,427 | <1% |
| Montana | 1,410 | <1% |
| Massachusetts | 1,357 | <1% |
| New Hampshire | 1,318 | <1% |
| Delaware | 1,193 | <1% |
| New Jersey | 1,148 | <1% |
| Maine | 1,019 | <1% |
| South Dakota | 931 | <1% |
| North Dakota | 734 | <1% |
| Wyoming | 716 | <1% |
| Vermont | 540 | <1% |
| Rhode Island | 366 | <1% |
| District of Columbia | 307 | <1% |
| Puerto Rico | 151 | 0% |
| Hawaii | 78 | 0% |
| Guam | 11 | 0% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 11 | 0% |
| Buyer or dealer's state unknown | 96,394 | 19% |
All 506,917 guns recovered and traced in 2025; 96,394 name no buyer or dealer's state and are their own row, so every share is of the full total. The state where a dealer first sold the gun at retail, not how it reached the person it was recovered from.
ATF Firearms Tracing System, national trace tables; 2006 to 2011 added up by CrimeDB from ATF's state, DC, and territory reports, which match ATF's national tables in every year that has both