The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported 82,103 firearm background checks in Colorado during July 2026, shortly before new purchase restrictions for certain semiautomatic firearms took effect August 1. NSSF compared that total with 22,507 checks in July 2025 and described the change as a 264 percent increase. The trade association published the figures on August 11, after the first full week under the new requirements. Its report connects the July activity to buyers completing transactions before the deadline, but it does not publish the underlying dataset or explain its counting method.
The figures need a narrower reading. A background check is an indicator of retail firearm activity, not a one-for-one count of firearms or purchasers. One check can cover more than one firearm, and some checks do not end in a completed sale. NSSF titled its report around record gun sales, while the specific figures it supplied are background-check totals. The available source therefore supports a sharp year-over-year increase in checks. It does not, by itself, establish the exact number or mix of firearms sold during July.
Colorado's enacted Senate Bill 25-003 generally makes it unlawful, beginning August 1, 2026, to knowingly manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell, or purchase a "specified semiautomatic firearm." The statutory definition covers a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with a detachable magazine and a gas-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine. The law is not a blanket restriction on every semiautomatic firearm. It excludes qualifying rimfire firearms, manually operated actions, firearms with permanently fixed magazines holding no more than 15 rounds, recoil-operated single- or double-action semiautomatic handguns, antiques, curios or relics, permanently inoperable firearms, and a named list of models.
The law also provides a path for an otherwise covered purchase. A buyer can qualify after completing a Colorado-certified hunter education course plus a basic firearms safety course within the preceding five years, or by completing an extended firearms safety course within that period. Someone whose extended course is older than five years can pair it with a basic course completed within the past five years. These are exceptions to the general prohibition, not a repeal of the ordinary dealer transfer process. A buyer and dealer must still satisfy the other state and federal requirements that apply to the transaction.
Eligibility and training
Before enrolling in either safety course, an applicant must obtain a firearms safety course eligibility card from a county sheriff. The application process includes identifying information, government-issued photo identification, a name-based background check, and applicable fees. A sheriff must deny the card when the applicant cannot lawfully possess a firearm or cannot be positively identified. The statute also permits denial based on a reasonable belief, grounded in documented previous behavior, that the applicant is likely to present a danger to self or others. A denial or revocation is subject to judicial review, and an issued card remains valid for five years.
The courses must be conducted in person by a sheriff-verified instructor; no part may be completed online. A basic course requires at least four hours. An extended course requires at least 12 hours spread across two or more days. The curriculum must include safe handling, storage and child safety, among other subjects specified in the law. Students must take an examination that includes safe-handling proficiency, and completion of the basic course requires a score of at least 90 percent. Instructors have three business days to enter a student's completion into the state record system. NSSF reported a $52 state record fee, separate from possible sheriff administrative charges and private instructor tuition.
What buyers and dealers face now
For a covered retail transaction, a federal firearms licensee must use Colorado's Firearms Training and Safety Course Record System to confirm that the prospective buyer completed the required courses. The statute consequently adds lead time, course availability, and multiple fees to purchases that fall within its definition. Owners can still send a covered firearm to a federally licensed dealer for temporary storage or permanent disposal, or to a gunsmith for maintenance, repair, or modification followed by return to the lawful owner. Transfers arising by operation of law or a death also appear among the stated exceptions.
A first violation of the specified-semiautomatic-firearm provision is a class 2 misdemeanor; a second or subsequent offense is a class 6 felony. The law directs the Department of Revenue to revoke a state firearm dealer permit for an unlawful covered transaction and directs the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to deny a transfer to someone convicted of the misdemeanor within the preceding five years. How July's activity divided among rifles, shotguns, handguns, and uncovered firearms remains unknown because NSSF supplied only an aggregate check count. The next scheduled implementation marker is Colorado Parks and Wildlife's annual expense and resource report to the House and Senate judiciary committees, due by December 31.
About the Author
Nick Sawinyh - Nick Sawinyh is a father, husband, hobby farmer, and gun enthusiast from Kentucky. He founded GunsNation and writes most of what appears on this blog.
