Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,223,252 checks in November 2009, ranking the month in the top 10 for most NICS checks of all time.

This figure, while being a 20 percent decrease from the record high 1,529,635 checks in November 2008 -- the start of the ongoing surge in firearm and ammunition sales -- is an increase of 13.3 percent over reported checks in November 2007.

Year-to-date background checks for 2009 total 12,626,669, an increase of 12.9 percent over the same time period last year.

The total number of background checks reported since the beginning of NICS is 108,610,677.