The NRA’s latest AAM statements, which cover January through June, show total magazine subscriptions increasing from 3,746,153 to 4,066,198 over that period. Much of that increase comes from Shooting Illustrated, which was added to the NRA’s roster in 2016. This year marks the first time the NRA has included it in AAM statements.

Monthly figures going back several years show that subscriptions to the other three magazines peaked in October 2016 and had been steadily declining through 2017. But the trends show an inflection point in April and May of this year, after which the numbers began to rise again. That time period corresponds to an April pledge by the group to sign up 100,000 new members in 100 days.

AD

AD

Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman, said in an interview that the group currently has “approximately 5.5 million dues-paying members.” He said that figure is higher than the 4 million magazine subscribers because some members decline to choose a magazine, and others opt for digital-only subscriptions that are not included in the AAM statements.

In August, an online article in America’s First Freedom magazine claimed the NRA had added more than 1 million new members since “just before” the Parkland school shooting. The AAM statement shows total magazine subscriptions fell between January and April of 2018 and rebounded in May and June by about 383,000.

While the Parkland shooting galvanized supporters of stricter gun-control laws, other evidence suggests many gun owners were similarly spurred to action. In the month following the shooting, for instance, donations to the NRA’s Political Victory Fund surged to a 21st-century high.

AD

AD

But the group’s magazine subscription numbers suggest it is not facing a crisis of membership, and that, if anything, membership is growing at a healthy pace in 2018.