July marked the 15th consecutive month to a record for gun sales, according to data released by the FBI.

A total of 2,197,169 individuals' background checks were processed through the agency's National Instant Criminal Background Check System for the month. That was a slight increase over June, when 2,131,485 checks were conducted and a vast increase over 1,600,832 checks conducted in July 2015, a year-over-year record.

A total of 16,026,260 checks have been conducted since the beginning of 2016, putting the year easily on track to beat the previous record of 23,141,970 conducted in 2015. Each month since May 2015 has set a year-over-year record.

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Sales usually pick up during the holiday season, thanks largely to gift-giving. That phenomenon caused December 2015 to reach the highest mark on record, when a little over 3.3 million people sought to purchase firearms.

Production reports indicate that pistols tend to be the most popular firearm of choice, while rifles clock in at a close second and shotguns come in third.