ATF Data Reveals PMFs Account
for a Fraction of Firearm Traces

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) released a report in 2024 detailing updated data about traces involving Privately Made Firearms (PMF), sometimes referred to as "ghost guns" in the media. The data covers traces from 2017 through 2023. ATF also publishes overall trace data for firearms for the covered years.

The total number firearms traced in the seven years 2017-2023 was 288,0257. Of those, PMF traced are 92,702, or 3.2% of the total. The number of PMFs traced has been growing. In 2023, 5.4% of the total firearms traced were PMFs. Of the total homicides involving firearms from 2017 to 2023, only 1.5% were associated with PMFs. There were 1,349 homicides associated with PMFs and 87,341 homicides associated with manufactured firearms. For manufactured firearms, there were .031 homicides per trace; for PMFs there were .015 homicides per trace.

There were more than twice as many homicides per manufactured firearms traced as there were homicides for Privately Made Firearms (PMF) traced.

The ATF data showed how many traces were associated with attempted homicides. For manufactured firearms, there were .0054 attempted homicides associated with firearms per trace. For PMF, there were .0037 attempted homicides per trace. Of total homicides and attempted homicides associated with manufactured firearms, attempted homicides were 15%. Of total homicides and attempted homicides with PMF, attempted homicides were 20%. It appears homicide attempts with PMF are less likely to result in death. …