May activity showed a steady secondary market led by modern handguns, broad national participation and continued premium pricing for collector and enthusiast firearms.
Handguns accounted for 64.5% of submissions and 63.5% of completed purchases, making them the clear volume driver in May.
The Glock 19 was both the most submitted and most purchased firearm observed during the month.
Collector revolvers, enthusiast rifles and machine guns represented smaller volume but materially higher average values.
Florida produced the highest submission volume, while states including Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina showed elevated average values.
Year-to-date data showed completed purchases stayed relatively consistent despite month-to-month movement in submission volume.
April produced the highest total offer value, highest average offer value and strongest completed purchase volume so far in 2026.
Reporting note
The data below reflects firearm submissions, valuation activity and completed purchases processed through the We Buy Guns platform during May 2026.
May 2026 maintained a steady baseline of nationwide secondary firearms market activity, driven by modern carry pistols, sporting rifles, collectible firearms, and estate-related submissions.
While practical consumer firearms made up the majority of transaction volume, high-value collector and NFA items wielded a disproportionate influence on overall market value.
Seller Conversion Index
Of the 1,378 secondary market valuations provided in May, 36.1% translated into completed transactions. This indicates a highly stable baseline conversion rate for the quarter, signaling that sellers are finding alignment with transparent digital appraisals rather than holding out for volatile peer-to-peer marketplace pricing.
Average values point to a market led by commonly owned handguns, practical rifles and sporting firearms.
Submissions reflected broad national participation, including individual firearms, estate-related activity and multi-firearm collections.
As expected in a secondary market, many sellers received offers while a smaller share moved forward with completed transactions.
May activity was heavily concentrated in common consumer-owned firearms, with handguns accounting for nearly two-thirds of both submissions and completed purchases. Rifles represented the second-largest category, while shotguns remained a smaller but steady portion of the market.
Machine guns represented less than 1% of submitted firearms, but their average value was dramatically higher than every other category, making them an outsized contributor to total market value.
Top Submission Category
Handguns
64.5% of submitted firearms
Top Purchase Category
Handguns
63.5% of completed purchases
Highest Avg. Offer
$10,587.50
Machine guns
Largest Non-Handgun Category
Rifles
25.4% of submissions
Category insight
Handguns drove the majority of May activity, while machine guns represented the smallest category by count and the highest category by average value.
Share of firearms submitted for review during May 2026.
Share of completed firearm purchases during May 2026.
| Category | Submissions | % of Offers | Avg. Offer | Purchases | % of Purchases | Avg. Purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handguns | 890 | 64.5% | $467.20 | 316 | 63.5% | $521.44 |
| Rifles | 351 | 25.4% | $706.64 | 130 | 26.1% | $645.00 |
| Shotguns | 127 | 9.2% | $500.24 | 51 | 10.2% | $457.35 |
| Machine Guns | 12 | 0.9% | $10,587.50 | 1 | 0.2% | $11,000.00 |
Market Benchmark
In May 2026, the average secondary market value for a handgun sat at $467.20 for offers and $521.44 for completed purchases, establishing handguns as the safest volume play for liquid secondary market inventory.
Manufacturer-level activity provides another lens into the firearms moving through the secondary market. While category data highlights broad firearm types, brand-level trends help identify which manufacturers generated the most seller activity during May 2026.
Mainstream handgun manufacturers dominated overall submission volume, while premium and collector-oriented brands yielded substantially higher average values.
Most Submitted Brand
S&W
111 submissions
Strongest Purchase Volume
S&W
46 completed purchases
Highest Total Offer Value
$101K
Colt submissions
Highest Avg Purchase
$2,100
Staccato
Manufacturer insight
Smith & Wesson generated the highest submission volume during May, while Colt continued to produce disproportionately high overall values relative to submission count.
Share of firearm submissions observed during May 2026.
Average firearm offer value among major manufacturers.
| Manufacturer | Submissions | Avg Offer | Purchases | Avg Purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith & Wesson | 111 | $370.95 | 46 | $375.54 |
| Glock | 103 | $333.50 | 27 | $332.41 |
| Ruger | 94 | $437.77 | 34 | $311.03 |
| SIG Sauer | 88 | $508.52 | 36 | $556.25 |
| Colt | 55 | $1,851.82 | 7 | $850.00 |
| Springfield Armory | 46 | $522.83 | 4 | $1,075.00 |
| Remington | 46 | $424.46 | 12 | $525.00 |
| Taurus | 37 | $191.89 | 12 | $222.92 |
| Winchester | 34 | $485.29 | 9 | $605.56 |
| CZ | 28 | $482.14 | 14 | $492.86 |
Smith & Wesson, Glock, Ruger, and SIG Sauer commanded overall submission volume in May, underscoring a highly liquid defensive handgun market. Conversely, premium brands like Colt, Staccato, Kimber, and Springfield Armory drove high average values, sustained by resilient enthusiast and collector demand.
Models like the Glock 19, Glock 43X, and SIG Sauer P320 registered robust purchase activity, proving the reliable liquidity of modern defensive handguns.
Most Submitted
Glock 19
11 submissions
Most Purchased
Glock 19
9 completed purchases
Highest Avg Offer
$1,533
Springfield Armory M1A
Highest Avg Purchase
$1,500
Miroku Citori 725
Market Observation
Compact 9mm carry pistols continued to dominate submission and purchase activity in May, while collector revolvers and enthusiast rifles carried significantly higher average values.
Liquidity Note
The Glock 19 remains the definitive baseline benchmark for secondary market liquidity, leading both submission and purchase volume metrics for the month.
Niche collector demand remains insulated from broader market shifts; premium revolvers and enthusiast rifles regularly fetch average values several times higher than the broader consumer handgun market.
Market observation
A relatively small number of premium collector and enthusiast firearms continued to account for a disproportionate share of overall market value observed during May 2026.
Premium Rifle
One of the highest average observed values among frequently submitted firearms during May.
Collector Revolver
Continued to significantly outperform mainstream handgun values.
Enthusiast Handgun
Maintained elevated average values relative to the broader handgun market.
Premium Sporting Shotgun
Premium sporting shotguns continued to command strong observed purchase values.
Observed Value Spread
Most commonly submitted carry pistols continued to cluster within a relatively tight valuation range during May, reinforcing the stability and liquidity of the broader defensive handgun market.
Note: These values represent the actual user firearms submitted in May. Item condition and accessories can greatly influence listed values.
Common carry pistols such as the Glock 19, Glock 43X and SIG Sauer P320 continued to cluster within a relatively stable mid-range consumer value band. In contrast, collector revolvers, premium sporting shotguns and enthusiast-oriented rifles continued to trade at dramatically higher observed values.
Firearms such as the Colt Python, Springfield Armory M1A and Desert Eagle stood well above broader market averages, highlighting continued collector demand for premium and specialty firearms.
Firearm submission and purchase activity during May remained broadly distributed across the United States, with strong participation observed across Southern, Midwestern and coastal markets.
While states such as Florida and Texas continued to generate the highest overall submission volume, several smaller-volume states materially outperformed broader market averages on observed firearm value.
Geographic activity
States are shaded by firearm activity during May 2026.
Volume Leader
Florida generated the largest overall submission volume during May, reinforcing its continued importance within the broader secondary firearm market.
High-Value Market
Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina materially outperformed broader market averages on observed firearm value during May.
Regional Trends
States across the Southeast and broader Southern region continued to produce substantial submission and purchase activity throughout the reporting period.
Highest Submission Volume
Highest Observed Average Values
Firearm submission activity fluctuated throughout the first five months of 2026, though completed purchase activity remained comparatively stable across the reporting period.
While January and April represented the strongest overall reporting months by submission volume and total market value respectively, overall transaction activity remained elevated throughout the broader reporting period.
Primary Trend Visualization
Total Market Value
Highest Submission Month
Strongest overall submission volume during the reporting period.
Strongest Value Month
Highest overall offer value and strongest purchase activity.
While submission volume fluctuated meaningfully month to month, completed purchase activity remained within a comparatively stable range throughout the reporting period.
Market Stability
Even the lightest reporting month exceeded 1,100 firearm submissions, reinforcing the continued scale and consistency of secondary market participation.
Value Observations
April generated the highest total offer value, highest average offer value and strongest completed purchase volume during the reporting period.
Market Liquidity
Completed purchase volume remained comparatively resilient despite shifts in overall submission activity, suggesting continued liquidity across the broader secondary firearms market.
While month-to-month fluctuations in submission volume and average values are expected, several broader themes continued to emerge across the secondary firearms market during the first half of 2026.
Much of the market remained driven by practical consumer firearms, though premium inventory, collector-oriented firearms and estate-related submissions continued to exert an outsized influence on overall market value.
Market Structure
Glock, SIG Sauer, Smith & Wesson and Ruger continued to dominate overall submission activity throughout the reporting period, with modern carry pistols remaining the single largest category of firearms entering the secondary market.
The consistency of these patterns across multiple months suggests continued liquidity and stable nationwide demand for practical defensive handguns and mainstream consumer firearms.
Premium Inventory
Although premium collector firearms represented a comparatively small percentage of overall submissions, they continued to materially influence broader market value metrics during the reporting period.
Geographic Participation
Submission activity remained geographically diverse throughout the reporting period, with strong participation observed across Southern, Midwestern and coastal markets. Florida and Texas continued to generate the largest overall volume.
Transaction Stability
While overall submission volume fluctuated month to month, completed purchase activity remained comparatively stable across the reporting period. This consistency suggests continued underlying liquidity across much of the secondary firearms market despite shifts in broader seller activity.
Estate Activity
While volume leaders like Florida and Texas reflect steady retail-level consumer behavior, massive spikes in average submission values in states like Michigan ($1,781) and North Carolina ($1,240) indicate a rise in multi-firearm estate liquidations. These vintage collections and inherited portfolios introduce rare, high-value inventory that significantly shifts regional market metrics.
What We’re Watching
Continued concentration around modern carry pistols suggests that practical defensive firearms remain the primary driver of overall secondary market activity.
At the same time, premium collector-oriented inventory continues to exert disproportionate influence on overall market value despite representing a comparatively small percentage of total submissions.
Geographic participation also remains notably broad, reinforcing the increasingly national nature of the online secondary firearms market rather than isolated regional pockets of activity.
As additional reporting periods are added throughout 2026, longer-term patterns involving seasonality, premium inventory movement and transaction consistency may become increasingly visible.
If you are tracking current market activity to determine the optimal time to liquidate an item, a private collection, or an estate portfolio, explore our dedicated specialized guides:
Current market pricing and value guidance on firearms organized by manufacturer.
Current market pricing and value guidance on collectible pre-ban firearms.
Current market pricing and value guidance on historic WWII period firearms.
Current market pricing and value guidance on class III firearms and machine guns.
Inherited and Estate Portfolios
Access legal frameworks and logistical support via our Estate Resource Center.
Selling a Gun Collection
An overview of what to expect and how to catalog a large collection in preperation for sale.