Despite the previously released August data from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), it seems like gun manufacturers were not experiencing that bad of a month as some people would have been led to believe. According to reports, the dip in the number of checks in recently released data may have been caused by an apparent delay in re-checks that were ordered by the FBI themselves.

The recently unveiled data from FBI NICS revealed that there were a total of 1,853,815 checks for August. The number of checks was in itself a new August record for the department, but it strangely also marks the first time in the history of the U.S. run system where the number of checks have declined month-over-month. This is of course based on the 2,197,169 background checks that was reported for the month before.

A report from Seeking Alpha however revealed the truth behind this perceived decline and found out that the decline in the number of background checks may have been caused by what is being referred to as the “Kentucky Anomaly.” The cause of the dip was traced back to the state of Kentucky, which reported a decline of 300,000 checks from their normal numbers.

Upon further investigation, reporters were able to get a statement from the FBI who mentioned that they actually asked Kentucky to “delay their permit re-checks for a few days due to the implementation of new NICS in early August.” It was then concluded that the “Kentucky Anomaly” was responsible for the slowdown in the number of checks in August contrary to the market’s perceptions.

The findings were further corroborated with the numbers being reported by companies such as Smith & Wesson, which came in more than 57 percent upside to current quarter EPS just before the NICS data was announced.