The information presented in this report relies largely on the Dealer's Record of Sales (DROS) archive that is maintained by the California Department of Justice. A DROS record is created each time an individual seeks to purchase a new or used handgun from a firearm licensee. Some sales between private individuals are not included in this report, because there is no record of them. This report indicates that 235,875 handguns were sold in California in 1999, approximately 10.4 sales per 1,000 persons aged 21 and older in the California population. Sales ranged from a low of 16,491 in January to a high of 31,706 in December. Seventy percent of the handguns sold were semiautomatic pistols. Large-caliber handguns were the most common (45.4 percent), and most handguns had long barrels (78.1 percent). Males bought 92.9 percent of handguns, and 73.2 percent were bought by persons ages 25-34, 35-44, or 45-54. There were 2,433 denied sales in 1999, approximately 1 denied sale for every 100 handguns sold. A prior criminal conviction was by far the most common reason for a denied sale (78.5 percent). A total of 2,177 firearm licensees reported handgun sales in 1999, approximately 9.6 licensees per 100,000 persons ages 21 and older in the California population. Extensive tables and figures