Perhaps part of the problem here is the supposition that google is somehow an Unbiased search engine. Far from it. Search for American inventors and then click on images. My point will become obvious.
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There is no doubt many illegal guns come from straw purchases and from robberies. It seems to be large number but compared to legal purchases it’s not that large. It makes the point however criminals get guns illegally by any means possible and more laws will not help.
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What is the source for the number of stolen firearms?
Also, not sure people do not report stolen firearms… only those who are not legally allowed to have firearms would have a reason to not report them. Law abiding citizens report stolen firearms… for a variety of reasons… one is insurance… to file a claim… one is to ensure it is known that the firearm was stolen in case they are used in a crime.
Are you in the habit of not reporting a theft? Someone breaking into your car or your house?
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The study states it uses the average cost of firearms reported stolen to the UCR data total cost to derive the number, making the number arbitrary and not relevant. As I pointed out, firearms represent just over 1.1% of the total value of stolen property, with automobiles being over 41% of total value. Money, jewelry, precious metals, and miscellaneous, along with automobiles comprise most of the stolen property. Apparently, either thieves do not target firearms, being just over 1% of total value of stolen property, or firearm owners are more diligent about protecting firearms from loss, compared to the rates of other property losses, making this thread irrelevant.
How they derived the average cost is the issue, and as stated in my first reply and the above paragraph, makes the number a non-issue - almost 99% of stolen property are not firearms. The $450 average stated seems a bit low, as no one would put in an insurance claim for $450 as it would be below most deductibles. Also insurance companies typically pay based on “blue book value”, not actual cost or replacement cost. One of mine was my great-grandfather’s that I have not gotten a valuation for, though based on its condition probably has a much higher intrinsic value than extrinsic value, but still worth more than $450.
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200,000 - 350,000 firearms stolen per year sounds pretty high. @Dave17’s link (which I trust the most as it’s FBI UCR data) shows a bit over 150k stolen in 2017, which is more than listed in @Justin47’s link at AmericanProgress. In fact the AmericanProgress link shows between 130-143k stolen per year. Even if you add theft from FFLs those are only a few thousand per year. EDIT: I have poor reading comprehension
I don’t think the dollar value estimates matter too much. A stolen firearm will work to rob a convenience store just as well if it’s a $200 Hi-Point or a $2000 Gucci Glock.
Folks definitely need to lock up their firearms in their vehicles. An article from Richmond, VA said out of 450 firearms stolen in 2019 about half were from cars. Nashville, TN has 550 firearms stolen from cars alone in 2020.
I think one major source of guns left in cars is people who need to disarm before entering a gun-free zone, stash a firearm in a glove box or under a seat. I would bet criminals know those locations pretty well and eyeball people parking to see if they look like they might be disarming. Easy fix there is to remove gun-free zones 
If you need to disarm, have a lockbox handy.
The other source is likely people having truck/trunk guns in the car long-term. I’m not a fan of leaving a firearm unattended in something easy to get into like a car/truck.
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I avoid gun-free zones with the sole exception of my doctor’s office. She has a “no Berettas” sign, but I feel my Glock is still unwelcome. I can’t stop going to the doctor, so I compromise by not carrying a gun when I go in.
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The UCR data chart does not give a number of firearms stolen, but dollar amounts of stolen property. The total valuation of property stolen in 2017 is $13.5 billion and the value of the stolen firearms is $151.9 million. I am not here to play word games with facts, which is why I provided those charts and the links. I could not find a current dataset from a government source for the number of firearms stolen, only the valuation, as I provided above.
Yes, the City of Richmond does have a much higher crime rate than most of the surrounding suburbs and counties. I would not use their statistics as a basis for the rest of the USA. A more pertinent study of why firearms are left in vehicles in Richmond would be of much better value than painting the entire country with that broad brush. Many cities have an inherently different crime profile than their suburbs and other rural areas. Just as cattle theft is unlikely in Richmond, but more likely in areas with cattle ranches.
I don’t know anything about Nashville, other than it is the County Music capital of the USA/world(?). But that news story made it sound as if many vehicles are being stolen at gas stations while the driver is in the convenience store. Either that or there are a lot of carjackings, could be both.
Study? Poll? Doctor? Reverend? - of what exactly? earned where? and how?
I could have two different stamps on my table, look at them discerningly for 5 minutes, and “legitimately” claim I was a stamp “collector” who had “studied” stamps.
I pay no attention to alphabet soup names or the siting of some “study” or “Poll” when it is clearly being used to support an otherwise unsupported claim. All of those can be, and very frequently are, used as plausible credibility to then go ahead and spout conclusions under the air of a contrived position of “authority”.
I may be a duly ordained minister of the church of fermented spirits, and have “polled” two of my members on their beliefs about a “spirits filled life”, But if you make decisions based on what I say, because I call my self a Reverend, and tell you I conducted a poll, well then more’s the fool you I guess.
Questioning “authority” should not just mean questioning the authority of power, but also questioning the authority of some “information” and it’s provider. – as I have read many of you do here in this thread. bravo
IMHO
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You are totally right, that was my mistake. I looked at it twice(!) and thought it was the number of firearms stolen.
I would have had a different interpretation. 
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