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America’s Stolen Guns:
A Silent Contributor to Gun Crimes in the U.S. (2024)

https://ammo.com/articles/gun-theft-statistics

Excerpt:

How Many Guns Are Stolen Each Year?

Stolen firearms are challenging to track and even more challenging to recover. However, many law enforcement agencies report stolen firearms to the ATF.

Firearms are more likely to be stolen from private owners than FFL dealers or while in transit (from the manufacturer to the dealer, for example).

Number of Stolen from Private Owners

2021 - 201,731
2020 - 208,799
2019 - 192,151
2018 - 201,979
2017 - 221,898

Number of Stolen from FFL Dealers

2021 - 2,967
2020 - 6,058
2019 - 4,512
2018 - 5,636
2017 - 7,869

Number of Stolen in Transit (UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.)

2021 - 5,378
2020 - 2,814
2019 - 1,400
2018 - 1,714
2017 - 1,839
Note: Due to existing transportation laws, firearms stolen in transit are typically being shipped from a manufacturer to an FFL dealer.

How Many Stolen Guns Are Used in Crimes?

Criminals in the U.S. are more likely to purchase a pistol from an underground market than any other source or firearm type. In addition, state inmates with firearms were more likely to use them than federal inmates.

What Percentage of Guns Used By Criminals Were Stolen?

It is estimated that 10% of stolen guns are actually used in crimes. The basis for this number is that criminals can access firearms faster by purchasing them off the street or from an underground market.

5% of state inmates in possession of a gun used it during the commission of their crimes

2% of inmates report purchasing a firearm from an underground market

20% of inmates reportedly obtained a firearm solely for the purpose of committing a crime

9% of firearms used during the commission of a crime were not purchased via FFL dealers

8% of firearms used in crimes were purchased at gun shows

3% of inmates used a firearm that they purchased from a retail source

What Percentage of Stolen Guns Were Used in Crimes?

Although we can’t be sure how many stolen guns were used in crimes, we can investigate how many criminals actually used a firearm they were in possession of during their crimes.

6% of inmates fired shots during the commission of their crimes

1% killed someone

4% injured a victim

7% of inmates discharged a firearm but did not injure anyone

5% of state inmates did not discharge a firearm while in possession of it

What Crimes Are Associated with Stolen Guns?

While the ATF and Attorney General Merrick Garland focus on reducing illegal straw purchases, the data shows that the vast majority of firearms are sold long before they’re recovered as crime guns.

Only 11% of firearms traced by the ATF in 2021 were used in a crime within the first 90 days of purchase. Meanwhile, more than 46% of crime guns had a time to crime of more than 36 months. It would appear that firearms are not being purchased via legal means by purchasers intent on committing crimes.

In 2021, 12,192 firearms were sourced in homicides, and 31,605 were used in dangerous drug-related offenses. 106,524 were recovered under the Possession of a Weapon category.

Stolen Gun Statistics

Police departments nationally have implemented a 9 pm Routine to broadcast reminders every evening at 9 pm to ensure homeowners are securing valuables, including firearms. While the jury is still out on whether these actually impact stolen guns, civilian-owned firearms are most likely to be stolen from vehicles and homes.

How Many Guns Are Stolen from Cars Each Year?

The vast majority of firearms stolen from private citizens are pistols left in cars. Cities in Tennessee and South Carolina have experienced the highest number of firearms reported stolen from vehicles in recent years.

Guns Stolen in Cars Fast Facts:

80% of firearms stolen in Nashville, TN, were stolen from vehicles (1,014) - 2023

2,441 firearms stolen from vehicles in 2022 Shelby County, TN

Hamilton County, TN, has been issuing warnings for years due to the increase in firearms stolen from unlocked vehicles
⅓ of firearms stolen in Columbia, SC, were reportedly taken from unlocked vehicles

.....How Often Are Stolen Guns Recovered?

Unfortunately, recovering stolen firearms tends to be a daunting task for local and federal law enforcement agencies. Guns stolen from private citizens are the least likely to be recovered in a timely manner.

.....What If My Gun Is Stolen and Used in a Crime?

State laws vary, but many DAs can prosecute victims of firearm theft under various statutes. It’s important to keep track of your firearm’s serial numbers and report theft to local law enforcement. Furthermore, evidence supports that leaving guns in cars greatly increases the likelihood they will be stolen.

How do I know if a gun is stolen?

There are many third-party websites that claim to allow users to run serial numbers. However, the only guaranteed way to ensure you’re purchasing a firearm that isn’t stolen is through law enforcement.

Report Highlights

1,074,022 firearms were reported stolen in the U.S. from 2017-2021

Only 1.3% of criminals used a firearm that was purchased from an FFL during the commission of a crime, based on a 2016 survey

89% of inmates reported that they possessed a firearm during the commission of a crime that was not obtained at a retailer (FFL Dealer)

56% of inmates arrested with a firearm at the time of their crimes stated they had stolen it

11% of crime guns recovered in 2021 were purchased within 90 days, while 46% were purchased more than 36 months prior to the crime

Firearm thefts from vehicles have risen more than 25% over the past decade

Southern states report more stolen guns than other regions of the U.S.
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Another reason to eliminate the ATF, chasing straw man purchases.

Is it Over?

https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2024/01/23/is-it-over/

Excerpt:

It took three long years for Sickness Psychosis to wane. Eventually, enough people figured out that the sickness was mostly in the mind – and that wearing “masks” wasn’t the cure for it.

EV Fever seems to be following a similar trajectory. Finally. It may now be at the point that “masking” was at about two years ago. As in, people are getting over it. And so, apparently, is the stock market.

Tesla stock is down 15 percent, representing a $94 billion loss so far. Bloomberg News styles this a “reality check as EV winter sets in.” The Financial Post says 2024 is the company’s “worst start to any year – ever.”

Part of the reason why has to do with fleet sales tanking. Car companies rely on these to move models that otherwise don’t sell well; fleet sales also fluff the numbers – making it appear there’s more retail demand for a given model than there is. Hertz – the rental car company – was a fleet buyer of Teslas. It very publicly dumped its fleet of these devices a few weeks ago.

The cold has not helped.

Or rather, it has – in the way that therapy can help a person afflicted by mental illness. Buyers of Tesla devices found out battery powered devices “work” in cold weather kind of like “masks” work when it comes to “stopping the spread.” Nothing cures a delusion better than a reality the afflicted has to deal with – such as shivering in the freezing cold waiting hours for their device to recharge. And even if these deluded people continue to wallow in their delusions – like those who continue to “mask” – the reality has become undeniable to others.

Rivian and Lucid – which make battery powered devices even more pricey than Teslas, are in even worse shape, chiefly because they (like the Vietnamese device-maker VinFast) got into the device-making game late, after the peak of EV Fever. By which time most of the affluent people who wanted and could afford a device that cost twice as much as a car (and that only went about half as far) had bought one (a Tesla, probably) already. Device or not, there are only so many people who can afford to spend the $50k-plus it takes to buy anything.

.....It explains why Ford has drastically cut back on its “investment” in devices such as the $50k-to-start Lightning, which looks like the F-150 pick-up. The problem is that people who want a truck aren’t interested in buying something that looks like a truck, yet the production line continued to manufacture them – because the government’s regulatory regime has (effectively) required Ford to manufacture them. Selling these compliance devices is another thing.

The bulk of these sit unsold on dealers’ back lots, accruing interest payments and bleeding charge. Some 4,000 Ford dealers have said what the boxer Roberto Duran said back in the ’80s when he couldn’t take the beating anymore.

No mas!

Volvo’s EV spinoff, Polestar, isn’t just dying. It is essentially dead – financially speaking. Analysts for the Swedish bank SEB recently – publicly – said that Polestar is worth nothing. Ultra-expensive device maker Fisker is similarly on the edge of the abyss. GM’s Cadillac division – which has promised to offer nothing but devices by 2030 – is likely to be gone not long after 2030.

Along with other once-premium brands like Mercedes-Benz, which has also promised to offer devices exclusively by then. Which will mean the end of the exclusiveness of these brands, when all they are is expensive. When all they’re selling is the same thing everyone else is selling – but for twice or three times as much.

How much is an oversized plastic three pointed star worth paying for? (My saying so publicly probably is why Mercedes no longer sends me its devices to test drive.)

When EV Fever first etiolated, Tesla was able to rely on the cashflow it sucked from other car manufacturers – i.e., those who made cars rather than devices. They had to buy “zero emissions” credits from Tesla in order to be able to continue manufacturing cars rather than devices, thereby subsidizing the growth of their government-mandated “competition.” But that revenue stream has dried up because every major car manufacturer is now a device manufacturer – and gets credit for manufacturing its own “zero emissions” devices.

This leaves Tesla having to rely on sales – and stock market valuations based upon sales expectations. Which are diminishing as “EV winter sets in.”

Channeling Monty Burns from The Simpsons TV show:

Excellent!

It’s as encouraging to read about the declining interest in devices as it was to see people taking off their “masks” two years ago.

Signs of health are always encouraging.