I'd love to know the percentage represented by those 1,700 guns. If the store sells a million guns a year vs 5,000, it makes a huge difference as to how relevant that 1,700 number is.
I'm not sure that the percentage of "unaccounted for" firearms is the correct statistic to be examining. The article mentions records going back thirty years, so how about:
5 guns per week;
20 guns per month;
240 guns per year;
x 30 = 7,200 guns.
IF the missing firearms were spread over the entire 30 year period, that's roughly one gun vanishing per day, Monday through Friday!
Add to that, the number was originally 7,000+ before sifting out obvious clerical errors.
I've seen enough BATF abuses to have significant contempt for that agency, but in this case, there is clearly something amiss. This appears to be a gun dealer who is not in control of his operation (or worse). IMHO, policing FFL holders is what the BATF is *supposed* to do. Better they do that, than raid rural churches or stomp on kittens.