Much of the gun crime on Britain's streets goes unreported, it is claimed.
A study of data on firearms-related offences by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS) said many victims were reluctant to alert police.
Crimes missing from the official statistics may even include incidents where guns were fired, but which did not lead to injuries, the paper said.
The CCJS, which is based at King's College, London, called on ministers to focus on social and economic solutions to gun crime.
Its report said: "Given the frequently noted reluctance (often underpinned by fear of reprisals) of many gun crime-affected communities to provide evidence to the police, and the strong 'no grassing' conventions in gang cultures, it is likely that much gun crime - especially incidents involving only intimidation, or firearms discharges resulting in either no injuries or only minor injuries - goes unreported."
The Government's policy of introducing tough mandatory sentences may not prove an effective way of tackling gun crime, the report warned.
"Contrary to its commitment to be 'tough on crime'... the Government's criminal justice policy has been characterised by a reluctance to acknowledge the causal relation between income inequality and violent crime," it said.
Report author Peter Squires, Professor of Criminology and Public Policy at Brighton University, said: "This report examines what we do and don't know about gun crime to establish a basis from which we can start asking the right questions and developing effective policies.
"It demonstrates that the use of guns is a product of conflict and violence in deprived and excluded communities and once we understand that we can start addressing causes and not just symptoms," he said.
The CCJS's research director Roger Grimshaw said: "Though few people are seriously injured by the criminal use of firearms, many more are frightened... because gun crime is a potent cause of fear, it needs to be far better understood, otherwise we will all be hoodwinked into accepting calls for panic measures instead of more effective long-term solutions."
