Close to 7 per cent of WA gun owners targeted in a six-week operation recently were pinged by police for allegedly not storing guns properly.

Police charged 185 gun owners with non-compliance offences out of 2710 addresses checked, with officers alarmingly finding 26 firearms had been lost or stolen. About 400 firearms, including 28 handguns, were seized.

Seventy-two people were charged with 320 unrelated offences. Operation Bluesun Commander Jo McCabe said she was concerned about gun complacency.

“(Gun safe) keys were left lying around ... we had firearms found in vehicles, under mattresses and in back sheds,” she said.