<P> The Act was accompanied by an amnesty; many older weapons were handed into the police . It has remained a feature of British policing that from time - to - time a brief firearms amnesty is declared . </P> <P> In the aftermath of the Hungerford massacre, Parliament passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 . This confined semi-automatic and pump - action centre - fire rifles, military weapons firing explosive ammunition, short shotguns that had magazines, and elevated both pump - action and self - loading rifles to the Prohibited category . Registration and secure storage of shotguns held on Shotgun Certificates became required, and shotguns with more than a 2 + 1 capacity came to need a Firearm Certificate . The law also introduced new restrictions on shotguns . Rifles in . 22 rimfire and semi-automatic pistols were unaffected . </P> <P> Following the Dunblane massacre, the government passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, defining "short firearms" as Section 5 Prohibited Weapons, which effectively banned private possession of handguns almost completely . Exceptions to the ban include muzzle - loading guns, pistols of historic interest (such as pistols used in notable crimes, rare prototypes, unusual serial numbers, guns forming part of a collection), guns used for starting sporting events, signal pistols, pistols that are of particular aesthetic interest (such as engraved or jewelled guns) and shot pistols for pest control . Under certain circumstances, individuals may be issued a PPW (Personal Protection Weapon) licence . Even the UK's Olympic shooters fell under this ban; shooters could only train in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or outside the UK (in Switzerland, in practice). Prior to the 2012 London Olympics, British Shooting negotiated an agreement with the Home Office to issue Section 5 Permits to a limited number of nominated elite athletes, allowing them to keep pistols and train on the UK Mainland at nominated "Section 5 Ranges". This agreement was renewed following the Olympics and Section 5 Permits remain on issue for eligible members of the GB Squad . </P> <P> 162,000 pistols and 700 tons of ammunition and related equipment were handed in by an estimated 57,000 people - 0.1% of the population, or 1 in every 960 persons . At the time, the renewal cycle for FACs was five years, meaning that it would take six years for the full reduction of valid certificates for both large - calibre and . 22 handguns bans (because certificates remained valid even if the holder had disposed of all their firearms). On 31 December 1996, prior to the large - calibre handgun ban, there were 133,600 FACs on issue in England and Wales; by 31 December 1997 it had fallen to 131,900 . The following year, after the . 22 handgun ban, the number stood at 131,900 . On 31 December 2001, five years after the large calibre ban, the number had fallen to 119,600 and 117,700 the following year . This represents a net drop of 24,200 certificates . Comparable figures for Scotland show a net drop of 5,841 from 32,053 to 26,212 certificates, making a GB total net drop of 30,041 . However, while the number of certificates in England and Wales rose each year after 2002 to stand at 126,400 at 31 March 2005 (due to a change in reporting period), those in Scotland remained relatively static, standing at 26,538 at 31 December 2005 . </P>

When did guns become illegal in the uk