Police collect 1,801 guns during B.C. amnesty

A total of 1,801 guns and 30,700 rounds of ammunition were turned in to the policeacross B.C. during last month's gun amnesty, the RCMP reported on Friday.

The listof unwanted weaponsturned in to police included:

• 1,026 rifles.
• 394 handguns.
• 380 shotguns.
• 155 other weapons.
• A machine gun received by Kelowna RCMP.
• Historical firearms, including a Lee-Enfield .303 rifle from World War II.
• Bayonets from the 1800s, turned in to Ridge Meadows RCMP.
• A military missile more than six feet long, kept as a souvenir of a tour of duty overseas.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Craig Callens said program helps prevent unwanted weapons from ending up in the hands of criminals, children and those without a firearms licence.

"Though this year's total number is less than the last amnesty in 2006, I believe that getting even one unwanted or unregistered firearm out of circulation from the community is a success."

Police say back-to-back programs in 1997 and 1998 yielded an average of 2,500 firearms and 100,000 rounds of ammunition. In 2006, the number of firearms rose to more than 3,200, plus another 725 unwanted weapons, 96,500 rounds of ammunition.

• Read about the military missile turned in

About 5.3 per cent of British Columbians have a firearms licence, slightly below the national average of 5.7 per cent, according to the RCMP.