SA gun amnesty draws 4444 firearms

Almost 450 firearms have been surrendered to South Australian police and firearms dealers in little more than a month under the state's gun amnesty.

Superintendent Kym Hand, from the SA police firearms branch police were pleased with the 444 handed in since the amnesty began on December 1, the first month of the seven-month amnesty.

"This is a very positive outcome, he said. We know that more than half of all firearms stolen come from rural areas, so we are particularly pleased that the community outside Adelaide has responded in this way," he said.

Of the 444 unregistered, illegal or unwanted guns surrendered by gun owners, 55 have been held by authorised gun dealers permits to re-acquire them.

Supt Hand urged any registered gun owner with firearms, parts or ammunition they no longer use to hand them in under the amnesty.

In the last amnesty in 2012, 3162 firearms were handed to SA police.