The government first announced it would restrict access to semi-automatic weapons, citing the AR-15 in particular, after Sweden's worst mass shooting this year when 35-year-old Rickard Andersson entered an adult education centre in Orebro and shot dead 10 people before turning the gun on himself.

Andersson used semi-automatic weapons during his attack, although not specifically an AR-15. The AR-15 has been used in high profile mass shootings in the United States.

"This regulation around the AR-15, should be viewed as a pre-emptive measure," said Martin Melin, a spokesperson for the Liberal Party -- a junior partner in Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's coalition government.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of AR-15s for hunting in 2023 and the government said it wanted to revert this.

It said that as a first step, from August 1 police would not give out any more hunting licences for AR-15s.

The government would then present legislation in the autumn that would revoke existing licences for hunters.

The restriction would only affect the weapon's use in hunting, and the AR-15 would still be allowed in sports shooting and target shooting, but licence holders would need to be active members of a shooting club.

Once the legislation was passed, weapons holders would have two years to fulfil the requirements for target shooting or sell the weapon, otherwise it would be confiscated, the government said.

Authorities also presented areas easing licence requirements for gun holders.

Currently holders of a hunting license are entitled to have four weapons unless they can show their need for more and the government said this limit would be raised to eight.

It would also make it easier to store weapons at a different location to the licence holder's home.