If approved, it would end the long tradition of Swiss men keeping their army weapons at home both during and after compulsory military service.
Weapons would have to be registered, stored in armouries and owners would have to show they know how to use them.
Supporters of the controls say suicides and gun crime would be reduced. Those against say locking weapons in arsenals would undermine trust in the army.
There are an estimated two to three million guns circulating in Switzerland, but no-one knows the exact number because there is no national firearms register, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.
In addition to the semi-automatic assault rifle that all those serving in the army store at home, there are thousands of hunting rifles and pistols.
Serving and former soldiers have been allowed to keep their weapons at home since World War II.
National institution
The proposal to end that custom is backed by a coalition of doctors, women's groups and police associations.
Although Switzerland's overall crime rate is low by European standards, the country has the highest rate of gun suicide in Europe.
The proposal's backers say keeping soldiers' firearms locked up in armouries would reduce the suicide rate.
A number of high-profile killings in recent years - such as the shooting of ski star Corinne Rey-Bellet by her estranged husband in 2006 - have also lent support for greater gun control.
But the Swiss army is a national institution, and changing anything about it is controversial, says our correspondent.
Opponents of the proposals say taking soldiers' guns away would undermine the military and could open the door to abolishing Switzerland's citizen army all together.
"If the "Yes" goes through, it really risks destroying the country," Xavier Schwitzguebel, an army reservist officer, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
"If we take away the weapon, which represents this trust, that means that we are breaking the sacred union between democracy and citizen."
Opinion polls suggest the nation is fairly evenly divided over the issue.
For the proposal to be passed, it requires the support of the majority of Swiss citizens and the cantons.
